Ashley Tisdale, the new face of this snack for guys called "Cracker Jack'd," sat down with BuzzFeed Fashion to discuss fitness, snacks, and why she doesn't work out with Zac Efron (based on our conversation, no, I don't think she's certifiably insane at all, which is how rejecting an invitation to work out with Zac probably sounds).
So this "Cracker Jack'd" is a fitness product? I think they said it had something to do with fitness.
Ashley Tisdale: Oh, really? It's a spinoff of the original Cracker Jack, but it's Cracker Jack'd. Frito Lay, when they asked me to be a part of it, I tried it, and I really like it. My favorite's the peanut butter and chocolate.
With summer just about here, do you worry about bikini-body paparazzi shots?
AT: Not really. I mean, I'm always working out, and I'm someone who doesn't like to live my life based on photographers being outside my house. I'm actually most comfortable when I'm in a bikini, running around on the beach, like, no makeup. It's really free-feeling, whereas I'm always having to get dressed up and putting makeup on.
So you don't worry about a nasty Daily Mail headline or something?
AT: No. It's so funny — people are always like, "Oh my gosh, what do you do to get ready?" And half the time on vacation if I'm in a bikini, I allow myself — I eat like waffles and pancakes for breakfast, so that's me after, like, a big meal. I'm not the one that's like, "Oh my gosh, I'm going to be on the beach." And all the time people ask me like, "Oh my god, what did you do to get ready for the red carpet? And I'm like, "I just had Thai food." I love to work out and do cardio and have a healthy, active lifestyle, but I also am not going to, like, freak out over food.
Do you work out with Zac Efron?
AT: I haven't talked to him in so long. He's been doing movie after movie after movie, so he's been, like, MIA for the last couple months. But I talked to him two months ago — he texted me. But I mean, his workouts are really different compared to mine, so I would never. He's like, "Come over to the house! Let's work out!" And I'm like, "No."
What? Why?
AT: It's just like, a dude's workout compared to a chick's workout. I'm into light weight training, and he's into heavy weight training. But everybody from High School Musical, we're all still really close; we're like a family.
Have you seen Spring Breakers?
AT: I thought it was really good. I thought that the girls were, you know, really great in it, and they had really strong performances. I'm super proud of them.
Do you feel like it's a rite of passage for actresses go from Disney to these very "sexy" roles?
AT: For me as an actress, I don't go looking for "What's that sexy role?" For me, I just find characters that I really enjoy and scripts that I really love, and I want to push myself out of my comfort zone. But I don't think it's just because we come from Disney — I mean Disney, yes, was a start for a lot of us, but I had a career before Disney and I'll continue to have a career after Disney. I've been in the business since I was 3. People think that was the first thing I ever did, and I'm like, no.
You were pretty high up on the Maxim Hot 100 list.
AT: Yeah, I think number seven. Just because it's, like, my lucky number I remembered that.
What was that like for you? Do you see yourself as sexy?
AT: No. I mean, I'm confident, but I'm not like, "Ooh you're sexy." It's, like, the weirdest thing ever to say about yourself. I'm a confident person. I just try to be me. I like to make people laugh, I am a comedienne — so if people find me sexy, that's awesome.
Is it weird for your family to see you in those kinds of photo shoots?
AT: Probably for my dad, yeah. He's like, "That's weird." My mom came by the set that day. I like to step out of my comfort zone, but I definitely care what my parents think. She was actually fine — I've done worse that that. I've done an Allure photo shoot where I was naked.
Allure has a lot of nudity.
AT: That was much more nerve-wracking, and she was there for that too. But I'm really proud of the Maxim photo shoot because I wanted to do something different than just being in lingerie like they always do. So I wanted it at the beach because that really represents, I think, who I am. So when I got to rock, like, leather jackets and bathing suits, I felt like it was definitely more my style.
What was the Allure shoot like?
AT: It was really quiet and a private set. The photographer, who is like an amazing photographer, made it very comfortable. It was nerve-wracking for a minute but it was so quick.
Did they let you wear nude underwear or anything? Sometimes they just Photoshop panties out.
AT: There was no Photoshopping in that one. The reason why I did that was because it's all about being comfortable in a woman's body. I would never do that again.
