__________________

You may think the first time you ever saw Ryne Sanborn was in the High School Musical series, but you probably saw him years before and didn’t even know it. When Ryne was 13, he was the Child of Light at the Opening Ceremony at the 2002 Winter Olympics! Ryne skated across the ice, lighting all the handheld lanterns until the entire Olympic stadium was engulfed in bright lights. Another tidbit we bet you didn’t know—Kenny Ortega, the director and choreographer of the HSM movies, was the person who picked Ryne for the Olympics! So when Kenny was casting High School Musical, he ran into a familiar face at the Utah location auditions. That may have opened the door, but Ryne had to prove that he could handle the role of Jason in the musical—which he did three times over, considering he’s about to head back to Utah to film High School Musical 3. When we talked to Ryne, he was really looking forward to reuniting with the cast of HSM. He told us all about his career, his friends, and life after HSM. Read on! Q: You started modeling at age 2, right? Ryne: Yes. My mom had heard about a modeling job, and she thought it would be a cool experience, something for me to enjoy when I was really little. She brought me to a few gigs and I loved it, even at that age! So I just kept doing it. Q: Do you remember when you really started thinking that acting was something that you wanted to pursue? Ryne: I never really looked at it like I wanted to be an actor when I grew up. I’ve always been more of an athlete than anything, so I’ve always wanted to be a hockey player. I’ve been an actor just because I loved acting. I tried to take it as far as I could. I think High School Musical was when I really realized that this is something that I could do for the rest of my life. Q: How did you meet Kenny Ortega? Did you meet through the 2002 Olympics ceremony? Ryne: Yes. I met him in the auditions. At my third audition for the event, he pulled me aside and said, “I want to talk to you for a second.” He brought me back into a room with a bunch of other people from the Salt Lake committee, and that was when he told me he wanted me to do the Child of Light part. Q: What is the most important thing Kenny taught you? Ryne: It is that no matter what you do, no matter your dreams or your experience or your background, you can pretty much do anything you want if you set your mind to it. And I say that because, you know, I was an athlete. I never imagined I would be dancing. Dancing and athletics are very different. I never thought I could do it. Every time I got frustrated with something and didn’t feel like I could get a dance move down, he was always there to be encourage me to keep trying and keep practicing. He always said that the more time you put into something, the easier it’s going to come. And so through the course of the first and second movie, he was always there to push me a little bit harder. And in the end, it paid off. I remember him saying to me during “What Time Is It?” the big opening number, that he was extremely proud of me because I wasn’t just out there dancing, I had become a dancer. Q: Do you have a favorite dance movie? Ryne: Absolutely. My favorite musical, probably of all time, is Newsies. I love how the camera will be way back and you can see hundreds of people and they’re all doing their own thing. It just looks like a big party, but it’s a dance. That’s what I love about Newsies. Q: Hockey was your first love. Have you been to professional hockey games? Ryne: The only game I’ve ever actually seen was the Los Angeles Kings and the Mighty Ducks. Q: What position do you play? Ryne: I either play center or right wing. Q: What are the most goals you’ve ever scored in a game? Ryne: In one of my high school games, I got six goals and two assists. Q: Are you planning to go to college? Ryne: Absolutely. I’d like to major in architecture. I took some architectural drafting classes and completely loved them. If I did want to major in something, it would definitely be architecture. Q: What appeals to you about architecture? Ryne: I think just designing something nobody’s ever seen before would be cool. I’ve always wanted to design a house that I could build for myself. I love drawing. I love using my imagination, so I think I can come up with some pretty cool things. STAR CALENDAR February 2008 Ryne starts filming High School Musical 3 in Utah STAR STATS Name: Ryne Sanborn (named after National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ryne Sandberg) Birthday: February 3, 1989 Birthplace: Salt Lake City, Utah Sibling: younger sister, Danielle Pets: Golden retriever, Lexus, and husky, Maya STAR FAVES Fave Sports: Hockey. baseball, basketball Fave Midnight Snack: egg sandwich Fave TV Show: Scrubs Fave Fast Food: McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets

__________________

[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][COLOR="DarkRed"][SIZE="1"][FONT="Georgia"]I was desperate to just start fresh,
just be a f a c e in.the.crowd,
where no one knew me.
Sometimes we just need that.

__________________

__________________

[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][COLOR="DarkRed"][SIZE="1"][FONT="Georgia"]I was desperate to just start fresh,
just be a f a c e in.the.crowd,
where no one knew me.
Sometimes we just need that.

__________________

__________________

[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][COLOR="DarkRed"][SIZE="1"][FONT="Georgia"]I was desperate to just start fresh,
just be a f a c e in.the.crowd,
where no one knew me.
Sometimes we just need that.

__________________

[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][COLOR="DarkRed"][SIZE="1"][FONT="Georgia"]I was desperate to just start fresh,
just be a f a c e in.the.crowd,
where no one knew me.
Sometimes we just need that.

__________________

[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][COLOR="DarkRed"][SIZE="1"][FONT="Georgia"]I was desperate to just start fresh,
just be a f a c e in.the.crowd,
where no one knew me.
Sometimes we just need that.

__________________

[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][COLOR="DarkRed"][SIZE="1"][FONT="Georgia"]I was desperate to just start fresh,
just be a f a c e in.the.crowd,
where no one knew me.
Sometimes we just need that.

__________________

__________________

[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][COLOR="DarkRed"][SIZE="1"][FONT="Georgia"]I was desperate to just start fresh,
just be a f a c e in.the.crowd,
where no one knew me.
Sometimes we just need that.