Justin Martin

High School Musical’s newest sophomore — in reality, he just finished eighth grade! — talks to CosmoGirl about joining the cast for the third installment, how the movie has psyched him up for his own high school experience, and his sister’s (hilarious) reaction when he landed this coveted role!

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST DAY LIKE AS PART OF HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL?

Oh man, it was crazy! [Director] Kenny Ortega took us under his wing and introduced us to everybody. I didn’t expect for everybody to be so generous and treating us as equals. Never like they’re above us or more elite than us. Here’s a funny story: There’s this basketball dance that we’re doing and Kenny took me and Matt [Prokop] and said, “I want to show you this dance.” And the dance looked so hard — we were glad we weren’t doing it! So then Kenny asks me, “Do you think you could do that?” And I said, “Yeah” because I didn’t think I would have to! And he was like, “Alright, then learn it.” I looked over at Matt and he was just like, “Peace.”

AND WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER?

Well, my character and Matt’s [Prokop] character — Jimmie "The Rocket" and Donny — are basically partners in crime. You just gotta watch!

YOU’RE PLAYING A CHARACTER OLDER THAN YOU, RIGHT?

I’m actually going into high school this coming year and I’m playing a sophomore in [High School Musical]. It’s weird because initially when I had auditioned for the part, they told me that I was too short and that I wouldn’t fit with the whole high school cast. But a couple of weeks later, I got the call back and now I’m here. It just goes to say, anything’s possible! I hang around a lot of older people, so I sort of know what the high school experience is like. And I actually went to a high school when I lived in New Jersey because the school there is from seventh grade to 12th grade.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO WITH YOUR OWN HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE?

[Being] more independent. I’m not looking forward to the harder grades. I went to a public school in L.A. for eighth grade. I’ve never been home-schooled. I like being around regular, normal kids. For high school, one of the things that I talked to my parents about is that I wanted to go to a regular school so I can get that high school experience that every kid should be able to experience.

HAVE YOU SEEN THE ORIGINAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL MOVIE?

Oh, yeah. I have a little 8-year-old sister, so we used to sit down and watch them when they came on with the little dance-along. When she found out that I got this part, she flipped out! She’s like, “Oh, my big brother’s going to be in High School Musical 3!” She’s back home in Atlanta with my dad, and when I talk to her, she’s always like, “So, how’s Corbin?” And I’m like, “He’s good.” She’s in love with Corbin Bleu.