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Hairspray: ELLE sits down with its stars!
Hairspray heroines chat about their big dreams and even bigger hair.
By Mary Dickie
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Blonsky was equally smitten with her on-screen mother. "He gives off this incredibly gentle, sweet, kind vibe, and you just want to be with him all the time," says Blonsky, laughing. "When John walked on-set as Edna, it was like, 'Oh, my God, he's the perfect mom!'"
On the surface, Hairspray might seem like a frothy, frivolous concoction, but its deeper themes of self-acceptance and tolerance resonated with both Blonsky and Bynes. "As much as it is set in 1962, we still deal with a lot of these same issues today," says Blonsky. "I researched the historical events that were happening at that time in the city, and it helped put a new spin on it for me. Prejudice is still an issue we have to deal with. It was great to play a character who deals with it first-hand and who wants to help. I'm just so honoured to be playing a character who believes in the same things that I believe in."
"It was really cool to be able to play a character in a different time," adds Bynes. "I wish I was still in the 1960s now, 'cause it was a simpler time. Everybody kind of grooved to music, and it just seems like it was a fun time to have lived. Plus, it's a great story, and the message still really matters today -- you know, about how it doesn't matter what you weigh and that love doesn't care."
While L.A.-raised Bynes has appeared in lots of movies and plays, Hairspray is her first movie musical. "It wasn't more challenging -- just different," she says. "I had to rehearse not just the acting but also the singing and the dancing as well. But I think that when you like to act, singing and dancing are in the same vein, you know? So it was fun. Actually, it was more fun than just acting. I wish I could do it all the time."
Bynes' next film is Sydney White, due out next year. "It's based on Snow White, only instead of dwarfs they're dorks -- goofy guys in college," she says. "I'm growing up, and it's cool to be getting roles in college movies now."
Even so, neither Bynes nor Blonsky is planning to actually go to college anytime soon. "It's hard when you're doing what you want to do and there's so much competition," says Bynes. "There are so many people who would jump at roles, so I don't want to give up this opportunity I've got right now."
"I'm happy where I am, doing what I'm doing, so why stop now?" echoes Blonsky. "I just want to make more great movies and play more characters that mean something, not only to me but to the audience. I'm not interested in college right now. University of Hairspray -- that's where I'm going!"
Find out why Jennifer Lopez is hotter than ever!
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