What he secretly looks for in a girl

Up Close and  Personal with Eric Lively BLAST MAGAZINE

From the cover of the Abercrombie catalog, to American Pie and now on the Disney Channel's So Weird, Eric Lively is causing a heat wave across the U.S. Check it out as we go one-on-one with this blue-eyed babe!

Blast- You just finished your first season of So Weird. How did it go? Eric - It was great. We did 26 episodes in Vancouver. The weather was pretty extreme----it got really, really cold. On the set, sometimes you have to be in a city that's warm because we're going to every city in America. We would have on a T-shirt or shorts in cold weather. Blast - In the cold weather? Eric - In the freezing cold weather. Sometimes it would be warmer in Vancouver, so we would dress lighter. But then when it was really cold, we would have to dress the same to keep continuity on the episode. It was funny, tough. I started getting into my character more. Replacing Erik's (von Detten) character, sort of, was difficult because I didn't  know exactly what they wanted and how much they wanted be to be like Erik, and how much they wanted me to be own. I had the whole season to develop my character and with this season, I'm a little more secure with it all. Blast - What can we expect from the second season? Eric - I can't tell you what to expect. You'll have to watch. Blast - Do you have any embarrassing stories from Vancouver? Eric - I became friends with this girl up in Vancouver. I actually thought we were becoming more than just friends. So we were just hanging out and I was in her car. She was driving me back to my house; we had just seen American Beauty. She had her seat belt on and I was sitting in the car talking to her, waiting for the kiss good night. Well, she leans in to take her seatbelt off, and I thought she was leaning in for a kiss. So I leaned over to kiss her and she didn't have the same idea. She kinda jerked back and looked at me. Meanwhile my eyes are half closed and I was totally in a different place. She was like, "What are you doing?" But she knew what I was doing. I was trying to play it off saying, " Where is that seat belt----oh, good, you found it," and I just left.  After that, she continually reminded me about how great it was to be single, and how good friends we were. It was awful. Blast - I guess even actors get their hearts broken. Eric - I guess so. Blast - You were in Mandy Moore's video, "Walk Me Home." How did that come about? Eric - It was awesome. I had so much fun. The video was about this celebrity, me, and Mandy goes to see me at the premiere of a movie. You see this sign above the theater, " Eric Lively in ICE BLUE." I get out of the Mercedes and all the fans are screaming. Mandy comes to the premiere with two of her friends, who are actually friends of her from home. Mandy is singing her song---- and she starts fantasizing about switching places with my co-star.

She imagines us together at an ice skating rink. It was a really pretty  set. Blast - What was it like working with Mandy? Eric - She's a lot of fun. She was so nice! Blast - Did sparks fly on the set? Eric - I was trying----Only kidding! I thought she was cute, though. Blast - How does acting in a video differ from acting on a TV show? Eric - It's a little more dramatic. You don't play the subleties in a video, you don't say anything like you would while acting. In videos, you have one shot to express what you're feeling by the expression on your face. That look has to say " Oh, you're the girl of my dreams. Where have you been my whole life." Blast - What are your plans in 2000? Eric - I'm doing a movie. I just started doing the rehearsals on it. It's called The Beauty Loop. I play a college student. It's a romantic story between two people that have different views. It should be out by the summer, or a little after. Right after we shoot the movie, I go directly to So Weird, so I don't have any downtime in between. Blast - Would you like to say anything to our readers? Eric - When I was younger, I was really unpopular. I was also really obsessive over some celebrities. I would have loved to know if anyone of them had problems because it was so difficult for me. When you're younger, you never realize how petty people can be and that eventually, you'll escape it. If I ever heard that someone I admired had that experience, I would be really happy to hear it. I guess you can't preach, "You can't be mean," but I want people to know that it's not "it." I'm still young, I'm only 18-years-old, but I still know what it's like. That's all. Blast - Do you ever talk to anyone from those days? Do they look at you now and say. "Whoops! We should have talked to you more." Eric - I get really weird calls, or my parents will get calls from the people who never talked to me. "Where's Eric. I haven't seen him in forever." They want to get involved in my life----as if they ever were. Blast - One last thing that we're all dying to know...do you have a girlfriend? Eric - No, I don't have a girlfriend right now. Everything has been so busy; I've been everywhere that I don't have time. Looks don't matter; personality is really important to me.

Hear that girls?! Wouldn't you love to be his leading lady? That's what we thought! Check out Eric on the Disney Channel's So Weird and catch him this summer in his new flick The Beauty Loop. He's one star that's certainly on the rise.