Cast Of 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series'

Joshua Bassett | Biography 2021

On 12 March 2021, Bassett Released His Latest EP

• By Ojasbi
• Update : July 23, 2021

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Joshua Bassett is considered a rising star in the world of Disney. He is recognized for Disney's comedy series Stuck in the Middle and the same entertainment conglomerate's High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

Who is Joshua Bassett?

Joshua Bassett is an actor, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. He began participating in local musical theatres at the age of 7. A decade later, in 2017, Bassett made his on-screen debut from the American buddy-cop action tv series Lethal Weapon in a cameo role of Will. Later, he achieved a substantial leap in acting through the Disney series Stuck in the Middle in 2018, where he portrayed his first recurring role, Aidan Peters. After that, he got hold of the role of main lead on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019 - 2021). 

He has also carried the title of a musician. Raised by a father who was a musician, growing up with sisters who were theatre artists, and being exposed to the world of musical theatre at a very young age of 7, Bassett was always at an advantage in terms of learning music. He was 15 when he first started writing music and later took it parallelly with acting. His single 'Lie Lie Lie' in 2021 landed him at no. 33 in 'Emerging Artists Chart.'

In addition to his acting and musical credits, his resume extends with appearances on various Television shows, including Celebrity Page, Good Morning America, Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and The Morning Show. Bassett has also acted in numerous commercials such as Nest TV Commercial' Prom Night' (2018) and Hyundai Spring Fever Sales Event TV Commercial 'Busted by Blue Link' (2019).

How old is Joshua Bassett?

Born on 22 December 2000 in Oceanside, California, the USA, to father Taylor Bassett, a professional pianist, and drummer, and Laura, a real estate agent, Bassett grew up doing musical theatre covering both singing and acting. He got introduced to the entertainment industry at a very young age through theaters. 

Bassett was born to father Taylor Bassett, a professional pianist and drummer, and Laura, a real estate agent interested in drumming. He has five sisters, Alison, Claire, Ashley, Winter, and Hanna. The sisters got involved in theatre from a young age. 

Bassett was homeschooled when he was young. He later graduated from high school and attended Palomar College in San Francisco, California.

Music and Stage

At the age of 7, Bassett learned to play drums from his professional pianist and drummer father to play it with the church band. His mother had also grown up playing drums.  

One time, Joshua even shared a stage with his sisters, parents, and dog in a play called Annie. He started sharing theatres with his family after his "older sister started taking dance classes," and the family started exploring their theatrical sides combinedly. "It just trickled down to the rest of the family," he recalled.

The family eventually started making their presence in the regional theatres such as North Couty School of Arts and Christain Youth Theatre.

"There was one time when I was in a production of 'Annie' with all five of my siblings, both my parents and my dog, who played Sandy. It shows you how involved my family was." (It was an occasion the North County Times highlighted in 2010 under the headline "Oceanside family is a troop of troupers," he recalled.

Later, Bassett completed high school and started attending Palomar College in San Francisco, California. While at college, one of the college students, a friend of his oldest sister, connected him on Facebook and asked if he was interested in the project she had been doing. "I thought nothing would come of it," he said later in an interview.

However, he soon found himself auditioning for the blockbuster movie, Avatar 2 after his conversation with the sister's friend. Later, the result was out: he didn't get a role. But the events that followed the rejection ended up inspiring him not to give up.

Growing Up as a Performer

According to Joshua, performing had always been a piece of his life, and performing for the church band was his starting point. Growing up, he built a great interest in both singing and acting. He wanted to translate his interest into a career but was always skeptical about the industry's scope in his early days.

He was 15 when he first started writing music. Followed by a positive response from a few people who heard his songs, he gradually grew confident in music, and a year later, at the age of 16, he also started acting, appearing as a guest star on  Lethal Weapon in 2017.

Television Career

Bassett started by appearing in a short video of 15 minutes titled Limbo, playing the character Celeb in 2015. Two years later, in 2017, he made his debut appearance as a guest star portraying the role of Will on Lethal Weapon. He also made a cameo appearance on Game Shakers in season 3's episode 5, 'Babe & the Boys as Brock,' in 2018. 

He landed his first recurring role in the Disney comedy series, Stuck in the Middle, as Aidan Peters in 2018. 

