Vanessa Hudgens says she’s ready to step up, challenge herself and take on new and exciting roles.
And it appears she’s right on track.
The 22-year-old actress has come a long way since her breakout role five years ago on High School Musical and this month; she’s starring in two completely different movies that shows her acting range. Instead of belting out tunes, Hudgens is toting a gun in an action-fantasy Sucker Punch and showing her emotional side in Beastly.
“It’s an amazing, exciting time I feel I get to do two completely different things, two completely different characters and really get a chance to show some range,” she says to the Asian Journal in a one-on-one interview promoting her new film Sucker Punch at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel.
When asked if taking on these roles was a new beginning for her in her career, she says:“It’s funny I’ve been doing this since I was young. I was cast in my first movie at 13 and did my first musical theatre at the age of seven,” she says.
“Even though I’ve done it for so long it still feels like it’s the beginning. There are still so many things I want to do. I want to work with as many different people as I can, be in different genres, play different characters so I feel like it’s always a new beginning after each film because I don’t want to do the same thing.”
This month has been exciting yet frustrating for Hudgens. She should be basking in the limelight celebrating her two movies but she’s had to deal with the break-up with long-time boyfriend Zac Efron and nude photos of herself that went viral online after hackers stole them from her email account.
Regarding Efron, she says the two are “just friends” and Hudgens did not want to discuss the recent leaked photos and who may have hacked or leaked them that is being investigated by the FBI.
‘Sucker Punch’
Directed by Zack Snyder, Sucker Punch is an action fantasy film about a 
lonely, institutionalized young woman (Emily Browning) who escapes her reality by delving into her imagination. It is there where she fights alongside with Hudgens, and the other female member of the cast including Abbie Cornish, Jamie Chung and Jena Malone.
Hudgens says she loves the fact that the females are the heroines in the film.
“I think the really great thing about Sucker Punch is you get to see five really strong young females,” she says. “I wish I were a 13-year-old being able to watch this movie because I knew I would have been a different person almost.
It’s really amazing because we are the damsels in distress but we are [also] heroines. We don’t need another hero saving us. We save ourselves. I think it’s really empowering for women.”
Hudgens plays Blondie, whom she describes as “the follower of the group and represents the fear and when you are doing things out of fear they’re not usually the smartest and it kind of comes back and catches up with her.”
Hudgens says preparing for the role was rigorous. There were days when she cried because it was so tough. All of the lead girls trained for eight hours a day in martial arts, weight lifting, physical conditioning and how to handle a gun.
“It was really intense but that’s what it took to drive it into our heads and allowed us to move the way we did in the movie because we had to know each move like the back of our hand,” she says. “I think we all cried… [but] all of the girls supported each other.”
“I grew so much from this film because of the experiences that we had,” she adds. “It was so demanding but we all rose to the occasion and really pushed ourselves to the limit and stepped into the unknown foolhardily and accomplished so much just by pushing ourselves.”
Hudgens’ other movie, which came out earlier this month, is Beastly—a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
Based on Alex Finn’s 2007 novel of the same name, the movie set in New York follows a handsome teen that is transformed into a hideous monster and must find true love in order to break the spell.
Hudgens plays the main character and love interest Lindy Taylor, a sleek and poised individual who only sees beauty and the superficial side of things. She falls in love with the “beast” and ends up breaking the spell.
“It sends a great message: don’t judge a book by its cover,” says Hudgens. “It needs to be told especially for teenagers when it seems that high school is the most important thing in the world and who you’re hanging out with. Hopefully they’ll be able to look past that and stay true to themselves.”
“I totally believe that, and I feel if you do that it’s the most beautiful way of living,” she adds.
Proud Pinay
Hudgens says she is a proud Filipino.
Unfortunately, she hasn’t had a chance to visit her mother’s homeland because of her busy schedule.
“I know I just need to pick a date and put it on my calendar and just commit and go,” she says about a visit to the Philippines. “My mom hasn’t been back since she married my father and that was like 25 years ago, so she’s long overdue.”
Hudgens, who for a time was the only Filipino star in Hollywood, says she’s glad that there are now more Filipino and Fil-Am actors making it in mainstream Hollywood.
“I’m so glad in being part of a group. It’s amazing whenever I meet fellow Filipinos, no matter if they are in the business or not, there’s already an instant connection and bond together,” she says.
Sucker Punch will be airing at the San Miguel Coca-Cola Imax theater in Manila in the Philippines. Hudgens says she hopes her Filipino fan base will support her new film.
“Salamat po for being so amazing and thank you guys and hopefully, I’ll be able to see you in the Philippines,” she says.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek Mar 23-25, 2011 MDWK pg.2)
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