Sharpay was focused on bopping to the top, but Gabriella? Eh, not so much, according to Ashley Tisdale.
Famous for bringing East High School's Drama Club President Sharpay Evans to life, the High School Musical alum recently weighed in on the stark difference she saw between her character and Vanessa Hudgens' Gabriella Montez.
"It's funny because a lot of young kids did react. You know, they loved Sharpay," she recalled in a Good Morning America interview. "And I remember Disney being like, 'Why do the kids love this character? She's supposed to be the villain.'"
While she was the antagonist, youngsters recognized a quality they admired. "They had shown it to a couple of kids," Tisdale explained. "An 8-year-old was like, 'I love it because she knows what she wants and she goes and gets it,' and I was like, 'She totally understands! This 8-year-old understands this.'"
Since the first High School Musical movie came two years after Mean Girls, Tisdale drew inspiration from unapologetic queen bee Regina George, made famous by Rachel McAdams. "You love these characters," Tisdale said, "and you want to see more of them on-screen, so I wanted Sharpay to be the same way."
In Tisdale's case, Sharpay wanted to rule the stage. "The entire time she was just business-driven. She just wanted to work and do the musicals," she said of her character. "Gabriella was off with Troy just wanting to chase a relationship."
Frenemies to the end, it seems. Now, what time is it? Time for some secrets from behind the scenes of the hit Disney franchise. All you have to do is keep scrolling.