In the same year, he appeared in one of the episodes of Dirty John as the teenage version of the titular character. He proceeded on to making another cameo appearance on Grey's Anatomy as the character Linus in 2019. Later, he starred as the main character Ricky on High School Musical: The Musical - The Series in 2019. 

'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series'

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is an American comedy musical drama TV series created by Tim Federle (executive producer and writer) for Disney+. It is a series adaptation of the High School Musical film series.

Plot

.he series follows a group of teenage theater enthusiasts who participate in the school production of High School Musical: The Musical, which is set in a fictionalized version of East High School. In this school, the original film was filmed. Olivia Rodrigo, Josh Bassett, Matt Cornett, Sofia Wylie, Larry Saperstein, Julia Lester, Dara Reneé, Frankie Rodriguez, Mark St. Cyr, Kate Reinders, and Joe Serafini are cast in the series.

First season

The first season of the series consisted of 10-episodes entailing plenty of music, including both original and rehearsal room reinterpretations of songs from the original film. It aired first on 8 November 2019. Later, specials with two episodes followed the first season. The first one, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Special, featured behind-the-scenes footage from the production of the original High School film. In the second one, High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special, the cast of the series performed Christmas Music.

In the climax episode of Season 1 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Joshua Bassett improvised all of Ricky's lines to Nini on-camera.

"Joshua just improvised the most beautiful monologue. And he didn't tell me that he was going to improvise it and so they got my reaction to him improvising this beautiful monologue on-camera," Rodrigo revealed.

Second Season

Disney+ brought about the show's season 2 after a long hiatus in 2021. Its first episode streamed on 14 May 2021. The second season would end 30 July 2021, with the final episode "Second Chances.'

Joshua's Character 

Joshua Bassett portrays the role of Ricky, who is the main lead of the series starring opposite Nini, played by Olivia Rodrigo. Ricky's presence in the series can be described as a mixture of both sarcastic and charismatic. The series's storyline involves Ricky, a junior year student, auditioning for his school's first-ever production of High School Musical: the Musical to prove himself to his ex-girlfriend Nini.

Musical Collaboration WIth Warner Record 

Bassett has signed with Warner Records, and his creations support and protect that recording label. Bassett has composed and released around five songs with music videos in the span of 2020 to 2021, including 'Common Sense,' 'Anyone Else' (directed by himself), and 'Heaven Is You' (live performance, 2020), 'Lie Lie Lie' (debuted him at no. 33 in 'Emerging Artists Chart'), and 'Only a Matter of Time.'

He also possesses soundtrack credit for Season 1, episode 9 of High School Musical: The Musical - The Series. He also worked to make the soundtrack of  High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special. He also collaborated with Olivia Rodrigo for the second time for 'Even When/The Best Part,' a soundtrack from the second season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Rodrigo and Bassett had previously collaborated for 'Just for a Moment' as well.

On 12 March 2021, Bassett released his EP under his own name Joshua Bassett, which encompassed six songs, 'Sorry,' 'Do it All Again,' 'Lie Lie Lie,' 'Only a Matter of Time,' 'Telling Myself' and 'Heaven is You.'

Business

Basset tweeted a picture corresponding to the promotion of his merch line on 15 January 2021.

"Joshua's merch store is up now! ALL proceeds go to the charity of your choice. [JoshuaBasettmerch]," he wrote.

Later, he uploaded a video on his merch website stating that 100% of his profit would go to the charity preferred by buyers from the five charity options provided while checking out the purchase. The charity options under her merch line include FRIDA, The Young Feminist Fund, Jack.org, The Sunrise Movement, A Long Walk Home, and Teenline.

Dating and Breakup Rumors with Olivia Rodrigo

There have been dating and breakup rumors of Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo, but the two have never commented about the rumors. However, fan's theory claims that Olivia's 'Drivers License' and Bassett's 'Lie Lie Lie' had some connection with their past and current relationship stature.

Rodrigo's breakup ballad, 'Driver's License,' ignited gossip from fans that the song represented the separation of Bassett and Rodrigo. The rumors also got ignited when Bassett announced his single 'Lie, Lie, Lie,' just minutes after Rodrigo released 'Drivers License.' 

