Making it big in Hollywood is a dream shared by many from all over the world.
Of course, it is not easy. Not even for those who have actually invested years to fulfill the idea.
It is even harder for a woman of color.
Vanessa Hudgens acknowledged this, telling us in a recent interview how she continues to “hustle” decades after establishing her acting career.
She related, “Oh my gosh. It's hard. I mean I started working at 9 years old and I've been at it for over two decades, which just feels really weird to say, considering the fact that I still feel so young, but it's a hustle.”
Vanessa, 31, rose to fame as a teenager via the “High School Musical” series.
Many thought she had it easy, earning success at a young age, but it was far from the truth.
She was already doing musical theatre for years prior.
She was also going to countless auditions for commercials and TV shows.
Vanessa said her striving paid off mainly because she just won’t give up.
She said, “It's all about commitment, dedication and keeping your faith.”
“It’s about you believing in yourself and not taking no for an answer.
“It’s also knowing what you can do and if you're not given the opportunity, make the opportunity for yourself.
“And then you just continue with the hustle. It's all about the hustle.”
And what about predators eager to lure young women into the proverbial casting couch, did she experience that?
“Well, yeah. I do remember a time that someone said something inappropriate to me, and I was so in shock and I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’
“I'm very quick to speak my mind and shut things down very quickly, but, you know, I'm very grateful for the #MeToo movement because it allowed so many women to come forward and tell their story and I really hope we're all going to be able to move forward in a better, more conscientious way.”
Vanessa is now among producers of her latest film “The Princess Switch: Switched Again,” which is set to stream on Netflix, Nov. 19.
“The Princess Switch: Switched Again,” is, of course, the sequel to 2018’s hugely successful “The Princess Switch.”
In the original, Vanessa played two characters who share the same facial features: Margaret Delacourt, the Duchess of Montenaro and talented young baker Stacy DeNovo.
In “The Princess Switch: Switched Again,” she gets to play another character, a third look-alike, Margaret's wicked cousin Lady Fiona.
According to Vanessa, playing three different characters is “just about as crazy as anyone would think.”
“It was a lot of fun but man, after 13 hours a day being on set and acting with different versions of me, my brain was just frazzled.”
With Christmas fast approaching, we asked Vanessa about her holiday plans.
She shared, “I am planning on being with my mom and my sister, but where exactly yet I'm not sure.”
How about your mom’s home country, we suggested.
“I have not spent the holidays in the Philippines, and I hate to say this but I've never even been there.
“My mom went back a few years ago but I was in Italy working when she went, otherwise I would have gone with her.
“But it is definitely at the top of my list, as far as places I want to go to when we can all travel again.”