Olivia Rodrigo Gets Candid About the Pressures of Joining the 'High School Musical' Franchise

Olivia Rodrigo looks stunning in a snap from her shoot for Mood magazine’s winter/spring issue, available now.

Here’s what the 16-year-old High School Musical: The Musical: The Series actress had to share with the mag:

On the end of Bizaardvark: “I started that work when I was 12 years old and kind of grew up on that show and grew up with all my castmates. So, having [the series end] is actually quite hard with a very emotional, definitive end of a chapter. But it was such a great experience and you know, everybody tells me don’t cry…because it happened. I try to have that mindset about the whole last season. I…took the lessons that I learned from that set throughout my whole life and I’m still best friends with so many people that I met on the show. So, yeah it was a great experience.”

On the pressure of filling the shoes of the original HSM: “Yeah that’s definitely real pressure from being a part of this amazing franchise. I’m like oh gosh am I doing it right? It’s such a nostalgic prospect franchise for people including me. After reading the whole script and talking to all the writers and amazing showrunners I had so much to talk to them about what we were doing. What they said to me is they’re not remaking it at all because there is just no way you could makeover High School Musical. There is no way to recapture that lightning in a bottle that franchise was. It was a totally new, modern, different twist, honestly, while still paying respect to the movies put me at ease. So, I think when people realize we’re doing a new thing they’ll be able to accept it.”

On her favorite memory on set: “We had so much fun! I think my favorite memory with all of us was my birthday. I turned 16 on set and so everybody took me to go roller-skating in Utah. My best friend actually flew out from LA to come and surprise me in Utah at the roller-skating rink. We all just skated around, had so much fun, and the DJ at the roller ring played my favorite music and it was just a ball. I remember feeling in the moment. I was where I belonged which was a really nice feeling.”

For more from Olivia Rodrigo, visit moodmagazine.co.