Similarly, Rodrigo's 'Good 4 You' released in 2021 gravitated to the rumors as fans speculated and analyzed the song's lyrics. The lyrics extended the fan's theory to Bassett dating another woman, rumored to be Sabrina Carpenter. The song lyrics further fueled the theoretical rumors of fans after it presented a reference to the narrator's mental condition— an issue Bassett often talks about in interviews.

"Well, good for you, I guess you moved on really easily. You found a new girl and it only took a couple of weeks. Remember when you said that you wanted to give me the world?" a part of the lyrics reads. "And good for you, I guess that you've been workin' on yourself I guess that therapist I found for you, she really helped Now you can be a better man for your brand new girl." 

Sabrina Carpenter

Some theories have also claimed that Bassett might be dating Sabrina Carpenter after Rodrigo. Dating rumors sparked when the two were spotted having brunch together in August 2020. The TikTok video of Carpenter as Sharkboy and Lavagirl in November 2020 further sparked their dating rumors. Some rumors as well suggest that the two musicians became close when Bassett was still dating Rodrigo.

Later, Joshua conversed with Teen Vogue on 11 May 2021 about the intense discussion surrounding the songs and the rumored love triangle between himself, Olivia, and Sabrina Carpenter, which even made its way to Saturday Night Live (SNL) 

"I get it. I get why people are asking about that stuff — but it doesn't really get to me," he shared. "It's kind of amusing at this point. Even like the SNL stuff, that's hilarious to me. People were so worried about me — and I'm like, dude, I'm honored that SNL is making fun of me."

On Love

In an interview, Bassett said that he had a soft spot for someone passionate about life.

"You don't have to be upbeat or falsely cheerful," he said in the interview, "but someone who seeks adventure, love, and life itself." He added. "If you seek love in everything you see say or do, I promise you, you will find it," he added.

Gay Rumors

In May, while speaking to Clevver News, Bassett was asked about Harry Styles.

"He is a very classy man," he said. "He's also very well-rounded and kinda does it all–acting, singing, fashion. I think he's just a nice guy, doesn't say too much, when he talks, it matters. He's just cool. Who doesn't think Harry Styles is cool?" he said. "Also, he's hot, you know? He's very charming, too. Lots of things. This is also my coming out video, I guess."

Though he didn't exaggerate much about his sexual orientation, Twitter got filled with tweets from some fans who regarded the interview as the actor's subtle act of coming out.

Basset's response to the rumors

Later, Bassett responded to the traffic of queries about his sexuality that had been spreading on Twitter. He used a sequence of rainbow heart emojis to caption the tweet, writing in a letter that he had long been judged for his sexuality." My entire life, people have told me my sexuality," he said. "People have shamed me for things they know nothing about. I want to say thank you to those of you who stand for love and acceptance," he wrote.

He continued his stance that individuals who condemn him because of his sexuality are ignorant and bigoted.

"Toxicity, hatred, and negativity say less about the subject, but say far more about those who spew it," he shared. "It's 2021. We are the generation of love and growth, it's time we start acting like it. Whether you love me, hate me, or damn me to hell, I love you all the same."

As his closing remark, Bassett thanked people who supported him during his career and also offered some suggestions to people who were having trouble figuring out their sexuality.

"Love who you love shamelessly," he tweeted. "It's ok to still be figuring out who you are. Life's too short to let ignorance and hatred win. I choose love."

In the letter, he chose not to identify himself with any gender or sexuality labels in the statement.

Did You Know?

• Bassett plays piano, drums, ukulele, guitar, bass, and a little saxophone, among other instruments. Dead Poets Society and Good Will Hunting are two of his favorite films. In an interview with Interview on 16 March 2021, he said that his favorite film was "anything featuring Robin Williams that makes me cry." He states that he spends much of his free time reading, writing, and watching TikTok videos. 
• Bassett is optimistic about pushing his boundaries in coming years." My dream role is currently a reality role. The fact that I get to act, write music, and sing for the same project is spectacular. I would love to do an indie-type film and push the boundaries of what I think possible for myself. Drama, comedy, whatever may come," he shared with Interview in 2021.
  In the same interview, Bassett expressed regret for not spending more time with his family when he was younger. He shared similar feelings for skipping counseling at a younger age and not taking greater emotional and mental risks.In the conversation, he also discussed what he sees in his dreams.
  "Oh yes! Sometimes I dream up entire symphonies, movie ideas, full plots, and other times old emotional traumas. You know, the normal stuff," Bassett shared.