“He is insane. He is so funny," Ashley disclosed. “During our serious moments, I just couldn’t keep a straight face because he always makes me laugh. It was so amazing working with him."
Ashley, who is reprising her popular character in the Disney Channel original movie, “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure," couldn’t contain her excitement as she talked about Filipino-American comedian Alec, who portrays Gill Samms, the stressed out director of the Broadway show.
Alec, who is known for his television roles in “Ugly Betty" and “Desperate Housewives," has also appeared on the big screen in “Marley & Me," “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan" and “Tru Loved." On Broadway, Alec is recognized for his portrayal of “M. Butterfly."Misadventures of Sharpay
Also starring Austin Butler (“JONAS") and Cameron Goodman (“Mad Men" and “NCIS"), the Michael Lembeck (“The Santa Clause 2")-helmed television movie tells of the misadventures of Sharpay as she travels to New York to pursue a Broadway career but instead realizes that it’s her dog, Boi, who gets the role and not her.
Portraying her perky Yorkshire terrier, Boi, are two newcomer dogs who were trained for the role — newbies Howie and Herbie. “They are a lot of fun and they are really great," Ashley said. “They are brand new. They have not done a movie before. It’s definitely harder to work with them because they are very rambunctious. But they were fun!"
For this television movie, Ashley also wears “two hats" — as an actor and as an executive producer.
“It was really challenging to be wearing two hats," she admitted. “It was a big learning experience for me. In 2008, I put up my own production company, Blondie Girl Productions, and I have been developing TV series, reality series, and movies."
“It is so crazy because as the lead actor, you have to be in the moment. As an executive producer, you have to step out of the moment. As an actress, I wear my diva hat. Then as an executive producer, I wear by big decisions hat," Ashley continued.
