Sara Paxton is "Aquamarine"

17-year-old gorgeous blonde Sara Paxton is a mermaid. She has been one since childhood, at least in her own mind. She used to tie her feet together in her pool to swim like one of the aquatic lovelies and gave herself mermaid names. So, when the star of TV's "Darcy's Wild Life" heard about the casting call for Aquamarine, a new film about a mermaid stranded on land, she dove after it! Sara also sings and contributed the song "Connected" to the movie soundtrack.

The pretty, light, seagreen-eyed actress admits that she kind of got used to being a mermaid and being carried around by the crew "like Cleopatra". Hey, that's the only way she could get to the set in that tail! We spoke with Sara, on the posh dry land of Beverly Hills, recently and she looked very summer swim-like in green, studded spaghetti strap top, jeans and turquoise bead bracelets. As her fellow actress JoJo told us, the three leading ladies got to be best buds while shooting in Queensland, Australia.

TeenHollywood: You, JoJo and Emma Roberts all sing. Did you girls ever sing together for fun?

Sara: Well, for fun, we were just like kidding around. Like not for real singing, but we would make up raps and stuff. We were constantly just joking around nonstop. They would tell us to be quiet sometimes.

TeenHollywood: So there's a real friendship there?

Sara: Oh yeah, me and Emma live literally five minutes away from each other and JoJo lives somewhere on the east coast but she comes over to visit all the time. We constantly keep in touch. We help each other with guy problems and stuff like that. On set, we hung out nonstop because we were living in the same apartment complex, we worked together every day for three months and it's a good thing that we all got along so well because we literally were seeing each other every second of the day.

TeenHollywood: What was the audition process like for you?

Sara: What happened for me was JoJo and Emma had been hired and months went by. I got the script and they were like, 'We want you to read for another part.' And I was like, 'My life's dream is to play a mermaid. Can I please read the mermaid part?' So I went in and I was all alone. There weren't any other girls there and I guess Elizabeth, the director, liked me and she had me stay for a while and then she made me sing and dance.

TeenHollywood: A singing, dancing mermaid?

Sara: I was kind of like, 'Well, that's weird' but she made me sing and dance to the camera and I felt really awkward but I think she wanted me to do that to see if I could take direction, no matter how crazy it was, like just do what she wants without fear or anything. So I did it and I was like, 'Yeah, man, I feel really great about this. I think this audition went really, really well.' And I got the part.

TeenHollywood: What was it like being a mermaid?

Sara: It was amazing. Being a mermaid has been like my dream since I was a little kid. I used to jump in the pool and think of mermaid names for myself and pretend I was a mermaid and swim like one. It was really amazing to get to be one. I watched The Little Mermaid like every day. It still makes me cry. I'm not going to lie about that.

TeenHollywood: Had you seen the movie Splash before?

Sara: I had seen it when I was little. I also really like that movie too so that attracted me, got me more interested in mermaids. And also, you wonder like are they really out there? Emma actually did a report on mermaids while we were filming so we learned so much. And all these cultures report seeing mermaids at the same time. It's like how is that possible at the same time? There's no telephones, they can't call up and be like, 'Dude, I just saw a mermaid.'

TeenHollywood: But what was that transformation process like...putting on the tail and everything?

Sara: It actually took two and a half hours to get into my tail. So I spent four hours in makeup a day because it took two hours to do hair and makeup and then two and a half hours to squeeze my body into the tail, get it zipped up, glued in, airbrushed, painted, everything and then they would roll me onto a tarp and five guys on a stretcher would carry me like I was Cleopatra. And they'd sit me on the ground and flop me into the pool. It was an interesting experience.

TeenHollywood: Could you actually swim in the tail?

Sara: Oh yeah. There were three different tails and one was animatronic so I would just sit there and it would do all the work moving around. And then one I could actually swim in. And it was really difficult. I was like pretty buff there for a while. It all went away but I could actually swim in it. It would bend and stuff. I could go really fast.

TeenHollywood: Were you comfortable doing all the swimming?

Sara: Luckily, I'm a really strong swimmer already, but for a month beforehand, when I got to Australia, they required all three of us to have swimming lessons. I had floaties and goggles like a three year old learning how to swim again. But it came in really handy because there were some really tough water scenes, like with wave machines. It's a good thing that we put some muscle on and became strong swimmers. It was important.

TeenHollywood: What's your favorite beach?

Sara: Well, we lived on the beach in Australia. We lived in a place called Burlyhead on the Gold Coast and it was amazing. The sand was just totally white and the water was 80-85 degrees and it was amazing just to be able to wake up in the morning, you get your mail and you're like, 'I think I'm going to go for a swim.' I also I go to Hawaii once a year with my family and I go to Maui and that's an amazing beach and I love staying there also.

TeenHollywood: So you would recommend filming in Australia?

