ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: We hear you're working on a book?
MONIQUE COLEMAN: It's a goal of mine. In terms of acting roles, I haven't found a role yet that is the next move for me. In the meantime, I am interested in writing a motivational book about what celebrities are really like. It's not really a memoir — I feel like I'm too young for anything like that. [And] it's not about being famous, it's not a recount of this long-lived career. It's just an in-the-moment way of saying, ''This is what it's like in this stage,'' because no one ever really talks about it. The point where it's making it, but still not really making it. Still only being 26 and having a whole life ahead of you.
When do you expect it to be out?
I'm still in the beginning stages — I'm working on a proposal. We'll see if [a publisher] bites.
Sounds like a good idea, since so many kids want to be actors today.
And so many kids want to be celebrities more than actors. I want to be like, You know what? Actually, celebrity isn't a career choice; you still have to choose what you want to do then hopefully become a celebrity. I guess it's about saying it's not all that it's cracked up to be, and at the same time, it's also one of the most exciting experience a person could ever have.
Do you have any upcoming projects set in stone?
No, not right now. It's funny, I've sort of taken a different turn than everybody else. I'm a part of the Disney Dreamers Academy, which is basically an academy to enrich African-American high school students through Walt Disney World, with empowerment classes and things like that. To help inspire and encourage, that's really what I want to do. I love television, I love movies, I love all of that, but I still feel very young and I feel like I have my whole life to find those parts. In the meantime, after doing something as successful as HSM, it's sort of hard to take a role that I'm not interested in just to get to act. Instead, I would rather get to speak.
What do you see yourself doing next as far as acting goes?
I would love to do features. My favorite movies where I thought, ''I wanted to be in that!'' were Crash, Million Dollar Baby, Dreamgirls. I love roles in films that really make a statement. I am older, but I play so young that it's sometimes harder to find a role for a young African-American girl that's really meaty. I have no sort of issues with Disney at all — I think Disney is wonderful with what they are able to do — but I also want to do other things. I graduated with a degree in acting, so I'm not afraid of roles that are very challenging and maybe show the underbelly of society as well. I think that that's just as important as showing the bubbly, happier parts of things.
You think you'll do the another HSM?
I am definitely interested. It's too early to really say what's going to happen and whether or not everybody is going to sign back on or what. I would love to continue this journey. It's been incredible, I have made the most wonderful friends, I've gotten so much exposure. It's opened the door for me to be able to fulfill some of my own goals and aspirations with empowering women and girls. If being a part of this project gives me that visibility, then sign me up!
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