Matt Prokop

The newest addition to the High School Musical cast sits down for his first CosmoGirl interview to talk about the moment that he found out he landed this dream role, the most stressful part of shooting, and how he feels about people calling him the next Zac Efron!

HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU GOT THIS ROLE IN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR?

I had to get my oil changed, so in that 30 minutes, I was walking around downtown Burbank [California] trying to find something to do and Kenny Ortega called me. The second that I answered the phone, everything went wrong. A bus drove by and an airplane flew over, so I couldn’t hear the first minute of the conversation. So finally, I get into Subway and I’m talking to him in the corner and that’s where I found out. I was freaking out and my friend who was with me was like, “Did you get it? Did you get it?” And it turned out that I did. I had gone through the audition and then the callback, mix-and-match, and then the screen test. It was a four-audition process. I think over 2,000 kids auditioned for the role, so it was a really big honor.

WHO WAS THE FIRST PERSON YOU CALLED WHEN YOU FOUND OUT?

I called my mom and she didn’t believe me. She had to call my agent and find out from him. She thought I was joking because every time I have good news, I always call her and pretend that it’s bad, and by the time that I finally convince her that I didn’t get it, I’m like, “Okay, I did!” So she was like, “Wait! Did you or didn’t you? Okay, I’m calling your agent!” And she hung up and called him. It was hilarious.

WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE COMING INTO HSM SINCE IT’S ALREADY SUCH A SENSATION?

I got off the airplane not knowing what to expect, and an hour after being in Utah, I was in the recording studio doing the songs. It’s been crazy but I love every moment of it. I figured that I was going to be the slowest one to catch on to everything — especially basketball — because I found out that Kenny doesn’t fake shots. We really had to make the shots. That was probably the most difficult part about rehearsals. Zac is just incredible and Chris has got his jump shot down like no other. But I’m picking it up and I’m definitely catching up!

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER.

He’s basically your average sophomore who really doesn’t know what he wants to do. He wants to be just like Troy Bolton and yet he’s not him. He’s a little bit more awkward, and has more of a quirky personality than the more laid-back Troy Bolton.

PEOPLE ARE CALLING YOU THE NEXT ZAC EFRON ALREADY — HOW DOES THAT FEEL?

It’s pretty crazy. I’m going to take it how it goes and if that’s the way that it goes, then hey, why not! He’s had an awesome career. I actually met Zac because he did a movie with my roommate, who played his son in Seventeen Again. We’ve been hanging out with him for the past four or five months. The whole time that I was doing the audition process, I was trying to call him, but he was in London and couldn’t talk on his cell phone. Everyone kept asking if he was the one who got me the role and I was like, “No, I didn’t even talk to him throughout the auditions.”