Sara: I had so much fun. It was definitely one of the best film experiences ever for me. The Australians are so nice. Like when they say 'no worries', they literally mean no worries. They don't worry about anything. I wasn't stressed at all and then JoJo and Emma, we were just really close and we'd hang out in my room and watch movies and we ate pizza like every day.

TeenHollywood: And you could still squeeze into that tail?

Sara: [laughs] I know, surprisingly, you should have seen what we ate. It's not healthy but JoJo ate really healthy. There was a vegan restaurant and she would go over there and I was like, 'Ew, I'm not eating there.'

TeenHollywood: Any Australian cuisine you tried?

Sara: The whole three months I was like, 'Oh, I gotta try this.' They eat kangaroo there and I felt so bad. I was like 'they can't eat the cute little kangaroos' so I chickened out. I never ate it. They have Passion Fruit in Australia. Oh my God, my record was 30 a day. Everyone would come over and they're like, 'Sara, how many passion fruits have you had?' Like 'I'm on 26' and they'd be like, 'Good on ya'.

TeenHollywood: What kind of music do you listen to?

Sara: I listen to all kinds of music. I'm like a really big classic rock fan. The Rolling Stones are my favorite band. And when I was little, my mom had to inform me that John Lennon was dead. I didn't know that. I thought [The Beatles] were like a current group and my mom was like, 'Honey, I just want to let you know, there's other music out there. There's Britney Spears. NSync. And John Lennon's dead.' I was like, 'Noooo!' Then I was like, 'They're old? Noooo!' But I still love them.

TeenHollywood: Are you still shooting your TV series?

Sara: I shot the second season over the summer and right now we're on hiatus. We haven't heard yet if we're getting picked up for a third season, but we'll see.

TeenHollywood: Aquamarine seems to fall for her human guy right away. Ever had love at first sight?

Sara: I haven't. I think it's really great that she just sees Raymond and falls in love with him. I haven't experienced love at first sight but I think that would be really nice to experience. I mean, it's never happened to me but I believe it's gotta be out there.

TeenHollywood: Your favorite scene?

Sara: I have to say the scene when I'm first introduced into the film was one of my favorites because we'd already been shooting for like a month and a half and it was the first time that I was going to wear my tail full on with the hair and everything and it was so funny. The guys carry me out and everyone was clapping for me and cheering. They were like, 'Yeah, Sara.' I just felt really cool. It was just really fun to wear it.

TeenHollywood: Did you get to keep the tail?

Sara: I wish. Oh my Gosh, the thing is like a piece of art. First of all, it's like 150 pounds and eight feet long. It was heavy. And then once water got into it, because it was latex on the inside, I was like a sponge. I couldn't move at all. I just lay there and JoJo and Emma were like, 'Are you hungry? Do you want anything? Are you okay?' I'm just like, 'Yeah, I'm cool. I'm great, thanks.' I was literally just laying there beached.

TeenHollywood: The girls in the film use various tricks to attract a guy like fluff up his ego and retreat. Ever try that?

Sara: I don't know if I actually purposely do that to attract a guy, but I'm sure there's something I'm doing. I'm absolutely positive I've laughed really loud when the guy walks by to get attention. I'm sure he thinks I'm crazy or something but I can pretty much guarantee that all girls do stuff like that without noticing it. The laugh and pass.

TeenHollywood: Ever had a best friend that had to leave?

Sara: Actually, I've always been the one that's like had to leave or change schools. I've always been the one that's had to disappoint everyone else by leaving. I've had to leave some friends behind and stuff. Luckily, I have the same group of best friends since we were like 10. We all lived pretty close.

TeenHollywood: Any more movies lined up?

Sara: I would love to do another movie. I'm looking at some scripts right now but I just got a part on Rebecca Romijn's new show, "Pepper Dennis". So I'm going to be doing that and also I was just nominated for an Emmy for my show, "Darcy's Wild Life". I'm really excited about that. And I have so much stuff coming up right now. I really want to go to USC so I find out April 1st if I got in. And then, in June I graduate [from high school] and I turn 18 in April.

TeenHollywood: What would you study in college?

Sara: I want to go to the film school. I know they only take a certain number of people but I would really like to learn more about behind the scenes. Elizabeth, the director on Aquamarine, she was really cool. I got there a month before the pre-production and she knew that I wanted to learn about directing and so she would take me around while she was making her decisions and everything. I really didn't realize what the intricate process is. Everything's there for a reason in this film, like the colors, the props and I just didn't realize it. There are so many different intricacies and I learned a lot about that.

TeenHollywood: Do you have a movie star crush or someone you want to act with?

Sara: I would really love to do a movie with Johnny Depp. I know, Johnny Depp. Also Ryan Gosling. I think he's a really good actor, and really cute.

TeenHollywood: Have you gone to normal high school or were you home schooled?

Sara: I've gone to a normal high school my entire life. I've never been home schooled. It's been tough but I really like going to a normal school and living a double life. My friends at school don't really ask me questions about acting or anything. They don't even think of me as an actor and that's really cool. It kind of keeps you grounded. I get the best of both worlds.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.