Hairspray Star Nikki Blonsky Cast in Teen Comedy 'Harold'

Hairspray star Nikki Blonsky, who has won acclaim for her exuberant turn as Tracy Turnblad in the film version of the Broadway smash, has found another film role.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Blonsky will join Ally Sheedy, Colin Quinn and Cuba Gooding Jr. (who is also among the film's producers) in Harold, a high school comedy written by Greg Fields and T. Sean Shannon and directed by Shannon.

"Blonsky plays Rhonda, the nerdy best friend of balding teen Harold (Spencer Breslin)," according to the article.  "I read a bunch of scripts after Hairspray, but this was really funny and had so much life in it. I'm playing an outcast again, but not necessarily because of the whole 'plus-size' thing...It's because my character marches to the beat of her own drummer," said Blonsky, who was surprised to learn after she auditioned that Harold will be shot in her home town of Great Neck, NY (with her middle school as one of the sets, no less).

Now eighteen, Blonsky was working in a local ice cream parlor when she was cast as Hairspray's Tracy. Prior to that, she performed in Great Neck productions of Hair and Alice in Wonderland, among others.

Hairspray, directed by Adam Shankman and also starring John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and Queen Latifah, has earned over $62 million domestically as of July 30th.  Visit www.hairspraymovie.com for more information.

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