Tweenage girls often emit
high-frequency sounds when they meet Debby Ryan.
Some of them start to hyperventilate as
well. A few just break down altogether and start to cry.
It's something that Ryan, the
19-year-old star of Jessie, a popular Disney Channel sitcom, hasn't quite
gotten used to yet. Frankly, she's not sure she ever will.
"I don't spend much time thinking about the fact that people know who I am," says Ryan, an actress who used to call North Texas home. "When I get that kind of reaction, it's very disarming."
But her young fans adore her so much
that they get so excited and can't control themselves.
"You know what I've found helps
when they start to cry?" Ryan says. "I give them a big hug. That
seems to do the trick. Massive hugs all around. Hugs seem to make everything
better."
If Jessie gets any more popular, Ryan's
arms are going to be sore from so much hugging.
The show, which begins its second
season at 7:30 p.m. Friday, is consistently among the most-watched on cable,
averaging 3.5 million viewers for every first-run episode. It's TV's No.
2-ranked show among kids ages 2 to 11 and No. 3 among kids ages 9 to 14.
"That's amazing and incredibly
gratifying," Ryan says. "More than anything else, I'm really liking
it when the fans come up and say, 'This thing that you did inspired me,' or
'That story that you told made me realize something about myself,' or 'That
episode made me feel better about me and my family situation.'"
Jessie is about a small-town girl who
leaves Texas for the bright lights of New York City, where she winds up working
as a nanny to four rambunctious kids. In Season 2, Jessie will explore her
passion for acting and writing, while juggling a budding romance with Tony, the
building's handsome young doorman.
It's the kind of high-energy sitcom
that often has Ryan, a redhead with a flair for physical comedy, displaying her
best Lucille Ball-Carol Burnett-Debra Messing moves.
A gift for zany
"I'm just a massive
goofball," Ryan says. "I've always been that way. So I love doing
pratfalls and spit-takes and getting the laugh. If the script calls for me to
be doing stunts, like being strapped into a harness and hanging upside-down with
something dripping on my face, that's just so fun for me.
"The best compliment that anybody
can ever give me is when they say, 'Wow, that was such a Lucy moment.'"
Ryan lived in Keller until 2008. At 15,
she moved to California to pursue a showbiz career. She quickly landed a role
as Bailey Pickett in Disney Channel's The Suite Life on Deck.
When Suite Life ended its three-season
run, executive producer Pamela Eells O'Connell developed Jessie to showcase the
many things that Ryan can do.
"The first season fulfilled all of
my expectations in every way," Ryan says. "I knew I was going to work
really hard. I knew that I was going to make a funny show. I knew it was going
to be a very comfortable set and that every single person working on the show
would feel valued.
"Now, heading into the second
season, having created a family that viewers like and can relate to, we have
the opportunity to take this family into new situations and do even better
work. That's exciting."
Singing
on hold
Still, it's worth noting that we
haven't really seen everything that Ryan can do. She's also an aspiring singer,
songwriter and music producer.
Ryan has performed a few numbers in
Disney Channel projects. That includes singing the Hey, Jessie theme song that
opens every episode. But for the most part, she has resisted launching a
full-on second career, because she doesn't want her music to seem
"manufactured."
"I hold myself to a higher
standard than that," Ryan says. "I have too much love for music and
too much respect for the industry. It's been about four years that I've had
opportunities, and I've turned most of them down. People say to me, 'What's
taking so long? Just cut a record already.'
"But I want it to be genuine and completely personal and to have my absolute mark on it."
Given her big, bubbly on-screen
personality, some fans might be surprised to learn that Ryan is actually rather
introverted by nature.
"I can turn it on and off, but performing really shouldn't have happened for me," she says. "Growing up, I was incredibly shy and terrified. I was the girl who would hide behind her mom's skirt.
"Even now, I prefer small groups.
I'm not really into the big party scene and whatnot. I need to be a little bit
reserved. I unwind and refuel alone."
Yet there's something about performing
that fulfills Ryan like nothing else can.
"When I go onstage and I act or
sing, I never feel more alive," she says. "That's when I feel like
everything makes sense. It's terrifying and invigorating at the same
time."
