Ashley Tisdale Blew Her Chance To Be Vampire Diaries' Elena Gilbert For a Flopped Show
This might’ve been an opportunity of a lifetime.
When it comes to launching careers, no one does it better than the Disney Channel. No matter how many bizarre rules the network imposes on its actors, and no matter how much resentment they may hold against it after graduating from Disney projects, there's no denying how many opportunities these young actors get.
Ashley Tisdale, who starred alongside Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron in the High School Musical franchise, got off to the best possible start. These movies perfectly showcased the actress' talents not only in acting but also in comedy and singing, which led to her receiving many invitations for future projects.
The only problem is, the actress didn't choose them wisely. As it turns out, Tisdale turned down two hugely popular teen dramas to star in The CW's flopped Hellcats, which barely lasted a season.
Reportedly, the actress was invited to both Pretty Little Liars and The Vampire Diaries to play central characters. The Vampire Diaries creators were ready to cast Ashley Tisdale to play Elena Gilbert, the main character who gets involved with the Salvatore brothers and sucked into the supernatural side of Mystic Falls.
While many fans are happy that things didn't work out, as they can't imagine anyone but Nina Dobrev getting the role, Tisdale would make a much more accurate Elena according to L.J. Smith's books. Elena Gilbert was always supposed to be a blonde, so the actress fits the description perfectly with her famous Sharpay look.
It's hard to say what the decision-making process was behind choosing Hellcats as the project to continue with, but it wasn't the best choice. While Bring It On style cheerleading movies were on the rise, the genre didn't translate well to the smaller screen. Book adaptations, however, did.
Luckily for Tisdale, this decision wasn't career-defining, as the actress continued to pursue both acting and musical careers. If you want to see Hellcats for yourself, you can stream the show on Amazon Prime Video.