Mandy Moore

Spotlight by: Andrea Tuccillo
AndreaTuccillo@TheCinemaSource.com

Mandy Moore has found success in two separate careers'acting and singing'but to hear her tell it, she's still got a long way to go. This grounded young star is a true professional when it comes to her work, refusing to fall into the trappings of fame like so many of her peers. Instead, she prefers to keep her personal life low-key, avoiding any unnecessary media attention. It's just not her style. Mature beyond her 23 years, she knows her place in this business and she's staying put.

'Right now for me it's about finding the balance between work and a private life,' she says of her busy schedule. 'Any personal downtime, I haven't had much of that lately. But that's ok, I feel lucky to have a full plate. I think it's like anybody else who is busy, it's just about prioritizing. Right now it's a little crazy because the film and my record are coming out simultaneously.'

The film she is speaking of is License to Wed, where she plays a bride-to-be who ends up in a grueling marriage preparation course with her fianc'. The film has her acting opposite two funny men, Robin Williams and John Krasinski, which proved to be a laugh-filled experience.

'John and Robin played really well off each other and I know my place, I'm not a comedian!' she says. 'So I'm like cool, I'm going to stand back here with the crew and sort of watch the show in front of us. But it was one of the best experiences I've had making a movie because I'd just got to go to work everyday and laugh! And hopefully not laugh when I wasn't supposed to, but that ended up happening too.'

Moore is also extremely proud of her new album, Wild Hope, a collection of her most personal songs yet. 'I co-wrote the whole thing,' she explains. 'It's sort of a folk-y pop record and it's sort of reflective of the music I listen to, a lot of singer/songwriter stuff, just very live sounding.'

It's certainly a departure from anything she's recorded thus far, but she was determined to get it made. 'I think in comparison to any of the original material I've put out it's kind of night and day,' Moore says. 'It's most definitely a scaled down version of anything I've ever done. It's not as produced and glossy. I've been pretty vocal about not really liking some of the stuff I've done in the past but this is something I really stand behind'this is the record I've waited for, I left two labels to make it.'

If Moore seems dedicated to her career, it's because she is. She refuses to have her face plastered on tabloids and shies away from the flashing bulbs of the paparazzi.

'I'm serious about my job and I feel lucky to be in this position and I would never want to do anything that would take away from that,' she says. 'It's also just not who I am. It's my job to be professional and I don't really subscribe to living out my life in a really public way. I want to do what I love to do and go home at the end of the day, and people leave me be because of it. I've never put myself out there in any real way and I think it has worked out to my advantage because people leave me alone.'

She may avoid the Hollywood hotspots, but she still knows how to go out and have a good time. 'There are many restaurants and places to go and enjoy the nightlife here in Los Angeles and you know where there are people waiting to take your picture when you walk outside and you know that there are low-key places too,' she says. 'If I want to go out with my friends and have a good time, you can bet that I'll be choosing the latter.'

Moore also knows how to choose her acting roles. 'I think you look out for a great character and a juicy role but those are few and far between so, I've been lucky that I've had a couple of those in the last few years and hopefully there are more down the line,' she says. 'But I also have fun playing characters like Sadie [in License to Wed] and my character in Because I Said So because I feel like they're closer to who I am so I get to have fun with it and live out the fantasy of getting the guy in the end.'

Moore's own fantasies involve some exciting goals for the future. She doesn't want to be defined by her job, and loves the fact that there is so much more to life.

'There are things I want to do,' she says matter-of-factly. 'I want to take French lessons because I would love to live in Paris one day soon, I want to take guitar lessons, I want to take cooking classes, I want to start training to be a better hiker because I want to climb Mount Kilimanjaro one day, I'd like to take flying lessons'my Dad's a pilot and he just got a little baby plane and I want him to teach me how to fly. So I have all these lofty ideas and goals.'

She adds, 'I like spontaneity, I love traveling and I love the idea that there's so much more outside of what I do to my life. There's the potential to do whatever I want to do.'