Mandy Moore: Hollywood's Good Girl
In an age when many 20-something celebrities seem to be running amok in clubs and entering jail and rehab, Mandy Moore's life has remained scandal free.
The reasons, she said, are simple: her family laid a strong foundation for her, she has great friends and she appreciates her position.
"I genuinely feel so lucky to get to do what I do," Moore, 23, told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm. "That there's part of me that would never do anything to jeopardize this, this opportunity. It's not my cup of tea any at the end of the day, anyway. I work really hard at what I want to do. I'm just tired at the end of the day."
Moore grew up in show business and signed a record deal at 14. She became a star at 15 with songs like "Candy." Moore said she always felt she had more responsibilities than her peers and that, recently, she wanted to become more in control of her career.
The actress-singer not only has a new movie out, "License To Wed," but also a new album, "Wild Hope." Moore said she co-wrote all the songs on the album, which came on the heels of her break-up with actor Zach Braff. It's darker than the bubble-gum pop she made as a young teenager — music Moore now says she doesn't like. With the help of some independent artists, she said she made music that had a "folk, sort of pop-country element," that she is proud of. More importantly, the music deals with the dark place she inhabited following her split with Braff.Photos: "License To Wed" Premiere
"I'm an upbeat sort of person, so I'm confused as to why this period hit me out of nowhere but I find it really therapeutic and very cathartic to write," she said. "It was my way of dealing with stuff. I look forward to, like, writing for the next record already. I have so much material now and I have this perfect outlet for it."
Moore stars in "License to Wed" with John Krasinski of "The Office." They play a young engaged couple hoping to get married in the church of their dreams. Their reverend, played by Robin Williams, is making them go through pre-marriage boot camp, which is mandatory in order to be married by him. He makes them do many absurd tasks such as role play and act as parents to ornery robotic twins.
"He's just incredible," Moore said of Williams, "and such a gem of a person. But he has a lot of energy. And you can't go toe to toe with him. I mean, he's a comedic genius. I knew in the movie I'm the straight man. I'm the girl. I just sort of sit back. I had a free stand-up show every day on set. It was perfect."
One thing Moore did take from the scenes with mechanical babies was that she can hold off on motherhood for a while.
"It was no fun," she said. "Those babies were, like, temperamental. I think more so than regular children would be."
