Joshua Bassett<\/strong> was one of the breakout stars of High School Musical:The Musical: The Series<\/strong>, but he almost didn\u2019t do it!<\/p>\n The 25-year-old singer and actor played Ricky Bowen across all four seasons of the Disney+ musical television show, and was nominated for two Emmys, winning one, for songwriting. <\/p>\n While the actor did end up starring in the show, he revealed in a new interview that he originally didn\u2019t want to do it. He also shared that he auditioned for the Zombies<\/em> movie, as well as the Avatar<\/em> movies!<\/p>\n \u201cI had kind of given up on the acting idea. I wasn\u2019t really pursuing it. And then my sister\u2019s friend from college messaged me on Facebook and said, \u2018We\u2019re casting this movie Zombies<\/em> and I think that you might be a good fit for one of the roles.\u2019 And I was like, \u2018Yeah, right. I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m going to film school, bro. Like, I\u2019m not going to act.\u2019 And then I\u00a0went up for it. It didn\u2019t end up working out, but the next day I had a call back for Avatar<\/em> 2, 3, and 4,\u201d Joshua<\/strong> shared on SiriusXM\u2019s Page Six Radio<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t book them, but it made me realize, \u2018Oh, maybe I can do this.\u2019 And so I went through very rigorous, like I had like over 200 auditions in a year and I was driving up to LA every day. And I was kind of just like seeing how this goes. I was like f-ck it,\u201d he continued. \u201cI was like, \u2018Let\u2019s just see where it leads.\u2019 And so I didn\u2019t necessarily, wasn\u2019t shooting for Disney per se, but you know I ended up, you know, having pretty good luck with Disney and it ended up working out.\u201d<\/p>\n Joshua<\/strong> then shared how he was going up for another TV series at the same time he was up for HSMTMTS<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cFunnily enough there was another show that I was up for when I was going up for High School Musical<\/em>. I remember when I got the audition and I was like, \u2018Oh god, like they\u2019re going to ruin High School Musical<\/em>.\u2019 Like Disney loves to milk a franchise. I was like, \u2018Oh god, they\u2019re going to they\u2019re going to ruin it. It\u2019s a cash grab,’\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then there was this other show. I won\u2019t say what network, but I was convinced it was like my thing. I was like, \u2018This is a deep show.\u2019 It\u2019s like edgy and cool and I really wanted this show. I did not want High School Musical<\/em>. They were going to screen test me and Disney found out. And so they said, \u2018We\u2019ll see you the next day.’\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo they brought me in for a screen test the next day. Ended up booking High School Musical<\/em>. And ironically, you know, High School Musical<\/em> went on to be four seasons,\u201d Joshua<\/strong> continued. \u201cI won an Emmy. It ended up changing my whole life. And the show that I thought that I wanted on the cool network that was edgy barely had one season. It totally flopped. The reviews were terrible. You just, you don\u2019t know what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n Joshua<\/strong> was nominated for Outstanding Original Song for a Children\u2019s or Young Teen Program two years in a row at the Children\u2019s and Family Emmy Awards<\/em>, and won the first time for \u201cFinally Free\u201d from season three. <\/p>\n![\"Joshua](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/media.justjaredjr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/166268_7983_v1_17837d98-788x631.jpeg\")
![\"Joshua](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/media.justjaredjr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/joshua-bassett-in-hsmtmts-788x630.jpeg\")