Call of Beauty

John Sedlar

Photos by Chris Callaway

By Kirbie Johnson

Not your average Alison

For those not in-tune with the gaming world, it’s easy to stereotype the individuals within: nerdy, non-socials that are one quality distinctly: men. It’s rare you see a smoking hot blonde with an adept sense of humor and a gaggle of men fawning over her who can also kick your ass in Call of Duty.

Enter Alison Haislip. Her name sounds fairly dainty when you first hear it: girly and polite; it rolls off the tongue with grace. She could be the girl-next-door, loveable and relatable, who rolls with the guys but enjoys dressing up, yet has looks good enough to scorch the pages of Maxim.

The most surprising thing about this otherwise assumedly feminine name is that it belongs to one of the most knowledgeable gamers in the country, an industry that is not typically associated with women at all. And, she’s a self-proclaimed nerd.

“It seems no matter how many times I prove it, some people out there refuse to believe I'm actually a nerd. I have a charter member of the Lord of the Rings fan club card and I went to space camp for four years. What more do I need to do?”

When you think about it, Alison is an anomaly when it comes to women. The 5’7’’ actress by craft was discovered in a bar. A development exec noticed she was wearing a Nintendo controller necklace, and after quizzing and confirming her gamer legitimacy, scheduled a meeting with the head of G4 talent. It wasn’t the typical, “Let me recite some lines and show you my cleavage,” audition – more so, it was “Let me pour you a beer and show you my brains.” Any self-respecting woman can tip their hat to that.

A tried and true thespian, it’s hard to believe Alison didn’t move to Hollywood to host, which she has done without flaw on G4’s Attack of the Show! and The Voice, as the social media correspondent, where she tracks and reports on all tweets the show generates.

A guaranteed hit with any man, Alison’s shoot with Bunker Hill took a rather advantageous turn, going from sexy gamer to chic sophisticate. Don’t worry, she stayed true to form: funny (“I want to be known for making people laugh and having a great ass,”) and sincere, the qualities that have kept and extended her widespread fan base.

A native of Jersey, Alison remembers her style growing up. “Jersey in the 80s and 90s meant I rocked a side ponytail and stir-up stretch pants, hard. I was never a ‘big hair’ Jersey girl, but I definitely had a love for bright colors and patterns.” Didn’t we all? Tragic, really. She’s since tamed her style, going all-out in another way. “I’ve traded in the colors and patterns for accessories. Instead of wearing crazy clothes, I wear simpler outfits that I love to accessorize.”

Frankly, it doesn’t matter what Alison is wearing. She looks great in everything, but you’re not busy fussing over her clothes when you hear her speak. She’s entertaining and unapologetically real. “I would never consider myself a fashionista,” says Haislip, “But I do love playing dress up. It’s fun to get all glammed up to go out, but I think it’s important to know how to rock a t-shirt and jeans, too.”

Alison is relatable in that she appeals to both men and women -- she’ll drink you under the table and loves the ‘anime look’ of the women in Final Fantasy, but she also admires other celebrities. “I’ve been digging everything I see Olivia Wilde in lately. She’s got a really cool, casual, fun thing going on and can totally class it up for the red carpet. It doesn’t hurt that she’s gorgeous, too.”

Perhaps the most appealing attribute Alison possesses is her acceptance and involvement in social media. Her primary role on The Voice? Collect and read tweets from fans around the country, but she’s been vlogging (video blogging) since 2008 to give fans a closer look into her life. She recognizes it’s become a social norm and not just for Internet junkies, but for celebrities, expert, news sources and the like.

Most celebrities, who constantly vie for their privacy, refuse to integrate their brands onto Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc., yet Alison believes it’s a way to connect and resonate with fans. “I think social media is going to become less about casual, random interactions and more about viable and legitimate ways to communicate,” she says. “I’m sure ‘tweeting in late to work’ will be a common enough phrase, soon enough. We’d probably already be using it that way if we weren’t so clogged up with cat videos.”

She might praise the social media-sphere, but she also understands its use for harm rather than good. “I can’t stand people that use their anonymity online to be complete jack-offs to other people. For some reason, lots of social media users think it’s okay to say the nastiest things to other people, because there are no-face-to-face repercussions. Just because someone isn’t there to smack you, doesn’t mean you can be a dick!”

The persona Alison has, while relatable, might not entice but (rather) intimidate women with her ability to resonate with the male population, and her knowledge of video games -- a territory gone untouched by most females. .

“I’ve realized I just don’t think the same way as a lot of other women. If I need advice, the stuff I hear from my guy friends normally connects to me more than what I hear from my girl friends. But don’t get me wrong… even though I’m in two fantasy football leagues this season, I’ll still sit at home and cry over an episode of Grey’s Anatomy once a week.”

With all that’s going on in her life, it seems Alison wouldn’t have much more room to fit in anything else. Rest assured, she has even more aspirations to mark off her bucket list. She’s focusing more on her big acting debut, in between ninja-ing her way around Hollywood and, of course, gaming. Her refreshingly candid attitude towards her career is what keeps her fans satiated.

“I think I’ve been very blessed with so much success hosting, that people have forgotten that I was acting first. It’s always been my passion. So, more TV, hopefully sitcoms, and I really love doing quirky indie films. Plus, I’ve always wanted to die some awful, bloody death in a horror film.”

Visit Alison online at www.AlisonHaislip.com.

 

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