Media >> Articles >> NY Daily :: September 17, 2003

Hilarie Burton acts like stardom is easy
By RICHARD HUFF

Hilarie Burton knows hard work, and acting ain't it.

"Actors like to think their lives are very difficult, but they're not," said Burton, one of the stars of the WB's new drama "One Tree Hill."

"Yeah, you're running around a lot. But I used to work in a supermarket and in a bar. That was hard. This is fun."

Burton knows a few things about fun, too.

For the past couple of years, she's been one of the hottest veejays on MTV - both in looks and onscreen activities. She's been the host of her own show, "MTV's Hits," helped launch the network's "Beach House" from the New Jersey shore in May 2002 and is a regular on "TRL."

And get this: She's not giving up her MTV gig, which is shot in New York, while also taping the North Carolina-produced "One Tree Hill."

The high-school-set series revolves around two half-brothers, played by Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty, and the woman torn between them, played by Burton. The show was ordered as a midseason replacement and was moved to the fall - starting Tuesday at 9 p.m. - filling in for "Fearless," which was shelved until later this season.

"It's nice to be back to a highschool gym," said Burton, 21, who plays a teenager.

For inspiration, the Virgina-bred Burton reread journals she wrote from the seventh grade through her first year of college.

"Oh man, that really helped," she said. "When I was writing them, I didn't know what I was writing for."

Playing a younger age wasn't a problem for Burton, except for one aspect.

"My only concern was when I had to put on my cheerleading uniform again," she said. "You forget how nerve-racking that is - the vulnerability of wearing bloomers."

Burton has been acting since she was 5, and moved to New York in 1999 to attend Fordham while getting her career going. Two weeks later, a chance meeting with an MTV talent coordinator resulted in her getting on "TRL" to interview some of the current hitmakers.

Her MTV gig has made her something of a star among her colleagues on the WB show. She's often asked about the celebrities or the events she's attended.

"There's mutual admiration," she said of her "One Tree Hill" castmates. "It's been a really wonderful experience growing up. Where friends my age are going to keg parties, I'm going to the [Video Music Awards]."

Through MTV, of course, she's gotten up close to folks like Justin, Britney and Christina, something she hadn't considered before moving to New York. "I never planned to do personality television," she said. "When I got the job, I was a little intimidated.

"But it's just fun. It's nice to meet people, and it's kind of nice to be on a personal level with these icons."

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