OnlyOnAOL: Constance Zimmer on who inspired her mean-girl 'UnREAL' persona

By: Donna Freydkin

Love can sure get ugly sometimes.

At least, when it's played for ratings on reality shows. And it's one of the many reasons we love Lifetime's "UnREAL," which returns for season two on June 6. It's a fictitious look at a series eerily similar to "The Bachelor," only it's called "Everlasting" and this season, features its very first African American suitor.

Oh and emotionally troubled producer Rachel (Shiri Appleby) is now the showrunner and her hard-wired boss Quinn (Constance Zimmer) can't let go.

OnlyOnAOL: Shocker: This 'unREAL' star doesn't own a TV

"She doesn't have her support team. She's back to the beginning when she was on her own, trying to prove she's good at her job. Now that everyone is slowly falling away from her, she's feeling far more possessive of keeping that show intact no matter what," says Zimmer.

She and Rachel are frenemies, so this season, there's more fireworks ahead. "Last season, we built up their relationship, so you knew where Quinn and Rachel stood with each other. How do they exist without each other?" wonders Zimmer.

Playing someone as mean and tough and take-no-prisoners as Quinn isn't for the faint of heart. Even Zimmer has a hard time embodying her. It's a good problem to have, given that the show has just been renewed for a third season.

"It's terrifying. I can't rehearse as Quinn. I can't even get into her as a person until they say 'action.' It requires so much of who I am to be shut down and put away to produce Quinn as this unaware person. When I'm rehearsing, I can't pretend that, because I feel so mean. When it's put down on film, I don't have any other choice," says Zimmer.

And when her day ends, "I leave her at the set. I leave her on stage. Sometimes she trickles in. if I'm tired and I have a long ride home, I won't talk to anyone. If I talk there will be a little bit of Quinn left. I do need to shake her off. It's a lot."

That being said, Quinn also is refreshingly unapologetic about who she is and what she does. The end result is all that matters: ratings and the best, buzziest show possible. "I could never do what she does. She has a confidence that is incredible to me. It's so inspiring that she doesn't give a crap what anyone thinks of her. Everybody is the same to her. If you're an obstacle, she'll push you away," says Zimmer.

Did Zimmer base Quinn on anyone she's crossed paths with in Hollywood? Ummm, sort of. Yes.

"Quinn is definitely parts of a lot of people I have met along the way. People in the business. Moms in the park, everyone is fair game," says Zimmer.

Yet this season, she branches out. "You get to see her go to some soft, vulnerable places. She gets to show people she's lovable. She's a rainbow of emotions," says Zimmer.

And here's a look at the newest "Bachelorette" below.