Debby Ryan looks really sweet on the cover of American Cheerleader magazine's October issue.
Last I wrote about behind the scene of shooting her fashion shoot. Now I'm posting official pictures of the photo shoot & an interview ...
AC: What was your favorite thing about cheerleading?
AC: You lived in two huge cheer states: Texas and Alabama. What’s cheer like there?
Debby: It’s intense. I was on drill team in high school—we didn’t work hand in hand with the cheerleaders, but we very much complemented each other. And we really looked up to the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. It’s very important to keep uniformity. When I moved back to Texas from Germany, cheer was more like a performance. Practices, football games, pep rallies, when you’re sitting in the stands, how you conduct yourself, the pictures you put on your Facebook page—it’s very much an accountability system because it’s a performance and you’re representing your school and your community.
AC: You were also a mascot at one time, too. What was that like?
Debby: I was the wildcat and the uniform was an old panther costume that was falling apart. I’d have to hot glue the face back on every three weeks. It was so bad. So, I did a bunch of fundraising to get a new costume and two weeks after I left the school, they bought the new one! I was like, “Seriously?”
But, I had fun as the mascot. I organized a 30-person skit to “Beat It” by Michael Jackson, with all original choreography. It was insane! I would krump on the cheerleaders and bat at them and stuff. I got all the theater kids and half the cheerleaders involved, too. And there were props. Now, in the age of YouTube, it’ll probably pop up somewhere.
AC: Switching gears to your time on “The Suite Life on Deck,” did you feel like you found a home on the show?
Debby: I moved around a lot, so I have this whole thing with the word “home,” and settling and planting roots. And [my character] Bailey was similar in that she wanted to get to know the world, but she also never forgot where she was from.
AC: How do you feel about being so visible? Does fame ever get to you?
Debby: As a kid, I literally laid in bed in Texas, having this dream, and now it’s actually happening. At times I think I’m going to wake up and I’ll just be a girl baking brownies in my kitchen. I wouldn’t call myself a celebrity, because I kind of feel weird about that word…
AC: And along with fame comes being a role model. How does that effect you?
Debby: I’m definitely a role model, and that’s something I love; I embrace it. There are a lot of people out there who are scared of being a role model. They’re like, “I’m just a normal kid…” I’m normal in a ton of ways, but I’m also fully aware of the fact that kids see what I do, and some emulate me and it’s important to me to not let them down. I have this whole thing where I just really want to make my grandma and parents and brother proud.
AC: What do you do to make your family proud of you?
Debby: When we were in Germany, I really wanting a dog and my dad was like, “Babe, you know I work hard to give you all the things you want, but we can’t really afford a dog right now. I think groceries would be a better use of that money.” And then he got us the dog anyway and gave up meals to support us.
I’m in a place right now where I can bring my dad home a burger every once in a while or a steak or I can take him to the movies. Being able to send them to get a massage or take a day for themselves—those are the things I’m embracing as far as the celebrity realm goes. To be able to pay forward all the opportunities I’ve been given to do what I love. That’s when you’ve made it.
AC: So the buzz is that you’re Disney’s new “It Girl.” Do you feel a lot of pressure to live up to other Disney stars?
Debby: Even before the Selena’s and Demi’s and Miley’s, there was Hilary Duff and Shia LaBeouf. And sidenote—I love Raven’s career. But I feel like instead of them setting standards, it’s sort of like they’ve carved their own paths. For me, I’m all about longevity. I’m just trying to create my own little venue.
For instance, I love making music, but the way I do it is in my home studio with my brother. I’ve been writing for a while and producing new tracks and things like that. Sometimes we’ll sell them and place them with other artists, sometimes we’ll make certain ones just for movies or shows. That’s something that I do behind the scenes, because it’s just a passion. I don’t do it to have my name on it. And if I were to ever create a clothing line it wouldn’t just be generic clothes. It would be about, not only the words they say or sketches I draw on them, but also how I go about doing things and representing them.
AC: You play comedic roles well. Does this come easy for you?
Debby: It comes naturally, I guess. I watched a lot of comedies growing up, like “Friends” and “Laverne and Shirley” and “I Love Lucy.” I studied Jim Carrey and Robin Williams—people who have absolutely no boundaries when it comes to comedy and are totally willing to do anything even if it makes them look like idiots. Watching Amanda Bynes growing up instilled something in me, a feeling of not caring about what you look like or being hot, but literally just making people laugh and smile.
