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<\/a>Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo, stars of Disney\u2019s\n\u201cHigh School Musical: The Musical: The Series.\u201d (Disney+ \/ Craig Sjodin)<\/p>\n
The San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 December 2019
\nTelevision
\nFrom regional theater to breakout Disney, star, Oceanside native Joshua Bassett reflects on his rise
\nBy Rob Ledonnewriter<\/p>\n
When he was 8, Joshua Bassett starred in a North County production of Disney\u2019s smash hit \u201cHigh School Musical.\u201d Little did he know that nearly a decade later, he would appear in the real thing as the lead in the highly anticipated follow-up series.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all been pretty surreal,\u201d Bassett said by phone while on his way to a meeting at Twitter\u2019s headquarters in Los Angeles, no doubt a reaction to his rising notoriety on social media. \u201c\u2018High School Musical\u2019 was the first show I was ever in. When the audition came around, it just made sense. It\u2019s a dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
Superfluously titled \u201cHigh School Musical: The Musical: The Series,\u201d the show premiered on the company\u2019s new Disney+ streaming platform in November and serves as a meta take on the original 2005 film that made celebrities of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. This revamped version centers around a high school putting on a stage production of a musical based on, well, the movie version of \u201cHigh School Musical.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way we did it isn\u2019t that it\u2019s simply a remake of the original,\u201d Bassett said. \u201cThey\u2019re paying tribute while doing something entirely different.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Let\u2019s give this a go\u2019<\/p>\n
Born and raised in Oceanside, Bassett\u2019s childhood was defined by his tight-knit family, growing up home-schooled as the only boy in a house with five sisters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never known different so I don\u2019t really know how to compare it,\u201d he recalled of his unique upbringing. \u201cI will say that everyone is the combination of their five closest friends, and that\u2019s who my sisters are to me. The person I am today is because of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their father Taylor, a professional pianist and drummer, taught Bassett the drums when he was just 7 for the church band, while his mother Laura, a real estate agent, grew up playing drums.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess you can say music was in my blood,\u201d he said, adding that he remembers the theatrical moment that sparked everything: \u201cIt all started after my older sister started taking dance classes, and it just trickled down to the rest of the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
From there, the family became fixtures in various regional theaters, including the Christian Youth Theater (colloquially known as CYT, the El Cajon-based organization boasts one of the largest theater programs in the nation and has a location in Oceanside) as well as the North County School of the Arts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was one time when I was in a production of \u2018Annie\u2019 with all five of my siblings, both my parents\u00a0and\u00a0my dog, who played Sandy. It shows you how involved my family was.\u201d (It was an occasion the North County Times highlighted in 2010 under the headline \u201cOceanside family is a troop of troupers.\u201d)<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until Bassett obtained his high school degree and began attending classes at Palomar College when he realized that the family hobby could translate into a viable career.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy oldest sister had a friend from college who messaged me on Facebook and said she was working on a project and if I\u2019d be interested,\u201d Bassett recalled. \u201cI thought nothing would come of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Less than a day later, the young actor was in an audition room for the James Cameron blockbuster \u201cAvatar 2.\u201d While he didn\u2019t land that role, Bassett notes that the opportunity inspired him.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom then on, it was like \u2018OK, let\u2019s give this a go.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m still the same old me\u2019<\/p>\n
Now, Bassett\u2019s profile is rising with his star-making turn in the \u201cHigh School Musical\u201d series, for which he also contributed some songs he wrote. Filmed in Salt Lake City in the same school where the 2005 original was shot, the series features a skateboarder named Ricky Bowen who, in a stretch for Bassett, is not so captivated by musical theater.<\/p>\n
With the aforementioned Efron becoming a household name after delivering a similar role, Bassett shrugs off the comparison to the heartthrob.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand it, and he\u2019s not a bad person to be compared to, but the cool thing is that I\u2019m not supposed to be Zac\u2019s character,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of the things they got right is that it will stand on its own two feet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite his burgeoning success \u2014 he\u2019s got more than 530,000 followers on Instagram with only six posts \u2014 Bassett knows he can rely on his family regardless of his exploding popularity.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sisters are my biggest supporters, but at the same time they keep me humble,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime I go home, they\u2019ll say, \u2018Wow, you\u2019re doing great! But also, don\u2019t forget what you did when you were 10. I\u2019m like, \u2018OK, all right.\u2019 I\u2019m still the same old me.\u201d<\/p>\n
LeDonne is a freelance writer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Joshua Bassett descends from #2B Thomas Bassett of Virginia as follows Thomas Bassett (b. 1617) and wife Mary William Bassett (b. 1643) Thomas Bassett (b. 1668) and wife Elinor Thomas Bassett (b. 1696) and wife Lydia Howle Nathaniel Bassett (b. … Continue reading