Ashley Tisdale

At 24, Ashley Tisdale is one of the most in-demand young actresses around Hollywood these days thanks to her performance in the mega-hit film franchise, ”High School Musical”. Since the last instalment of HSM wrapped last year, Tisdale has been focusing on expanding her film repertoire. Which is why she doesn’t sing or dance in her latest film. Instead she plays a love struck teen who reluctantly helps her brother and cousins save earth from annihilation when a group of little green men land in their attic. Gaynor Flynn caught up the 24-year-old actress to chat about her latest film, her new album and what else she’d like to do in the future.

Are you like your movie character Bethany at all?
I think probably when I was younger. Maybe when I was seventeen, maybe when I was her age. I definitely think that I was all about my boyfriend and everything is about him. So I definitely think that I relate to her. She’s like more controlling, I feel. I think there are really good qualities about her. I think that at the very end when she finds out what Ricky (her boyfriend played by Robert Hoffman) is really like, she’s really good and she kinda sticks up for her family which is awesome. You know,‘ cause usually sometimes, I think that sometimes girls can be a little bit, you know, kinda weaker in that state. I think that she’s a really strong person, she’s a little bit headstrong.

And eventually she gets her vengeance by the end of the movie which is really funny… Oh yeah, she gets back. She gets revenge.

Can you imagine how much fun it would be to have one of those mind control remotes?

Yeah, I would, especially with Robert because Robert is crazy [laughs]. He is very funny and, yeah, I think that he’s not controllable. So, it would be really cool to control, it would be awesome, it would be fun. It’s like a game.

What do you like about these kinds of family movies?

I like it because I get to bring, you know, my younger cousins to these movies and they really enjoy them and they get to see me in these kind of films. I think that it’s fun. It’s something that I grew up loving family movies like Home Alone and I also love The Goonies and so this is really cool to do ‘cause they reminded me of both of those movies. And I just feel that there aren’t really a ton of kid movies out there, a ton of family movies. But to be part of them that’s something that’s positive and entertains you and takes you out of like what’s going on with the world. I think that it is something that is very exciting.

You have such a strong fan base. How do you feel about that?

It’s fun. I think I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the fans. I definitely get excited whenever, you know, whenever kids come up, especially the kids, they’re awesome. And they always like say something funny. I think it’s really great.

You’re clearly quite a confident young woman. Have you always been that way?

Yeah, I think I was always brought up to be very confident. My mom is very confident and she was always a role model of mine. I never really looked up to celebrities, when I was young. But I’ve always been very confident. I’ve always felt like even though I might not be, you know, the best of something, I can work hard and get there. I think that was my mentality when I was younger. I feel also that I’m not the best dancer. [laughs] I know how to dance just because I was in those High School Musical movies, then I can do movement for sure. But I definitely work hard at stuff. I never give up on things. If I’m gonna do something, I’m gonna go a hundred percent into it.

Who inspired you as an actress?

Definitely Julia Roberts. When I was younger, My Best Friend’s Wedding was my favourite movie. So I definitely love her and I love her work. I’ve also been a big fan of directors too like P.J. Hogan who did direct My Best Friend’s Wedding. He also directed that Peter Pan movie. He just directed Confessions of a Shopaholic. I’ve always been a big fan of his work. I hope to work with him one day. And Nancy Meyer, I think it is, right?! She did Father of the Bride [there she’s mistaken. Movie was directed by Charles Shyer]. The Holiday is one of my favorite movies as well. I love her directing. Cameron Diaz, I love.

What about musical inspirations?

I love Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani. I’ve always been inspired by them in a way that they’re always kind of reinventing themselves with each album they do. You know, It’s always a little bit different than the other album and it keeps you interested. So that’s really… With the second album, I did that. It’s more guitar driven, more Pop-Rock, little bit more mature and edgy, you know, than the first one because I felt like, you know, I wanted to bring something else to it.

Which was more fun HSM or this film?

It was a lot of fun. Both of them were fun in their own ways. I think that High School Musical was always been fun because of the cast. We all have a great time, you know, doing the dance numbers and singing the music and being together. But then this is also, really, the cast was really close. And it doesn’t happen a lot like I said on High School Musical like that cast was so close. And it was weird because people always kept on thinking, we weren’t as close and we were like, “No, seriously we’re all like a family!” But this cast was the same way. We all hung out together every single weekend. And we were going to a different beach and little Ashley [Boettcher] would be like, you know, making me sing Hannah Montana songs and teaching me them [laughs]. So we had a great time. We were like another family. And I think with everything I do I love creating a family. But I think that this is also fun because it was CGI work. And doing stuff with aliens and doing the action scenes, that was a lot of fun.

You have a production company called Blondie Girl. What can you tell us about that?

My production company is just like really starting up. I have a reality show for E! Entertainment that we’re gonna find out if it gets picked up; probably in the next couple weeks. And, um, I’m not in it, I’m just producing it. But I hope, you know, it’s very different, it’s something that I, you know, it’s a different experience for me. I go into networks and I’m pitching them ideas. You know, stuff that I come up with with my producing partner. So it’s fun, I get to be really creative. And I hope to produce movies one day and TV shows and maybe some stuff with me in it, maybe not. But, um, it’s just something else that I like to do. I like to keep myself busy.

How has your life changed in good but maybe also in bad ways since the High School Musical movies?

Well, in good ways it’s opened a lot of doors, you know, for us. So we get to obviously be in other movies and I released my album in July called Guilty Pleasure. But I think in other ways things have changed in not as exciting ways, because you don’t really have any privacy. You go on vacation and there’s just a lot of paparazzi. And that’s kind of annoying just because they’re always there whenever we’re not working. But when we are working [laughs], they’re never there. So that’s kind of a little bit different. So it’s weird not having a private life. So I just try to keep the stuff that is personal to me close to my heart and not share it all the time.

What about being a style icon? Do you have a stylist or do you dress yourself?

I do have a stylist who usually pick out outfits for events. But every single day I’m usually wearing something that I put together. I’ve always been a fan of fashion. My mom went to fashion college and she also had a clothing store when we were growing up. I’ve always loved clothes. I think it expresses how I’m feeling that day. But it’s weird… I don’t read all that stuff, where people actually look at what I’m wearing. It’s kind of funny. To me that’s really cool if they like the clothes that I wear.

The name of your new album, you said, is called Guilty Pleasure. So tell us, what is your guilty pleasure?

Um, probably shoes are a guilty pleasure of mine. I love designer handbags. I love coffee. I love carbs [laughs].

Do you see yourself more as a singer who acts or an actress that sings?

Oh, Um, I just can’t put them together, just because I grew up in musical theatre. When I was younger I did the national tour of Les Misérables when I was eight. So I was actually into music really first. And then came the acting on TV shows after. So I think they’re very separate to me. But I think that I look at myself as, you know, being both. I love them both. They’re both my passions. I can’t be like one’s first, or one’s over the other. I love them both.

– GAYNOR FLYNN