Last year was good for Ashley Benson, and if scoring the cover of the March issue of Cosmopolitan is a sign, 2014 won’t be any different.
The 24-year-old, who got her big break when “Pretty Little Liars” premiered on ABC Family in 2010, showed she had what it takes to transition to the big screen with her wicked turn in last year’s “Spring Breakers.”
“I never want to do nudity that’s gratuitous,” Benson told the magazine. “Girls look so much better in lingerie or a t-shirt and leave the rest up to the imagination. I make it clear that I have a line. Everyone tries to push you, and it’s easy to get talked into doing those things. I’ll just walk off-set. But not everyone realizes they can do that.”
The actress also makes sure that she’s the one calling the shots off-screen as well. While so much of young Hollywood is drawn towards the hard partying lifestyle, Benson has kept her distance, especially when it comes to drugs.
“There are drugs and alcohol in my family on both sides, so I’ve seen lives ruined, going to jail and all that,” she says. “Once you start with any drug, it can be an addiction – that’s why I never want to start and am not even tempted, because that chain is relentless. And if it runs in your family, you see how unglamorous it is. I would never want to be out of control with my body.”
Benson touched on some lighter issues as well, liked the main difference between her and her fashion obsessed, popular girl character on “Pretty Little Liars,” Hanna Marin.
“The thing I always make fun of is the wardrobe. Really, do you think anyone would actually wear full hair and makeup and 6-inch heels to school? I was 13 when I was last in school, and I never wore makeup. I wasn’t allowed … If I had gone to high school, I would have rolled out of bed and showed up in sweats.”
The actress, who recently exchanged her trademark blonde tresses for a caramel locks, is prepping for an upcoming role in “Webcam.” The March issue of Cosmopolitan hits newsstands on February 4.