I guess it’s all about wanting to make people laugh and finding more ways to do it. And now with helping to produce “Jessie,” I’m kind of finding it a little better. It’s a little more effortless.
AC: I read somewhere that you like making gluten-free brownies. Are you gluten-free yourself?
Debby: I’m not, but I have a lot of people in my life who have had gluten allergies that have just popped up. There’s a woman in my life who’s very organic and she gave me this mix for gluten-free brownies, and they rocked my world! So I make them a lot, and I’ve been promising them to people on the set.
(Wow! I have a celiac disease! It makes me so happy, that someone of my fave celebs knows about the disease I have! :') )
I need to be more domestic. I was talking to my mom about my future husband and was like, “Here’s the thing, he just needs to be OK with eating hot wings.” Now, because of the brownies I’m like, “I can bake! could totally do that.” I’m also good at pasta and great at cereal.
AC: You’re involved with a bunch of different charities. Can you tell us about them?
Debby: I’ve always been a big supporter of the Ronald McDonald House, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and City of Hope. I’m also going to create a charity within the next couple of years, so I can channel it all into one thing.
I’ve been looking into supporting orphanages in LA and other big cities lately. A lot of them are shutting down and the kids aren’t being given tools for the future. I’d really like to get involved with that, whether it’s just going to an orphanage once a week and visiting with the kids. When I lived in Texas the second time, I’d go to nursing homes and paint the residents’ nails and it taught me a lot about serving others.
AC: What’s one thing that people might not know about you?
Debby: Well, I’m a chess nut. I also rearrange my bedroom furniture every six months. I lock myself in my room and don’t come out until it’s different. I moved around a lot when I was younger, so I have this whole thing with settling into a place. I also have an obsession with glow-in-the-dark stars, the cheap plastic ones, and tee-pees.
AC: You play a nanny on “Jessie.” Were you ever a babysitter?
Debby: Recently one of my producers needed a sitter and I was like, “Do you need me?” She was like “Um, I’ll get back to you?” Ha ha. I’m great with kids! Give me your children, I swear it’ll be great.
AC: We heard a little rumor that you were one of the first “Beliebers.” Is it true that you were the one who introduced Justin’s music to the rest of your “Suite Life” cast?
Debby: It’s true! I write a music blog and I’m kind of a YouTube creep. So, I saw this little kid singing “With You” by Chris Brown and I was obsessed with him. I thought he was super precious and very vocally talented. I ran around on set with my iPhone showing people Justin Bieber. Everyone was like, “Oh my gosh, he’s amazing!” A couple months later his music video with Usher came out and I was like, “No fair!” It’s just so cool to watch the whole thing happen.
AC: If you weren’t acting, what do you think you’d be doing?
Debby: I had all intentions of going to medical school, but I’m not sure I could have sat through eight years of school. But I’d definitely be heading to college right now. I took a photo journalism class when I was a freshman in high school and loved it. I’ve been taking amateur photos ever since, so maybe I’d pursue that. If I was forced to quit acting, I’d probably produce music full-time.
AC: Your interests are sort of all over the place. Do you feel like acting is the ultimate job for you, because you can play anyone you want?
Debby: I definitely don’t succumb to the idea of one person being defined by one thing, so I think acting is great for that mindset. Even when I was a dancer, I wasn’t like, “I’m a dancer.” So far in my career, I’ve wanted to travel more and playing a character who goes to school on a cruise ship was perfect for that. So, I guess it’s a blessing to be able to be different girls to tell stories.
AC: Did people ever think that you and Cole were dating off-screen because of your characters on “Suite Life?” Did you get any backlash from that?
Debby: Initially I did. Some people were like, “Who’s this new girl?” Now I get the sweetest messages from Cole fans like, “We wouldn’t let anyone date Cole, except you!” They’ve totally welcomed me into this whole Sprouse fandom, which is cool. I was actually the first “Suite Life” cast member on Twitter, and kind of influenced the guys to get on there, so people are really happy about that.
I actually got more backlash from the fact that Ashley Tisdale had left and I was being partnered with Brenda [Song] and people saw me as her replacement. I’m also friends with a guy who was in a band and on a show on Nickelodeon, and their fans are really hardcore. We’ll go out to coffee sometimes and people will be like, “Stop talking to my boyfriend!”
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