TRENDING

Celebs

SPOTLIGHT: Interview With Taylor Parks!

taylor1.jpg

We are SO excited to bring to you exclusive interviews with the cast of the up-and-coming film Hairspray! The lovely Kelly White got the opportunity to talk one-on-one with some of our favorite stars from the movie. Read below to get the 411 on the youngest but cutest star on the set, Taylor Parks!

Kelly White: Hi Taylor! So, you were the young one on the set huh?

Taylor Parks Yes I was the youngest one there so I didn’t get to hang out as much because everybody was 18 and older but when I did hang out with them, I had a lot of fun.

Kelly White: What kind of things did they get to do that you didn’t get to do?

Taylor Parks: They just go to do a lot more and my mom was kinda a little over protective at times. I was the baby of the set, but it was fun and, you know, kinda boring at times.

Kelly White: Is your mom always overprotective?

Taylor Parks : She’s not – she’s not like overly protective like my dad is but she can be fun too. A lot of the cast members, they really loved my mom because she would be helping everybody on set and they put her to work on set. But she had fun doing it.

Kelly White: She became like the stage mom.

Taylor Parks : Yeah, her and Nikki Blonsky’s mom did. They were the moms on set.

Kelly White: Did you make any good friends, do you think?

Taylor Parks: I did. I’m close with Zac and Elijah and Nikki and her little brother and – you know, we’re kinda like family now. We spend all those months together and I keep in touch will all of ‘em.

Kelly White: You know I just got off the phone with Elijah. So do you have any secrets that you can tell all of the other 13-year-old girls of the world about Zac?

Taylor Parks: No, not really. Really I don’t have any secrets.

Kelly White: Does he shave?

Taylor Parks: I’m not sure. I have no idea. He did it on the sly if he does shave! Oh, but he has a couple things on me, though like, he doesn’t know how to keep a secret. Or he didn’t know how to keep my secret. It was just too funny I guess for him to hold in. He’s great, though. He’s a great guy.

Kelly White: What would you say is his best quality?

Taylor Parks: His personality and his looks. You know, everybody thinks his looks but he’s a great guy and he’s like my big brother. And you know, I keep in touch with him and we really hit it off on set, me Elijah, and Nikki, and Amanda, and – it was pretty fun. Even though I was a kid they didn’t treat me like a little baby.

Kelly White: Well can you tell me the secret that Zac spilled about you or is it too secret?

Taylor Parks: Sure. Well what happened was we were in a room rehearsing our double dance and there was supposed to be a windmill move in it and I jumped over his back and fell right on my face and then the director walked in. And I was just laying there and I hit the ground pretty hard but I kinda laughed that off and as soon as we got out the door, he was like, “You’ll never believe what happened.” We just kinda laughed it off. Everybody forgot about it after a while. He brings it up every now and then. It’s funny though.

taylor2.jpgKelly White: Was that your most embarrassing moment on set?

Taylor Parks: Yes it was but it wasn’t that embarrassing because it was like in closed room. It was in one of the small rehearsal rooms but that one was my most embarrassing.

Kelly White: Where’s your hometown? Where are you from?

Taylor Parks: I’m from Dallas, Texas.

Kelly White: Okay, I can hear your twang. It’s cute.

Taylor Parks: Thank you .

Kelly White: Which came first, the acting or the dancing?

Taylor Parks: Well really the singing came first. I’ve been singing since I was like two, well since I could talk actually. And I wasn’t a very strong dancer. So I was really determined to get a lot better at dancing so one year I went to the dance camp with one of my friends from Texas. When I was younger they said, “You know you sound like Elmo?” Because my voice was really raspy and I’m really short. So at dance camp, everybody was really surprised to see this big voice come out of this little girl. And they convinced my parents to move out to LA and that’s when we started the whole acting thing. So okay, singing then dancing, then acting.

Kelly White: Wow. That’s pretty cool. They must have seen something in you huh?

Taylor Parks: Yes. Yes but I’m pretty strong in my dancing now so I’m really happy.

Kelly White: And now if you had to choose one out of the three –the acting, the dancing, and the singing, and you could only do one, which one would you pick?

Taylor Parks: I would definitely choose singing. But that’s a hard choice to make, because I love all three of ‘em. But singing is always my first love and was always my first love and my mother sings – pretty much my whole family sings.

Kelly White: Do you play any instruments?

Taylor Parks: Yes, I play the piano and I can play my sister’s guitar.

Kelly White: Do you write songs?

Taylor Parks: Yes I do write songs. I’m co-writing some of the songs on my CD. I’m in the process of making a CD and I’m co-writing some of the songs on it.

Kelly White: And what kind of music would you say it is?

Taylor Parks: It’s pop and hip hop.

Kelly White: You and Elijah should get together and do a CD.

Taylor Parks : Yes he had some beats for me. When we were on set and he made them but I never got a chance to hear them.

Kelly White: You should collaborate a little bit.

Taylor Parks: Yes we should.

Kelly White: Now you’re 13 right?

Taylor Parks: Yes, I turned 13 on set.

Kelly White: Did you have a big birthday celebration?

Taylor Parks: I had three birthdays. One was from a short film that I did and they brought out this humongous cake. It was at the premier of it and then another one was with my friends because I flew back home for it. And then when I got back, we had just gotten done with one of the big scenes and they brought out this cake and I was like, “Well whose birthday is it?” And they were like “Happy Birthday Taylor.” And so I was a little surprised. I didn’t know that it was coming.

taylor3.jpg

Kelly White: Did you get any cool presents?

Taylor Parks: I got an iPod and a laptop. I love technology!

Kelly White: What do you dream of doing while you’re in your teens before you get older?

Taylor Parks: Just to keep working. That’s the thing mainly just to keep on working and doing that things that I love to do.

Kelly White: Now how long have you lived in LA?

Taylor Parks I’ve lived in LA for about two years, going on three.

Kelly White: So when you say you flew home for your birthday, did you fly home to Texas or to LA?

Taylor Parks Well I flew to LA. I wish I could have gone back to Texas also but I was flying back from LA to Canada back and forth every other week, but yeah. My mom let me get some more shoes for my birthday, though. Nikes and Jordans. I love tennis shoes.

Kelly White: Okay one more question. Can tell you how has this Hairspray experience changed you in anyway?

Taylor Parks: I’ve been a lot more grateful because especially after I found out that there were thousands of girls trying out for the role and I was really grateful that I got it and had the opportunity to work with everybody there I got a chance to work with.

Kelly White: I’ll keep an eye on your career Taylor!

DON'T FORGET! Be sure to hit up your local theatre and get retro with this dance and song filled flick!

7/23/2007 11:58:00 AM
share