Ashley Tisdale stands front and center on the September/October 2010 cover of American Cheerleader magazine.

The 25-year-old actress opens up to the mag about the sport, her new CW series Hellcats and the crazy Hollywood fame. Check it:

On blocking out the Hollywood life: “It’s not normal to have people constantly talking about you and having paparazzi and all that craziness. You have to block it out and live your life as normally as you can.”

On her new series: “It’s dramatic with some great cheers and really good energy. I have a really good feeling about it.”

On being a cheerleader: “I was really shy when I was younger and cheerleading helped me come out of my shell.” (She was a Spartan cheerleader in Ocean Township, NJ.)

On her newfound respect for the sport: “To anyone who thinks cheerleading isn’t a sport, I can definitely tell you that it is.”

On dating someone who isn’t an actor: “I don’t really date other actors. I think they’re great, but I like being with someone who has different interests than I do. At the end of the day, I want to be able to go home and talk about other things.”

Ash‘s American Cheerleader cover will hit stands on Tuesday, August 31st and Hellcats premieres on Wednesday, September 8th @ 9PM ET/PT on the CW.