Being a teen idol or being a heartthrob on all the magazines, with Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, and Scott Baio - it was embarrassing! I never understood it. I mean, why me? I never really got it.
I didn't want to be the typical teen idol. I didn't want to be Leif Garrett. I didn't want to be Shaun Cassidy, David Cassidy or Parker Stevenson. I wanted to do my own thing.
I don't really think of myself as a heartthrob. I've got a lot of brothers, and there's a natural competitiveness between us when it comes to girls. If I said something about being a heartthrob, then they would bring me straight back down to earth!
Being referred to as a hunk or a heartthrob makes me nervous, but it's flattering. But I'm more interested in being an actor than a heartthrob.
I've never really understood tattoos. I mean, it's your body - why would you wanna scar it? I don't mind other people's tattoos, but I just never got it.
I never understood why anyone would do magazines. Like, why would someone put their face out there so much? It's because those people reading magazines will go see the movie, so you do it.
I just never really understood the reason I understood movies so well, and I didn't realize that me being such a people-watcher was even a gift at all.
First of all, I'm not a heartthrob. If you saw me in high school, you wouldn't say I'm a heartthrob. Having a hit song, the minute you're famous, you're a heartthrob. I know you don't believe me, but I honestly don't consider myself a heartthrob.
It was never something I had in my mind to do – a show on Nickelodeon, let alone being consider a teen idol. It’s odd. I remember my mom picking up a magazine with me on the cover and saying, ‘You don’t know how weird this is for me.’ I told her, ‘You don’t know how weird it is for me!’
There have been times in my adolescence where I gave up. I was like, 'I'm just never going to be pretty. I'm never going to be like one of those people on the front of magazines.' It always seemed really strange to me that the projection of how people are in advertisements looked nothing like the people who were actually buying them. You know what I mean? I never understood that mismatch, and now I really start to see that the people you see in the media are a lot more like people actually are.
I don't think there's a problem with being a teen idol, if that happens to me, I'll be happy to deal with it.
I never understood that when I heard people retire - they said they missed being around the guys. I don't have a need to make a play in the ninth inning of a game anymore. But being on the inside and being part of a team is something that you really do value and you really do miss.
I never looked at fan mail, for some reason. My mother and grandmother handled my mail - although it's not like I was ever in the stratosphere of Kirk Cameron or Scott Baio.
Leif's frown eased and he slid his finger under my chin and gently caressed my jaw line with the pad of his thumb. "Pagan,will you do me the honor of being my date for Homecoming Dance?The prospect of not being able to hold you in my arms all night is heartbreaking." Mirand sighed from across the table. "Okay,that was beautiful.Why didn't you ask me like that?"she asked Wyatt. Wyatt shot Leif an annoyed frown. "Thanks,buddy.Next time you decide to break out your romantic side,could you do it alone?
I found my niche as a character actor, and I've never felt like a movie star or teen idol and never wanted to.
I think the idea of being on stage and playing for people, and being able to inject a little bit of joy into their lives is a really exciting concept for me. That's definitely why I make music. It's never been for any kind of materialistic reasons, so that thought of being able to be up on stage, and being able to give something to someone in a moment of need for them - that gets me up in the morning; that really excites me.
Being a teen idol is what I've waited for my whole life