Hilary Duff talks 'Younger,' her music career and pleasing her eager fans
By: Gibson Johns
Hilary Duff is in a really good place right now.
The actress, who recently confirmed her romance with personal trainer Jason Walsh, is a fan-favorite on TV Land's "Younger," which is currently in the midst of its third season, and she's loving being in "full-blown mom" mode now that the show is done filming.
Though Duff's singing career has taken a backseat to her acting and other pursuits (she particularly wants to grow her lifestyle brand!), the mother of 4-year-old Luca admits that pressure from fans will ensure that "music will always be an element" to her career.
I recently caught up with Hilary Duff over the phone to talk about "Younger," her partnership with VISINE, pleasing her fans and whether or not her character, Kelsey, will ever sing on the show.
See photos of Hilary Duff through the years:
Check out my full conversation with Hilary Duff below:
Talk to me about your partnership with VISINE and why it felt like such a good fit for you.
The whole campaign that they're doing is called #ScreenOn, and it's all about binge watching your favorite shows -- but doing it more comfortably -- and I can't really remember a day that I didn't use VISINE. It's part of my beauty regimen, because I have dry eyes. I keep it in my purse, my makeup artist uses it ... when they contacted me, I was like, "I'm already a loyal customer!"
They want to encourage people to binge watch their favorite shows, but to take care of their eyes at the same time (by using VISINE) and binging more comfortably. For every post including the hashtag #ScreenOn, they're donating one dollar to AdoptAClassroom.org for educational technology, which is obviously really important in this day and age.
You guys recently had an event where you joined fans in binge watching the second season of "Younger." How was that?
It was awesome! It was at the TriBeCa Film Festival, and the whole cast was there. We sat down and did a panel, and I think we all just feel really excited that the show has taken off and that people love to binge watch our show. People are connecting with it! We're so excited, and we have a lot of fun shooting. It was a new network to ask people to tune in to for a show like that that, and we feel like we're happy with where we are right now.
The cast really does seem happy -- you've been to AOL three times together, and each time you all seem to get along really well. When you compare it to some of the other sets that you've been on in the past, do you consider this to be a unique bond?
Definitely. When I was shooting "Lizzie McGuire" we were all quite close, but that was ages ago. I think I've had pretty good experiences, though. Obviously there's that odd one where you go, "Thank God!" when you leave at night. [Laughs] But we have a lot of respect for each other, and we all have our own things going on, too, which is awesome. We have so many different interests, and we all support one another.
For the most part, we're just sad that a lot of the times our worlds don't collide! I never get to work with [Debi Mazar] -- I don't know the secret! -- so I see her in passing a lot and I'm like, "Deb! Let's have dinner!" And we never get around to doing it. Same with Nico [Tortorella] -- I don't get to work with him a ton. But we are a good cast.
Your character Kelsey had my favorite line of this season of "Younger" so far when she yelled, "Stop tagging me in funny memes!" Do you get tagged in funny memes in real life by your friends?
Yes but, you know what? I always think they're funny. [Laughs] But, yeah, I loved that line, too, because obviously there's been the odd one where I'm like, "Um, that's not f*cking funny!" But, for the most part, I think they're funny.
I'm dying to know, do you think Kelsey will ever sing on the show?
I've actually talked to Darren about this! He was like, "No! Kelsey does not have a good voice!" He's not into the idea of us ever singing on the show or -- if we do sing -- not sounding good.
What can you tease for us about the rest of this season of "Younger"?
Kelsey is going to start dating! There are a few guys in the mix in the next few episodes. It's really fun, because she's under the guidance of her friends -- especially Lauren, which is quite scary. A lot goes on with the imprint -- she's still struggling, despite having all of these great ideas to bring young people on. She makes a few rookie mistakes, but the thing that's cool about her character is that, because she's young and because she has a lot of responsibility, when she screws up she owns it. I love that about her.
There's a particular scene in a few episodes where she really makes a colossal mistake, and she comes to Charles and she's like, "It's totally my fault. I blew it, but I still need you to give this to me." I love that part of her that's very business-savvy. She's still learning, and I think it's inspiring for young people.
As Hilary -- not as Kelsey -- are you Team Josh or Team Charles?
I'm Team Josh! I feel like no one in the cast will ever say that or pick a side. But Charles is never going to go anywhere. We all love Peter [Hermann, who plays Charles] and we all love Nico [Tortorella, who plays Josh], so I don't want Nico to go anywhere. Charles is always going to be around because he's at Empirical. Plus, I think she might have somewhat of a boring life with Charles, which she already had with her previous husband. I feel like Josh is proving himself to be a really good guy, but he's also bringing out that fun in her.
You said that you use VISINE as part of your daily beauty regimen. What does your typical morning routine look like on a non-work day?
Oh God, I usually roll out of bed and look busted, because I have to feed a small child and four dogs and put some sort of clothing on my body. [Laughs] I try to be cute, though! I have a pretty intensive beauty routine at night, which helps because when I get up in the morning my face is already clean. I do use VISINE -- I swear to God I use it! -- my eyes are dry in the morning, because I never get enough sleep. It just makes me look wide awake. I curl my eyelashes, use VISINE, tinted moisturizer and blush. And then usually I'll wear a hat, or try to, like, flip my hair to one side or the other.
Last time we talked, you said that music was on the back burner for you. Is that still the case? Have you been dabbling in the studio at all?
I haven't been dabbling yet, but I think I will. It's so hard because I feel like I get pressured into it by my fans or people that ask. They're like, "What's going on?!" And I'm like, "I don't know!"
I just got home -- we just wrapped the season -- and I'm in a construction zone nightmare at my house, and I'm just getting used to being full-blown mom again. But, you know, I do have new management, and I'm super excited for new stuff. I really want to work on my lifestyle brand and music will always be an element, I'm just not sure at what level.
Is it difficult to balance that pressure from fans and appeasing your fans' desires while also doing what you really want to be doing?
I care so much about what my fans think. They have been so loyal to me, and I could never even dream that I would have people all across the world that cared so much about every move I make or every product that I put out there. I feel like I don't want to disappoint them, but I also feel like I do a good job at cancelling out the noise when I just need to be a mom. That's really what I care about in my life right now. Any parent can attest to that feeling. There are days or weeks that go by without ever even opening Instagram, and then I'll post one thing and people will be like, "We missed you!" I don't want to be a slave to it, but I understand the importance and I enjoy it.
And at the end of the day, your fans just want you to be happy.
Yeah, exactly. There's definitely a new way to figure out the balance so you can connect with them and reach them and let them into my life, which is why I think, ultimately, people have stuck by me through all these years -- I feel reachable and relatable to them.
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