Would you care to introduce yourself?
Of course! I’m Alyson Stoner and I’m a singer/actress/dancer in the business.
What got you into acting?
Um actually I kind of got lucky because my sister had always been a dancer and I really look up to her so I started dancing and then I got to go to a convention where other actors and models were strutting their stuff and I was like, I wanna try that too! So I met with some agents and then we got to come up to California and from then on it just kinda happened!
How old where you when all this happened?
I started dancing when I was 3 but I went to the convention when I was either 6 or 7 years old so I was really, really young. We didn’t know what we were getting into. We were really careful about what we chose, so the big move was when I was 7 from Ohio to L.A.
You also dance incredibly. Since you have experienced both areas, which do you prefer and why?
Well…lately even in my P.E. class at school they were just starting swing dance and I found that really difficult because it’s not just the usual 8-count! You have to do a different count and a different style of dance. I like to try the new ones because I know I’m trained in hip-hop and tap dance and ballet but like the swing and the tango…Those are really fun for me to learn!
What are your hopes for 2007?
Oh geez…Well, I’d like to grow because I’m way too short to play on the basketball team! And this year and next year, I’ll be in high school so I’m hoping I won’t struggle too much but I know I’ll have a good attitude towards motivating myself but I mean it’s going to be hard, it’s high school! They’re going to be tough on you! Also with acting this year I’d like to do three really good movies. That’s a lot I know but if you don’t set goals you can’t ever reach them right?
Who are your role models and why?
Actually I did a report on the genocide in Sudan in Africa and all the women that have been abused and are still working and think strong, those are my role models because it shows that they’ve been through so much and it hasn’t stopped them one bit. For in the business, I really look up to Jojo because she’s a fellow girl and she has such an amazing voice! I really look up to her and hope I’ll be able to have her voice one day!
What are your passions/concerns for the world?
Well I really love to learn about everyone else’s cultures. I feel like I’m selfish when I don’t know what they’re going through because I ask my mum if I can go to the movies and she says no, and I make a bigger deal out of it than I should. Then all of a sudden, people in the genocide pop in my head and it’s like wow, I really need to calm down because they’re not fortunate enough to know what a movie is, some of them. I’m also starting to get more into the environmental thing because there are some really mind-boggling facts about how much energy we waste and all that stuff but I don’t want to become one of those crazy people that are trying to save the world in one day! It’s fun to be able to tell someone and make them interested and that maybe they should do something for the environment too.
Describe yourself in 3 words.
Focused. Athletic. Super hero! (Bet no-one else said that before!)
You’ve met a lot of cool people through your line of work. Who are your top ones and why?
Well Bonnie Hunt played my mum in both Cheaper by the Dozen 1 and 2. She had her own show, Life with Barney, and she’s been in all these movies and she was still the most down to earth, amazing person! I mean she’s like my second mum now! I can go to her with anything and I feel that after the first week of filming, I knew she’d be the one I’d be closest with. Also I got to perform with Missy Elliott and I was really surprised because you expect rappers to be the more hardcore and like yo kind of people. But Missy was so nice and so gentle and not crazy and wild.
If you could do anything for one day, what would it be and why?
[big pause while she thinks]My mum and I have been wanting to fly down to New Orleans and help the people who went through the Hurricane Katrina. The problem was that I didn’t think they’d allow me to help because of my age, I was only 12. I think that’d be fun because we know people who know people who it happened to…and yeah!
Alyson Stoner
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What has been the scariest/most embarrassing thing you’ve had to do on set?
On Alice…Well I’m really self-conscious about singing in front of people and I hate having them just watch at me. in the movie, Alice has an audition scene for the new school musical and she’s supposed to sound really really bad! But she goes to her fantasy and it sounds really really good! So I had to sing it really badly! But afterwards I was always like, no I really don’t sing like that because people were walking by and listening and omg I was telling that I don’t sing like that! Also on Cheaper by the Dozen, we all got to have eggs splattered on us in the egg scene and Hilary Duff is like egg phobic! I didn’t know that so I started putting more on her and she was like stop stop and everyone was like how could you do that? I didn’t know because everyone was messing around and I did it to Hilary but no-one had done it before so I did it, thinking it wouldn’t matter. That was so embarrassing! Luckily Hilary is a sweet girl so she didn’t get mad at me! Otherwise I would have run to my dressing room and just locked myself in there forever!
Which tv show/movie was your favourite to film?
