Lucy Hale finds it "weird" that her life is planned out for the next two-and-a-half years.
The 25-year-old actress stars as Aria Montgomery in Pretty Little Liars, which has just been renewed for a sixth and seventh season. Although Lucy is thrilled that the TV show is doing so well, thinking about what it means for her career can be overwhelming.
"It was shocking, but we're all on the same page," she told the US edition of Cosmopolitan. "On the one hand, it's like, 'Great, cool! I have a job for another two and a half years'. But then it's kind of weird to have your life planned out. I always try to remember how blessed I am and stay grateful."
Pretty Little Liars also stars Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson and Shay Mitchell.
While she's proud of her acting success, Lucy is also a musician. She released her debut album Road Between this year, and she surprised many by opting to go with the country genre.
The stereotype of actresses who become singers is a long worn one in Hollywood, and it's something Lucy had to fight hard against.
"So many people didn't want to touch the project with a ten-foot pole," she explained. "Literally, I had people laughing and saying, 'You're making an album? Good luck.'… But if you sit down and talk music with me for ten minutes, you know that's my passion."
The star has spoken about her ill-feted audition for the female lead in the Fifty Shades of Grey adaptation in the past, with the role eventually going to Dakota Johnson. The book the film is based on is crammed full of sex scenes, something Lucy didn't really consider when she tested for the part of Anastasia.
"That audition was so uncomfortable! It's exactly what you thought it would be: a big monologue but very, very sexual," she laughed. "There were some things that I was so embarrassed to be reading out loud, but it's one of those things where you have to commit wholeheartedly or you're going to make a fool of yourself."
