NEED TO KNOW
- Lucas Grabeel opened up in a new interview about his time as a struggling actor before he was cast as Ryan in High School Musical
- Grabeel said he had $3 in his bank account after his car got rear-ended
- Grabeel also reflected on the audition for the film and the day job he quit once he got cast
Lucas Grabeel really needed his High School Musical job — and paycheck.
Grabeel, who played Ryan Evans in the trilogy of films, opened up about his life as a working actor in Los Angeles on the June 4 episode of Ned’s Declassified Podcast Survival Guide, hosted by Devon Werkheiser, Daniel Curtis Lee and Lindsey Shaw.
On the podcast, Grabeel, 40, reflected that 20 years ago this June, they were just starting to film the now-beloved film in Utah. But none of them “knew how massive” the movies would become when the first was released in 2006.
Grabeel told the hosts that before HSM, he appeared in Halloweentown High, released in 2004. “I recognized and knew how lucky I was to have that string of very early successes,” he said, “But after Halloweentown, I had to go back to work at Blockbuster.”
“That was a real amazing dose of humility because the movie came out. It was on the shelf,” he said. His character was on the cover, and a kid recognized him. Grabeel remembered telling him, “Let this be a lesson, kid. Not every actor’s a millionaire. And I’m struggling, but thank you so much for reminding me.”
Grabeel booked a handful of guest spots, but otherwise his acting career was “crickets.” “It was really rough,” he said. He felt at least a little prepared, though, because mentors had warned him when he went out to Los Angeles that the “real trick” to success was making it through the “valleys” of a career.
“And it was hard,” he said. “I had $3 in my account. I got rear-ended, and my car was held together with bungee cords and duct tape.”
It was in the middle of those money struggles that he tried out for the film. He was originally called in to read for Troy Bolton, the role Zac Efron ultimately landed. Director Kenny Ortega reportedly told him, “You’re great, but you’re no Troy. You’re a Ryan. Go outside and learn these new sides and come back in.”
Grabeel remembered an eight-hour audition where the actors vying to play Ryan, Troy, Gabriella and Sharpay were put through the paces as they danced, sang and acted in different pairs.
“It was intense and crazy,” he remembered. “And at the end of the day, it was like me and two other guys for Ryan.” It was “over a month” before Grabeel got the call to head out to Utah for filming.
“I was like, oh, thank god. I don’t have to sell my car and walk everywhere,” he said. He also quit his job at Blockbuster, even though he was a “great employee” and his boss had been trying to promote him to manager.
“I was like, ‘I’m really kind of focusing on the acting thing.’ And he’s like, ‘Lucas, this is a really hard business. I’ve seen a lot of people come in here with super high hopes,’ ” he remembered. But Grabeel thought, “I might have to go back and get another job after High School Musical ends shooting, but it’s not going to be a Blockbuster.”
Once High School Musical premiered, it became a massive success. The cast also included Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella, Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay, Corbin Bleu as Chad and Monique Coleman as Taylor. The sequel, 2007’s High School Musical 2, premiered with 17.2 million viewers, making it, at the time, the most-watched cable broadcast ever. The third film, 2008’s High School Musical 3: Senior Year, received a theatrical release and made over $250 million. Grabeel also appeared in the 2011 spin-off Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure.
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Grabeel also appeared in the meta Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, including in a scene that finally confirmed Ryan is gay.
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