Alice because it was my first lead role and not only because I got to be in a larger part of the movie on-screen but I got to know each character a lot more because I interacted with everyone. There wasn’t a scene where I just didn’t know who those characters were. I knew everyone in the movie so I got to learn a lot about the crew and the cast. On set one of the crew members, Marty; his wife had a baby while we were filming. That was really awesome because we got to see little Maryam and aww soo cutee!! I have a soft spot for babies!
Have you kept in contact with other actors from the movies you’ve acted in?
Cell phones help a lot in trying to keep in contact and I have definitely kept in touch with Kevin who was one of the baker kids (Kevin Schmidt) and Bonnie Hunt who was the mum. On Alice, I have everyone’s phone number and you know, they don’t all live in L.A. so when they’re in town or we’re in their area we try to get together as much as possible.
Describe your daily routine.
When I’m filming, I wake up at around 6:30ish-7:00 because we don’t live near L.A. so we always have to drive a long way. So we drive to set, we usually film for a few hours and then during my lunch break, I do maybe a phone interview and then after we film I might have a basketball game after or maybe I have a fitness lesson. I do weekly workouts with my coach’s system that he has. If I’m not filming, I sleep till as late as possible. I have chocolates and poptarts for breakfast. My schedule really differs because nothing is stable in the business so you don’t know if you’re supposed to be on set in an hour or if they cancelled the whole job completely.
If you could change something about your life, what would it be?
I think I would change how people saw me because some people have seen my work and think oh she’s a brat because I play a brat! It’s really not true; it’s all in the script! If I could change, I would definitely meet more people and let them know that I’m a regular person. Because they think this whole celebrity thing, I don’t consider myself a celebrity, but some people have called me that and it’s like wow no I live the same life, I go to the bathroom like you, I eat like you and it’s like no you don’t…
What has been the toughest thing to do in your life?
The toughest thing has been balancing everything. I’m a really big basketball player and I love sports; I don’t ever want to give that up! It’s hard to go to school, have a job, and play on a sports team and have the whole friends thing. I’m really really lucky! I have a really good friend Mara and she’s been helping me balance everything out and although sometimes I can bring friends to set, it’s really hard to keep everything in tact and not have any problems with it.
How does it feel to be a role model to so many and know that people look up to you as a good example?
I was watching the View and Hilary Duff was on and they were discussing exactly the same thing! She was saying it just comes with it, it comes with the job. You don’t mean to be a role model, and it really does! It just comes with being an actor. I mean I’m just sure there are things people don’t want to look up to me for; I’m sure I’ve not been a perfect person but to even be considered to be a role model, that’s something everyone wants to be. It almost gives you a responsibility to maintain a good reputation and to choose the right things. Whenever I think of doing something that I shouldn’t be doing, the fans that are looking up to me pop into my head and it’s like yeah, okay, you’re right…don’t do it! I think I’m more thankful for having them look up to me than the other way around!
What’s the nicest thing a fan has ever said to you?
The nicest thing was, well that affected me most, was, I remember talking to her too, was actually in the Make A Wish foundation. I didn’t get to talk to her personally but I got to interact with her over letters and she was in the hospital and she wasn’t eating at all; she was close to passing away. Her grandma turned on the t.v. in her room and she happened to be in the hospital, I don’t know maybe visiting a friend too, and my face was on and she goes oh that’s the granddaughter! The girl just smiled and said oh she is my friend! Because I had been talking to her and she finally started eating again! So it was really cool because it’s almost like I felt that I helped her regain her health.
Tell me a random fact about you.
I’m like a little entrepreneur with my friend Mara, we always create stuff and sell it; like we still sell lemonade! I don’t ever use the money that I make from movies for like if I want money to go to the movies or to the mall, my friend and I will literally sell lemonade till we have enough money to go buy the shirt.
What do you look for in a guy?
I don’t really look for anything, like I’m not getting married right now! I don’t have to look for something serious but a lot of my good guy friends the one thing is that they’re themselves. Like with guys when they’re with you they watch what they say or you can tell if they’re with their friends or if they’re with you they talk differently, they walk differently, they don’t talk about the same things but if he can be with his friends and you and be the same person, then I think that’s awesome! Be yourself and we’ll like you either way!
How can people contact you?
I do not have a myspace! The only way you can contact me is through my official website which can be found at www.alysonstoner.com (how original! I know! It took me so long to figure out a name!). The fanmail address can be found on my website since I don’t remember it by heart right now. Also be sure that I read and answer all of my fanmail! Yes it does take some times but I will eventually reply! ?
