Meeting Julia Lester: Star of New HSM Series on Disney+
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Disney fans of all ages can appreciate how iconic the High School Musical films were to our childhoods. The remake on Disney+ has brought the magic and musical fun to a whole new generation. One of the show’s stars, Julia Lester, sat down with me to talk about the longevity of Disney’s stories.
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The 21-year-old actress, singer, and stage performer secured the role as Ashlyn Caswell in the Disney+ series, High School Musical: the Musical: The Series. She says that she’s “a theater kid who grew up watching High School Musical,” so being on the show is “an absolute dream.”
That dream has been a long-time coming, since she’s been a loyal fan since childhood. As far as throwbacks go, she “was a big Hannah Montana fan,” who also “loved Cadet Kelly and the High School Musical movies, of course.”
As for her similarities with her character on the show, she noted that “it’s really cool stepping back into the shoes of who I was in high school. I just wanted to perform and have fun, so it’s a cool opportunity to step back into my younger self and replay it through a different character’s eyes.” She’s a performer at heart with a creative soul who loves fashion and makeup. If she weren’t an actor, she’d “probably be a wardrobe stylist or have a clothing company.”
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Her fellow cast members have a great relationship, both with each other and Disney as a company. She mentions “how cohesive of a cast we really are. We’re a very social group that loves to make memories.” Disney is a family, and “everybody is so supportive. They really value family and making sure that everybody is happy, safe, and loved within the company.”
As an up and coming actor with a bright future ahead of her, she “would love to keep performing, and that’s definitely my number one focus.”