'High School Musical' Star Ashley Tisdale Is Ready To Pass The Torch To New Co-Stars

Ashley Tisdale's role as Sharpay Evans borders on the absurd, and playing that kind of comedic character provided her with the skills she needs now that it's time for the cast of "High School Musical" to graduate on to bigger and better things. Tisdale's first post-"HSM" role is in the comedy "They Came From Upstairs."

"It's an action comedy, and I get to have my first action scene," she excitedly told MTV News. "It was a lot of fun, and I want to do more action scenes. It was very exciting.

"I got to beat the crap out of an alien. I look kind of crazy looking at the [footage] without the CGI there," she explained. "We have some great comedians, and Kevin Nealon, who always cracked us up on set."

Much like her "HSM" castmates, Tisdale isn't sure that she would return to East High, despite mumblings that Sharpay has an open-ended story line. "We don't really know anything about 'HSM 4,' actually," she said. "It's flattering to leave the door open for a character, so that's really awesome.

"I'm just kind of looking forward to other projects as well," she continued. "It's something that we've always loved to do, but I have a film coming out in January that is completely opposite, and [we're looking forward to] growing in our careers and looking ahead."

When one cast leaves, another cast gets its big chance at stardom. Tisdale has a lot of hope for the future of "HSM" now that she's leaving it in the new class' very capable hands. "I think they're great. We really embraced them," she said of the new kids.

But while she praises the new cast, she warns that no one can ever take the place of the original characters. "As much as I feel like they'll fill our shoes, I don't feel like they'll fill our characters' shoes. There's only one Gabriella, one Troy, one Sharpay. [But] they're really great kids, and they're just as passionate about the movie as we are."

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(AP)