This is how the Hollywood fairy tale usually works: A young girl grows up in Orange County and dreams of movie stardom. She studies acting and works real hard, and then finally gets her big break in a TV series. With the money she makes in television, she is able to buy a home in Los Angeles. Now close to the heart of the movie business, she can make important contacts and go on many more auditions, and it all pays off with a starring role in a big studio movie.eegarden, 21, grew up in the Los Angeles area, where she dreamed of movie stardom. She studied acting, worked real hard and got her big break in the series "Friday Night Lights." Saving her money, she was able to buy her dream home – in Orange County. Although she distanced herself from the movie industry, the backward fairy tale still worked out, and the young actress is the star of Disney's "Prom," which opens Friday.
"I went to Disneyland a lot when I was a kid, and most of my friends are from Orange County, so I wanted to move closer to them," she explained matter-of-factly. "And I love the beach."
In "Prom," the actress stars as a driven, micro-managing class president who is trying to get her classmates enthusiastic and involved as she tries to organize their senior prom.
Part of the movie was filmed at a Los Angeles middle school, and this interview took place in the school's library on a Saturday afternoon. This was nothing like school, however, because professional hair and makeup people were preparing Teegarden for an event later that night as she answered questions.
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: You've been working a long time. Did you get to go to a real high school?
AIMEE TEEGARDEN: I didn't get the opportunity to go to a real high school, but I graduated through independent study when I was 16, which is about the time I started on "Friday Night Lights."
Q. So you missed prom?
A. Actually, I got to go to a prom, but it wasn't mine. It was my boyfriend's in Orange County. We all piled into a Suburban because we couldn't afford a limo, went out to dinner and danced a lot. And I had a caricature drawn.
Q. Is prom easier to handle when you don't have an emotional attachment to the school?
A. I think I missed out a little bit because there was no emotional investment. I think it's so much more meaningful when it's your own school because it's a celebration of the end of your high school career, and you're saying goodbye to all your high school friends. For me, it was just a dance.
Q. Is there any other sense of loss from not experiencing real high school?
A. Not from my point of view. I was quite happy to be finished with school at 16. I've always been the type of person who wanted to move on to bigger and better things, and for me, high school was more of a nuisance than anything. But I love learning, and I'm taking French lessons and a painting class. I just didn't like being told how long I had to be in class, or how much time I had to spend on homework.
Q. What about the social aspects of high school?
A. You can't miss something you never had.
Q. How did you start your show business career?
A. I talked my parents into letting me take acting classes when I was 10, and started doing commercials shortly after that. By 13, I started modeling. I couldn't do commercials anymore because I was in that awkward stage when you're not a cute little kid anymore. Then I got "Friday Night Lights."
Q. What was your motivation to pursue this career?
A. It's something I always wanted to do, but I didn't really grasp what that meant when I was real young. I just knew I wanted to be in the entertainment industry. I loved Lucille Ball, Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts, and I wanted to do what they did, whatever that was. It's hard to grasp the concept of professional acting when you're five.
Q. "Friday Night Lights" recently ended after five seasons (she played Julie Taylor). How did you manage to stay out of the tabloids during an entire run of a TV series?
A. I think you stay out of the tabloids because you want to stay out of the tabloids.
Q. Did filming in Austin, Texas help?
A. I think so. I spent my teenage years in Austin, which is far away from L.A. Being a teenager is hard enough, but being a teenager in the spotlight is almost impossible. But that wasn't the only advantage to working in Austin. It was easier to focus and be creative on the set because everybody wasn't running off at the end of the day to do press or party or do other projects. Everybody was devoted to "FNL."
Q. Obviously, this movie is a huge break for you. Does the fact that the Disney name is attached hold any significance for you?
A. I think it does, besides growing up near Disneyland (laughs). To be part of such huge franchise, and for them to let me into their family, is exciting. It's been an amazing experience, and I've been very, very lucky. I know that a lot of Disney Channel actors wanted this role, and I was lucky that Joe (director Joe Nussbaum) wanted some fresh faces. It could have been an entire in-house production.
Q. Although you've been successful at an early age, have you had to face a lot of rejection in this business?
A. Of course. There were times when I'd have five auditions in one day, and I'd be rejected by all five. I think I've been on close to 8,000 auditions in my life, and that's not an exaggeration. But all you need is one person to say "yes."
Q. How difficult is it to assume such a practical approach to this business?
A. It's a tough business, but if you're passionate enough about something, you have to realize that it only takes one acceptance to make up for all the rejections. If you're not passionate; if you can see yourself doing anything else, then the rejections will destroy you. You should try another profession. It's a do-or-die business.
Q. You were in a lot of scenes in "Prom," weren't you?
A. I was here from sun up to sundown on most days.
Q. Was it harder work than you imagined when you were younger?
A. I don't know that it was harder, but it was a lot of work. I came from an ensemble TV show, and now I was in most of the scenes. It is every actor's dream, but it's the outside stuff that goes along with it, like doing press, that takes some getting used to.
Q. Do you like doing press?
A. It's OK, although 14 hours of doing press in one day is not easy. Nobody wants to be "on" for 14 hours.
Q. Does this interview right now seem weird to you?
A. I'm sure that, to an outsider, me sitting here getting my hair and makeup done while you're asking me questions would seem very bizarre. But it's just another day on the job.
Q. How did the director sell the movie to you?
A. Well, I heard the words "Disney" and "prom," and I was thinking it was another "High School Musical," and I wasn't heading that way in my career. But I met with Joe, and he said he didn't want it to feel like that type of Disney movie. He said he wanted it to be more iconic, like a 1980s John Hughes film that won't look dated 20 years from now.
Q. Do you think it's a realistic look at high school?
A. We don't cover some of the harder issues of high school, but I think it's very realistic as far as relationships are concerned.
Q. Your character is driven, and you seem a bit driven. Would that be accurate?
A. I think so.
Q. Does being driven help in show business?
A. If you're not driven, you're going to get stuck.
Q. Do you think a lot of young girls see only the glamour of a show business career, and don't realize how much work is involved?
A. I have friends who have known me my whole life, and don't understand how hard I work until they spend a day with me. They see me running around to meetings, reading scripts and being interviewed, and they ask if this happens a lot. I tell them "This is what it's like all the time."
Q. Most people your age don't realize that.
A. Most people my age don't have a mortgage payment.
Q. Speaking of mortgage payments, I'm not asking you to reveal what city you live in, but are you anywhere near the beach?
A. I'm about 20 minutes from the beach.
Q. That could be Main Street in Disneyland.
A. If I could, I'd live in Sleeping Beauty's Castle.
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