Aria spills! Lucy Hale channeled her edgier, smoking hot alter ego on the cover of Cosmopolitan's September 2014 issue, where she opened up to the mag about opportunities—new and missed.
The Pretty Little Liars actress, 25, again recalled her audition for the role of Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey, elaborating upon what made it such an "uncomfortable" process. "It's exactly what you thought it would be," she said of reciting lines for the film adaptation of the S&M bestseller. "A big monologue but very, very sexual…there were some things that I was so embarrassed to be reading out loud."
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The ABC Family actress, though, remained a consummate professional about delivering Steele's sexy lines without hesitation. "It's one of those things where you have to commit wholeheartedly," Hale explained, "or you're going to make a fool of yourself."
For the star's father, it was probably a huge relief that the role ended up going to Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson's daughter Dakota Johnson opposite Jamie Dornan as Anastasia's dominating lover Christian Grey.
Hale shared a text via Instagram on Monday, Aug. 4, of her father's reaction to her latest photo op. "Saw your pic on Cosmo," he wrote of his baby girl, on the cover in a strapless LBD with a triangular cutout. "You look wonderful. Not too crazy about the articles beside your photo. Love u."
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The headlines splashed across the September issue of the mag included "Best. Sex. Ever. #HellYeah" "The New Science of Better Orgasms," and "It's Sex O'Clock! The Time He Wants You Most." Hale, already anticipating her father's reaction to the risque features, simply wrote on Instagram: "Sorry for the captions dad."
While Hale looks flawless and toned in the accompanying spread, the country singer said it's all smoke and mirrors.
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"[Pretty Little Liars] is about how we look too," she told Cosmo of Hollywood's focus on image. "That's terrifying sometimes because you’re breaking out or you feel gross and you still have to be in front of the camera. We'll post pictures on Instagram and people will be like, 'Y’all are so flawless.' Little do they know it's fake hair, fake eyelashes, and a good filter. Little girls see that and think they have to be like that."
This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Lucy Hale Smolders on Cosmopolitan Cover, Talks "Very, Very Sexual" Fifty Shades of Grey Audition