Like many actors who want to develop their talents, Vanessa Hudgens observes people, and uses the experience for developing characters and also personal growth.
Hudgens chose to act in “Sucker Punch” because she found the movie’s underlying message empowering.
She said the male fantasy outfits she and other actors wore – particularly in battle scenes – encouraged female empowerment:
“If you imagine yourself going into these action situations, she’s not gonna show up in sweatpants.
“You want to be the best that you can be and be the most ferocious.
“I mean, the costumes gave us a sense of confidence and power.
“The way that I carried myself was different.” [Los Angeles Times 3.23.11]
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She has also commented:
“I don’t like being stagnant.
“I want to continue to grow and just be better at what I do, and the only way to do that is to keep stepping outside of your comfort zone.” [imdb.com]
[Photo from “Gimme Shelter.”]
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Hudgens sometimes visits Venice Beach:
“I love going to the drum circle down there. Every now and then someone will let me join in and bang on their drums, and I just love people who are completely free.
“Even if they’re drug addicts, who sometimes freak me out.
“I’m figuring out how to be a better person while observing other people.”
She is striving to be more aware, strong and “present-oriented” – and has commented about studying the book The Four Agreements, by don Miguel Ruiz.
[According to an Amazon summary, The Four Agreements “reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering.”]
“It has honestly changed me, almost.
“You really have to stay strong, because times get tough.
“Especially in this business…There’s so many amazing actresses who got taken advantage of.
“Someone like Natalie Wood, one of my idols — who knows what happened to her? …
“A lot of women get walked all over on by not standing up for themselves, and that’s just not what I’m about.
“I’m figuring myself out now as a young adult more than I ever have.
It’s like my eyes are opening and I’m awakening to controlling my future.”
[From The Actor’s Craft: Vanessa Hudgens has left ‘High School’ behind, by Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, April 10, 2011.]
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Related article: Emotionally safe in an entertainment career
“Perpetrators are shameless. And they put their toxic shame onto their victims, which we then internalize and carry around with us.” – Ashley Judd
Psychologist Mihaela Ivan Holtz works with creative people in TV/Film, performing and fine arts, and writes about the emotional and creative pleasures of their inner life – and its challenges.
She affirms “you can create your successful career without compromising your emotional integrity. You can work your way to success while asserting your emotional right to say yes to yourself and no to abuse.”
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Being shy – like many other talented actors
Hudgens says “When I was young, I would not talk to anybody if I didn’t know them.
“I’d hide behind my mom if she tried to introduce me to anyone.”
In middle school, she got into fashion – “which tends to make you a little more popular,” she notes – and into acting.
She said, “When I was on the stage, I felt like I was hiding behind a person, and I adored it.”
[Vanessa Hudgens, High School Sweetheart by James Kaplan, Parade mag., July 26, 2009.]
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Many actors, musicians, authors and other artists identify themselves as being shy, or consider themselves introverted or highly sensitive.
Here are two of my related articles:
Introverted, Shy or Highly Sensitive in the Arts
Some examples: Alanis Morissette, Beyonce Knowles, fashion designers Tory Burch and Tom Ford, Amy Adams, Sigourney Weaver, director Ang Lee.
Marti Olsen Laney, Psy.D., M.F.T. identifies a number of “famous introverts” including: Joan Allen, Harrison Ford, Candice Bergen, Ellen Burstyn, Glenn Close, and others.
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Being Shy or Introverted and an Actor – quotes by Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Hudgens, Clea DuVall, Taye Diggs and others.
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Douglas Eby (M.A./Psychology) is author of the The Creative Mind series of sites which provide “Information and inspiration to help creative people thrive.”
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