Cover Girl: Mandy Moore on Parade Magazine

Pop singer, actress and clothing designer, Mandy Moore graced the cover of this week's Parade magazine. The bright and bubbly actress stars in the upcoming romantic comedy “License to Wed,” and talked to writer Robert Masello about being in the spotlight, embarrassing public missteps of other celebrities, her new album and more.

Her new album…
“ Wild Hope just felt like such a selfish venture to me. It was a way for me to get out of my head, get some clarity on certain situations, and finally be a part of something that I was completely behind creatively and proud of…. At first, it felt a little bit overwhelming, but I really took to the writing process, and even though ‘Extraordinary’ was the last song I wrote for the album, I felt like that was the statement I wanted to make. And once I finished it, that’s when I knew it was time to go into the studio and sing.”

Moore the daredevil…
“I’ve gone skydiving twice. I was terrified about doing it, but I wanted to overcome that. The first time, I did it with my parents and I remember that they had already both jumped out, and suddenly it was my turn. And I thought, ‘Well, I don’t want to be an orphan,’ so I guess I have no choice, and I jumped out of the plane. There is this kind of adventurous thing in me—I saw this movie on Mt. Kilimanjaro about four years ago, and ever since then I’ve been obsessed with climbing it one day. At this point, I’m in no shape to be climbing a mountain, but I will get in amazing shape someday and I will climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. I have no choice—I have to do it.”

Friendship…
“I don’t really have a ton of friends. My best friends, my close circle, are mostly in New York. But my brothers live with me here [in L.A.]. One is younger, one older—and I hang out with them a lot. My younger brother’s in school, my older brother’s working out here in L.A. But I actually like spending time by myself, and it’s not super odd for me to go [out] by myself…. I’m really kind of boring—I’d rather go to bed early and get up early because I really value my time off, my time away from work.”

Writer Robert Masello on Moore’s new album…
“My friends don’t believe it when I tell them I’m actually playing Mandy Moore’s new CD—v oluntarily—in my office, but I am. I’m a guy who usually listens to Bob Dylan, John Prine, David Gray, Lucinda Williams, Ray Davies—a lot of the great singer-songwriters. But I have to say, Mandy’s CD has very catchy songs, interesting lyrics and terrific arrangements. And she wrote or co-wrote all the material. When we met for brunch, I told her that I really liked the album, but I’m not sure she didn’t think I was just sucking up. I mean, it’s not that I don’t say plenty of insincere things to my interview subjects—‘The hair looks super, Mr. Trump!’—but in this case I was being sincere.”

Behind the scenes at PARADE's photo shoot with Mandy Moore
Photographer Robert Ascroft reveals the fun details behind his shoot with actress/singer Mandy Moore.

Where did the shoot take place? “The shoot took place in the Hollywood Hills at a private home. Since it was a weekend, the owners were also there.”

What time did it start? “The crew arrived at 7 a.m. and Mandy arrived at 9 a.m. It was a cool and cloudy day when we arrived, but it cleared up for the shoot.”

How long did the shoot last?
About four and a half hours.

What was served for lunch? “We were done with the photo shoot by lunchtime and we all had the most amazing fish and grilled vegetables. It was a great way to end the shoot.”

What music played during the shoot?
“We listened to the duo Bird and Bee. We all became huge fans of one very inappropriate song on the record about becoming someone’s boyfriend!”

Who came to the shoot with Moore? “Mandy’s agent accompanied her.”

Robert Ascroft on Mandy Moore…
“It started off as a gloomy and somewhat cold day but by the time Mandy walked on set, the clouds opened up and we had sun for the whole shoot. Shortly after we were finished taking the photos, the clouds came back. I originally wanted blue skies for the shoot and I got them! Mandy was very easygoing and enjoyable to be around. She even jumped in the pool for me at the end of the shoot, with a dress on!”

Photos courtesy of Parade.com.