Vanessa Hudgens often reflects on the life and career advice given to her by Jennifer Lopez.
The Hollywood stars recently shot new romcom Second Act, in which the former High School Musical actress takes on the character of Zoe, while Jennifer plays Maya, a mother who gets a second chance at making her name in the corporate world.
Among their conversations on the set, Vanessa opened up to Jennifer about her life, and the superstar offered up a lot of useful advice.
“We’d be between sets, and we’d just talk. I’d tell her about my career and where I think I’m lacking, and she’d tell me what she thinks the right steps are to get to where I want to be,” she said in an interview with Haute Living magazine. “She told me, ‘If you aren’t happy in a certain aspect of your career, look at who is doing what you want to be doing, and mimic it.’ Jennifer was great at being like, ‘In order to do that, you’ve got to do this,’ and she spells it out in the most simplistic way possible. And I’d be like, ‘Oh yeah, of course, I’ll do that, and I’m going to conquer the world just like you!’”
Vanessa went on to explain that she was thrilled to work with Jennifer, 49, on a film, because she is a big fan of her acting work in flicks such as Maid in Manhattan and The Wedding Planner.
And though the pair share an “insane connection” on and off screen, J.Lo may never fully realise the extent her mentoring has had on her co-star’s life.
“I feel like I do take my career more seriously now,” the 30-year-old insisted. “I grew up in this industry. I grew up onstage—I’ve been doing professional theatre since I was eight years old—and have been acting for so, so long. It never came from a place of ‘This is my career, and I’m going to do this forever.’ It was ‘This is fun. I enjoy this and want to do this.’”