Laura Marano
Laura Marano has been making a name for herself in recent years in TV show Austin & Ally; she really is becoming one of Disney’s hot new young stars.
We caught up with her to chat about what is around the corner for her character of Ally in season three and what lies ahead.
- It was confirmed earlier this year that Austin & Ally would be renewed for a third season so is work underway on the new series yet? And if so how is it going?
We are already on our seventh episode; time has just flown extremely fast. It is going really well. Of course, the first day back on set was like the first day back at school as we were all asking each other how our hiatuses were.
But we got back into the groove almost immediately, and it feels like we had never left; which is a really good feeling.
- You play Ally Dawson in the hit show so what can we expect for this character in the third series - without giving too much away?
Not giving too much away is the hardest thing ever (laughs). In the season two finale - which no one has seen yet - something really big happens with Austin’s career and something really big happens for Ally’s career. Unfortunately, it gets in the way of their friendship as well as their relationship as a song-writer and singer.
Season three is about dealing with that on a more extensive confident. Season two saw Ally become more confident, and you are really going to see her continue in that stride. She will also be following her singing career dreams - which is really cool.
- Season 2 began airing in autumn last year so how have you found the response to the season so far - it seems to being going down really well?
I am so happy, and I think that the whole cast and crew feels really lucky that so many people are enjoying it; there are some people who are really committed and passionate fans.
We have a lot of fun, but we work really hard, and it is just great to know that people are enjoying all of your hard work; it is the most awesome feeling, to be honest.
- You have been with the show for a couple of years now, so what was it about the character of Ally that attracted you to the show?
Honestly, she is so much like me. As an actress, you always bring a part of yourself to the character; even if you are playing someone who is completely opposite to you, you still bring a little part of yourself to the role.
Right from the beginning Ally was so similar to me the only different, and it was a big difference, was these fears that she had. She was insecure, and she had stage fright; and this is not like me at all. But with everything else we were so very similar.
So I thought it was cool that I not only got to play someone who was so much like me, but the biggest difference between us is something that I have had a lot of fun with.
Ally and I are both super quirky, and it has been great to embrace the quirks and the awkwardness; which is what I have been doing.
- The show is huge in America, so how have you been dealing with all the attention coming your way?
It is so funny because yes, I definitely get recognised a lot more by the most adorable fans ever. But at the same time I still go to a real high school, and I do think that that has grounded me a lot. I also have a very supportive family that ground me a lot.
Because everyone on set has been doing this for a long time we never lose sight of what we are doing and what it means. We are not doing anything that is super extraordinary; we are just having a lot of fun making a show; which is the best show ever.
But we do all ground each other and make sure that we are not getting big heads anywhere; which is a really good thing. We are all really close, and that is just awesome.
- That leads me into my next question. You are clearly having a ball making this show and the likes of Ross Lynch, and Calum Worthy are on the cast list. So how are you finding working with all of them?
Oh my gosh, it is the best thing ever!! We are a huge family; and it is not just the cast as it is the crew, producers and the people from Disney, we are all super close. It is cool to have a larger extension of a new family.
We are so close and we hang out off set, and we hang out on set - that would be weird if we didn’t. We just have a good time. And while we do have a good time, we are all very professional, and we still make sure that we have our lines memorised and we have all of our blocking. It is super fun.
- You are being tipped as the next big Disney star - and they have uncovered some big names over the years - so what do make of comments like that?
I feel like I can’t even go there because then I am going to have so many different expectations of where I want to be in different ways; which is a positive thing. But when you hear different names, and people say ‘you will be like that person’ sometimes people think that they should follow in the path of their career.
I think that we not only all have different paths in our career, but different paths in our lives; so we have to choose that ourselves. It’s awesome that a lot of people from Disney have become really huge, and it is cool to know that they do have this history behind them.
But I also know that I am a different person, and I am going to have a different path; and that is a normal thing to have.
- But Austin & Ally isn't just about you as an actress, but it also shows off you as a musician. So where did your love of music start?
I have loved music since I was little, and I started writing songs when I was five; I do want to put out there that my songs were twenty minutes long and sometimes about relationships but other times about candy (laughs).
I am proud to say that songs I write now are shorter, and they are not about candy anymore as that would be quite odd. I have always really loved music, and I do feel very blessed that I am doing a show where I can be doing my two loves.
It is really cool to be acting in a show about music. Another thing that attracted me to the show was that Ally was a song-writer, like I was.
In the second season, I actually got the opportunity to use one of my songs in the show; that was the coolest thing ever. I was just having such a blast, and I just wanted to do more and more takes of the performance because it was so much fun. It is just so cool that I get to do this every day.
- So did you write this song specifically for the show or was it a track that you had already penned?
There was no guarantee that it was going to be on the show, but I did write it with Ally’s journey in mind.
It was at that point where she had finally become super confident and really stepped into her own. It is something that everyone goes through - even if you are the most confident person in the world - you still have those moments of celebration when you step into your own and find yourself.
It was definitely a song for the show, but I do think that it is a song that everyone can relate to.
- Which bands/artists are you listening to at the moment? Who are your major influences?
Oh my goodness, I have a wide range of music that I like. I am super into classic rock and roll - I was actually listening to Killer Queen by Queen about ten minutes ago - I just love classic rock.
But I also love Katy Perry; I am really obsessed with her new song. Jason Mraz is super cool, and I really love Alicia Keys; I love that she plays piano and accompanies herself. I love Jessie J. Jessie J is amazing; she is so good.
- On top of all of the success that is coming your way, as you say, you are still attending a regular high school, so how do you find that juggling act?
It is a lot of work, but I am so happy that get to do it. I have done it three years of my high school life; I am now in twelfth grade, so I am a senior. I feel so lucky that I got the opportunity to have as normal a high school as I possibly could have.
I have a lot of supportive friends, and I have a lot of supportive teachers, and everyone makes it work. I am surrounded by a bunch of people that are super supportive and super amazing.
- Throughout your career, you have worked in TV & film so how do the two compare?
It always depends on who is directing it, but on movies, you tend to have a bit more freedom; which is great but it can be a little scary.
With TV, you have a lot of people who have their notes and a lot of people who have their ideas of what they want it to be - it can be a lot, but it also helps shape it.Sometimes it is great to a lot of people putting in their ideas, and sometimes it's not.
Also in TV you have to find a way to make it fresh for yourself as you are playing the same character in each episode; of course, the character will be feeling different emotions, but it is still the same character.
You are playing this character for a long time, and so you have to find those arcs and find different emotions that are happening, and different ways that your character would react.
In movies, unless you are doing a movie saga, you typically have only a short amount of time to show this character, so you will have a pretty intense character arc. You also have a little more freedom over where you want to go with it, and it is not as static.
- You are enjoying huge success on TV at the moment, is this somewhere that you want to stay for a while? Or do you have your eye on returning to the big screen?
I just want to work, quite honestly. It can be TV or film, as long as I am working, that will be great (laughs).
- Finally, what is next for you going through the rest of this year and into 2014?
Well, I am going to be finishing high school; which is a pretty big deal. We are also continuing to film the third season of Austin & Ally.
I definitely have plans to go to college, and I have plans to continue pursuing my acting and singing career (laughs). There is a lot of stuff going on, but I just love to do it.