Brenda Song Gets a Boogie Town Break

Brenda Song recently sat down to chat with Scholastic magazine to dish on her Disney Channel series, The Suite Life on Deck, her hushed awards and break-dancing in Boogie Town. Check out what the 21-year-old actress had to say:

On being mean girl, London Tipton, on The Suite Life on Deck: “It’s actually really funny. London was actually just the mean girl. And I was like, ‘I don’t want to be the mean girl forever.’ So I watched Legally Blonde, I bought Paris Hilton’s book, I watched Megan Mullally [from Will & Grace], and I was like, ‘I’d rather be dumb than mean. I’d rather be oblivious.’”

On learning to dance on the Boogie Town set: “Five Styles and Shane Sparks choreographed this movie and they are amazing dancers. Marques Houston has been dancing his whole life. He’s the lead guy. I’m his love interest. So let me tell you, it is so amazing to go see the rehearsals and they do this whole dance number and Marques already picked it all up. And I’m like, ‘Hold on a second! Hold on!’ I don’t have to do a lot of dancing, thank goodness, but I have a new found respect for dancers. It’s so amazing. There’s wire works. It’s going to be really, really fun. We’re actually not done shooting it yet. We had to put it on hold because of On Deck, so we’ll have to finish shooting it, but hopefully soon.

On her favorite books to read: “A Wrinkle in Time. I love that book. Twilight, because who shouldn’t read that book? Literally, I can go to a bookstore and pick up a book and read it. I really feel like there are no bad books out there. Everybody has a story to tell and I want to give everybody that chance.”

On representing other Asian actresses in Hollywood: “It’s been sobering to hear the response because for me it was really difficult growing up, going into auditions. I didn’t see a lot of Asian-Americans growing up besides Jackie Chan, and I wasn’t a boy! So it was really tough…It’s not even about being an Asian-American actress. It’s not about what you look like, but it’s about what you do …and so I think that’s where people get kind of mixed up. It’s that you’re putting yourself in a label. You have to let it go and just say, ‘No, it’s not about that. It’s about what’s in here.’ God made us different for a reason. Half the time, you do it yourself and you hold yourself back because of course it’s hard, because sometimes I’ll go, ‘Ah! They’re not looking for an Asian actress!’ But if I always thought that way, I wouldn’t even [want to audition]…You don’t realize how much it is you hold yourself back when you put yourself in a mindset…it’s all about a change of attitude. And that’s how I feel in everything in life. It’s all about perspective.”