Ryne Sanborn

Starring in High School Musical 3 as the lovable Jason, Ryne Sanborn chats about the most surreal moments from the last two years and reveals what the cast does when they’re not shooting.

YOU STARTED WITH A FEW LINES IN THE FIRST HSM AND ARE NOW PART OF A BIG-SCREEN MOVIE. WHAT DOES THAT FEEL LIKE?

I can’t even believe it. The fun thing about how far we’ve come and the success that we’ve experienced with each other is that it doesn’t feel much different. I mean, we’re making a motion picture so we have to work a little bit harder, but it’s still the same sort of family. We come to rehearsals and hang out, we’re dancing, just having a good time and making another movie.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS DO WHEN YOU’RE NOT WORKING?

We mostly just hang out and have fun chilling in our rooms. We’ve been watching a lot of movies. I just saw Sweeney Todd for the first time and I was so impressed. It’s cool to watch a musical like that when we’re filming one like we are. We also go shopping a lot in Park City, UT. Chris Warren is the biggest shopper of the group. He doesn’t really hesitate, he just sees something that he likes and there isn’t that in-between — he just gets it. I’m very specific. If I see something that I like, I have to check all of the other stores first to make sure there isn’t something else that I like.

WHAT’S BEEN THE MOST SURREAL ASPECT OF YOUR HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL EXPERIENCE?

I would have to say the fans. Every time we go somewhere, I see how intense the fans are about the movie. I remember when we did the Christmas Day parade in Walt Disney World, there was this little girl who started bawling after she got some of our autographs. I didn’t really know what to think of it because it’s kind of like, “Why is she crying?” But after I realized that it was because she loved us that much and she didn’t want to ever leave us, it was cool.

WHAT DO YOU REGRET NOT HAVING DONE IN HIGH SCHOOL?

I missed a lot of dances. I missed Sweethearts — when the girl asks you. The girl asked me and I had to say no because we were shooting. There are just so many random, fun moments at dances that I didn’t get to experience and all my friends did.

FINALLY, WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS NOW?

I love the Sweeney Todd sound track, which I downloaded right after I saw the movie. My favorite is the beginning song, when they’re coming home on the boat. He’s singing how the world is a great, black pit and the lyrics in it are so amazing. I was so impressed with Johnny Depp. I didn’t know he could sing like that. And I also love all of Chris Brown’s stuff. “With You” is phenomenal. His videos are amazing — they’re always so original. Right from the beginning he set a really high bar and he just keeps upping it.