Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu.Photo:Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SCAD; Jerod Harris/Getty
Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SCAD; Jerod Harris/Getty
Life imitates art — at least, according toHigh School MusicalstarLucas Grabeel, who said this week thatAshley Tisdale, who played his twin sister in the film, was much like a real-life version of her character.
Tisdale played the ambitious and dramatic Sharpay Evans to Grabeel’s Ryan Evans and like her character, the actress knew how to take charge.
During a reunion with fellowHigh School Musicalcast memberCorbin Bleuat the MegaCon fan convention in Orlando on Thursday, Feb. 6, Grabeel recounted his first meeting with Tisdale during a discussion about the beloved Disney Channel Original Movie franchise.
“I met Ashley at the callback,” Grabeel, 40, said. “We had originally had our normal audition … then we had the callback and met with the director.”
“[The director] was like, ‘Oh Lucas, You are amazing but you are no Troy. But you are a Ryan,’ " he said.
During the final, seven-hour-long audition, actors were paired up.
“I was paired with Ashley and she really pissed me off,” Grabeel said with a laugh. “This girl. I mean, this is why she got the job — she was so Sharpay. She literally, we did the scene, we came out and she’s like ‘Hey, so I really wanna, like, rehearse and go over it again.’ "
He continued: “I went to the callback and I had this, like ‘Bro, be professional.’ And that is exactly who Ryan is. He has this thing of like, ‘I have to perform, she’s driving me nuts, but I’ll keep it all inside.’ So thank you, Ashley for giving me notes.”
Lucas Grabeel and Corbin Bleu of ‘High School Musical’ at MegaCon 2025 in Orlando.Courtesy of MEGACON Orlando
Courtesy of MEGACON Orlando
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Elsewere in the discussion, Grabeel joked that he was the “grandpa” on set, as he was a bit older than some of the other cast members (Bleu, now 35, was 15 at the time of the filming of the first movie).
“I always had some physical ailment or something and talking in Olde English slang, so everyone called me ‘grandpa,’ " he said.
The film marked its 19th anniversary in January, though its stars hardly stopped, reuniting again in 2007 forHigh School Musical 2and again in 2008 forHigh School Musical 3: Senior Year.In the years since, a new class has taken over East High in Disney’sHigh School Musical: The Musical: The Series,on which several of the original stars have appeared.
The cast of ‘High School Musical 2’ in 2007; from left: Zac Efron, Monique Coleman, Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Hudgens, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu.Bob D’Amico / Disney Channel / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Bob D’Amico / Disney Channel / Courtesy: Everett Collection
In an earlier interview with PEOPLE,Bleu reminisced on the film’s legacy, saying, “it still is staggering to me how much of an impact that it continues to have.”
“There are new generations that continue to experience it, and be introduced to it,” he said, while speaking exclusively with PEOPLE backstage at his Broadway showLittle Shop of Horrors. “And I feel like at this point, it’s just a part of the musical theater canon. And I’m honestly just grateful. I’m grateful to have been a part of such a beautiful thing.”
source: people.com
