The Verge: Sharni Vinson

Did you freak out when you got the part?

Yeah, I was freaking out, and it didn't help that Jon Chu wanted to play a little joke on me, which he filmed for the behind-the-scenes footage. He wanted to call us individually and tell us that we booked the role, and he called me first with the choreographer, Jamal Sims, next to him, and they said, "So we're just down to the final stages of the auditioning process and we keep coming back to your name and your auditions, and we think you're really great, but the one thing concerning us at this time is that on your resume, you have no acting or dancing experience in 3D. How do you think you would handle shooting an entire movie in 3D?"

And I'm like, "Oh my God. What is he talking about?" I'm just thinking, "What do you mean? I just thought that was a different technology that you guys were putting in the camera and the actors are just doing the same thing they always do." It was so weird, and I'm, like, fighting for my life, saying, "Of course I can do that! I'll do anything." It was such a horrible, horrible, mean joke, and he said, "Well, I'm glad, because we'll see you in New York in three days. Welcome to the movie." It was so surreal.

That said, what's the best way the film uses the fact that it's in 3D?

The dance routines were choreographed with 3D in mind. Everything had 3D at the forefront of the whole equation. It was such an amazing feeling to be wearing the Real 3D glasses behind the monitor -- which is this huge flatscreen TV -- and watching it all unfold as it's being shot in 3D at the same time. It's new technology that was blowing my mind. It just shows dance to the best of its ability and it really enhances everything by being in 3D. It's special. Dance is meant to be seen this way.

Did you have to learn any dances that you weren't familiar with for the film?

Oh, absolutely. Things like capoeira, which was brand-new -- I hadn't even really heard of it. It's this martial arts fighting stance, and we did some serious training for that. Serious training, like nine hours a week, we did capoeira, and it's the most intense workout of your butt and thighs. And then there's parkour, which was free running. Even if it wasn't a new style for me, with every choreographer [that we used], it's a brand-new style through the way they do it. Every part of it was challenging, especially because I hadn't danced in five years in the lead-up to booking the role.

So how does all that work that affect the way you view dance? Like, I love pizza, but if I ate pizza nine hours a day, five days a week...

Well, what if you put different toppings on it every time and never ever had the exact same pizza twice?

It would still be a lot of pizza, Sharni! I mean, after the film wrapped, did you think, "I need a little break from dancing," or were you more, "Where's the nearest club? I need to keep dancing dancing dancing?"

I have had a break from it because we finished shooting this movie a year ago. So then it's like, "Where's the dancing? Why aren't we dancing anymore?" [Laughs] It's always going to be a huge part of my life, and from here on out, I'd like to shoot action movies and be able to incorporate my dancing into other things. Literally, I just got back from Africa a few days ago from shooting Blue Crush 2, and it's amazing how ballet and balance can come into play with other sports like surfing and martial arts fighting, which I'm learning for my next film. It's kind of cool to use your physicality for action. I love big crazy "driving a car off a bridge" type of stunts, I have a big passion for that type of stuff, so hopefully I'll go on to do it from here.

So basically, "Special Skills" on the back of your headshot is eight paragraphs long by now.

But most people lie on that section, don't they? I can't imagine ticking one of those boxes and then you get in a room and they throw it at you, and you have to be, "Actually, I can't do that. I lied." [Laughs]

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