First Look: Hilary Duff in What Goes Up

After working in local theater plays and television commercials, Hilary Duff gained fame for playing Lizzie McGuire, which quickly became the flagship for the Disney Channel. After the hit show fulfilled 65 episodes, Duff went on to a successful movie career in Cheaper by the Dozen with Steve Martin and A Cinderella Story with Chad Michael Murray; and launched a successful pop music career with three platinum albums. She has also topped the Billboard 200 numerous times, and recent hits that include "With Love,” "Stranger," and "Reach Out."

In What Goes Up, Duff plays Lucy, a teenager who comes across as a narcissistic seductress attempting to win over the much older character of Campbell Babbitt (Steve Coogan) but eventually reveals much more depth than the way people perceive her. She also recorded the hit song “Any Other Day,” which Robert Lawson wrote with her and Jonathan Glatzer, for the film.

In this clip, complete with two scenes with Steve Coogan, Duff talks about how challenging it can be to be perceived one way by others while being a different and deeper person inside. It’s a quality she says she shares with Lucy despite being completely different people with very different backgrounds.

First Look: Hilary Duff in What Goes Up

Duff was originally encouraged to take up acting classes alongside her older sister, Haylie, who is also an actress and singer. Today, she leads a successful multifaceted career and has made guest star appearances on several television shows, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She has recently completed several independent films that include War, Inc., Greta, and Stay Cool.

Duff, who has always been a strong philanthropist, is currently busy supporting AIDS Walk New York on May 17. She is also cast as Bonnie Parker in the upcoming The Story of Bonnie and Clyde (2010) and recently accepted a starring role in Provinces of Night (2010) with Val Kilmer and Faye Dunaway.