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Shantel VanSanten, who plays bohemian photog, Quinn James on the hit CW series, One Tree Hill, has something major in common with her character. “I’ve always wanted to be a photojournalist and travel as much as I could,” she says. “That’s just one of the similarities I see between Quinn and myself.” The bubbly actress—who you may remember from her role as Lori Milligan in the 2009 movie, Final Destination 3D (185.7 million worldwide)—talked to Kidult about her work on OTH, and dished about the final four episodes of the season.

Where were you raised?

I was born in Minnesota in a town that had like 1,000 people. I was raised there, and in Houston, Texas, which is a lot bigger. I had the best of both worlds.

Did you belong to any cliques in high school?

I went to an all-girls Catholic school, and we had a small class of 48 people—so we didn’t have cliques. It was cool going to a small school because I didn’t have the influence of boys or peer pressure. I was able to figure out what I loved doing without being super judged. I was president of the Glee club, and the Art club.

What was your favorite subject in school?

Recess! [Laughs]. No, probably art. Painting and drawing were better than math!

When did you realize that you wanted to become an actor?

It’s funny because a lot of people knew what they wanted to be when they were five. I don’t think I ever really knew. At one point I wanted to be a nun. I wanted to become a journalist. It was always changing as I explored new things. I took an acting class when I was 16 and even though I had always done theater in school and I liked doing it, I never realized how much I loved it until I took that class. I kept taking classes and started booking commercials here and there, and when I moved out to LA, I saw that I could make a career out of it. Sometimes I have to pinch myself because I’m thankful for the fact that I get to do what I love.

When does One Tree Hill return from hiatus?

April 26!

What can you tell us about the first new episode back?

A lot happens. Quinn’s mother has passed away and she has a lot to deal with. She’s also going to be opening up her gallery. That’s something her mom was passionate about her doing, and she pushed Quinn to do. The episode picks up at the art gallery opening and everyone’s there. There’s going to be lots of drama!

One Tree Hill has some of the most devoted fans of any show on TV. Have you enjoyed having such devoted fans?

It’s cool because I’ve never experienced it before. It has such a huge fan base all over the world. They follow the show and have opinions and it’s nice to listen to them. Final Destination had a following because there were movies previous to it, but I’ve never had anything like this. I’ve never had to experience people making Facebook pages pretending to be me, or hacking into my email. I’m still shocked. I’m like, ‘why would you ever want to pretend to be me?’ I don’t understand.

What’s it like playing the love interest of heartthrob Robert Buckley?

Amazing! He’s my best friend in the whole entire world! We instantly connected because I feel like, in another life, I was a boy. It’s the coolest relationship to work with someone I really love—not on a relationship level—but more like he’s a good person and he’s my best friend. We have great chemistry too, which comes forth on screen.

Speaking of Robert Buckley, do you think Quinn and his character; Clay will get their happy ending?

It’s going to be rough because Katie’s back and she’s one of the craziest people we’ve ever had on the show.

Your character Quinn has to go through a lot of emotional drama. Have you enjoyed playing that role?

I’ve gotten so lucky with the writing because I’ve had episodes where I’ve struggled with my divorce and then I found my love for Clay and had the fun in love episodes. Then there were the episodes where my mom got sick. So it has been a roller coaster, but I’m happy that I get to do these things because I think people relate to that.

Some people are saying this 7th season could be the final season. Is that true?

We’re all sitting and waiting in limbo. I’m hoping the fans get the kind of closure they need and want from a show they’ve followed forever.

If the show does return for another season, what kinds of things would you like to see happen to your character?

I love exploring her fun, goofy side—like when I was able to do the crazy dance in the mid-season finale. I feel like we all have our down times, but I want her to do more fun things.

If you weren’t an actress, what would you be?

I’ve always wanted to be a photojournalist and travel as much as I could.

Just like your character!

Yeah! It’s funny—that was one of the similarities I saw between Quinn and myself.

What career advice do you have for your teen fans?

I have found that I’ve always had to follow my heart. Whatever I thought at a moment that I wanted to do or try, I went after it. It’s OK to fail and mess up because in those moments I learned the most. There is room for improvement and room to learn something. It’s about following your heart, and learning from your failures.

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