The HiLite staff recently had the opportunity to interview Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell and Bella Thorne, cast members of the movie “The DUFF.” Some of the interview can be seen below. “The DUFF” will be hitting theaters Feb. 20, 2015.

Q. What made this movie stand out to you?

Whitman: Well, I will say one thing that I thought was really cool about this movie from the beginning is that she doesn’t change who she is the whole time.

You know she kind of tries on different clothes, and it was like, “Whoa, what do I need to do in order to you know make high school easier for me?” But she never changes her personality or who she is, or you know any of that.

And I think that’s what’s really cool because oftentimes it’s like, oh the big makeover, or the (thing). And it’s not, the big reveal here is her being like I don’t need this, I don’t need to feel that way. It’s more illuminating the process of what makes people feel like they need to change rather than actually anybody changing. And just more about like realizing that people usually try to make other people feel like they don’t fit in because they’re threatened or they’re insecure.

And so I think it’s a really cool thing to sort of shed some light on and help people get a perspective on that you know just because other people are insecure and try to put you in a box. It has nothing to do with you. It’s their problem.

Amell: Also, you know, it’s a bit of a spoiler, the main relationship that comes out of it, it’s not on aesthetic thing, these people you know the guy that Bianca ends up with isn’t who she wanted to be with from the beginning of the movie. You know that wasn’t the dream guy for her. It’s really the relationship that these people build and come to find within each other throughout the movie.

Q. Mae and Robbie, did any of you experience the discrimination as exhibited in the movie when you were in high school?

Whitman: I did. I definitely was bullied and called weird names, and stuff. And that’s a big reason why I was drawn to doing this movie to sort of communicate that. A lot of people go through this and that I certainly had. So I wanted to you know use my experience to sort of maybe make people feel less alone, or like you know this is a real infrastructure at all because it’s definitely not. It gets better after school. It definitely gets better.

Amell: I grew up in Toronto where everybody is polite and apologizes for everything. So I had a very tame high school experience but you know I always would have you know I stood up and would stand up for anybody that was getting bullied or that I saw get bullied just because it’s such a silly and stupid thing to do.

Thorne: Fantastic, I’ve never been to a high school. So I shoot high school movies and I guess to see those pretty little (Hawkers) I get so excited.

Arnell: Bella, loves (Hawkers).

Thorne: I love (Hawkers). But I was bullied throughout school for being dyslexic. So that kind of draw me to this movie too.

Q. How do you guys feel being casted as stereotypes in high school?

Thorne: I don’t feel like being casted stereotype for a mean girl. That’s makes me really angry. I don’t want to, I hope that I’m not doing any mean girl roles any time soon. It’s not really what I’m best at.

Amell: Bella is incredibly sweet. And she couldn’t be farther from her character. And I actually didn’t know if that’s how it was going to be when I first met her because she’s such a huge star at such a young age, and such a huge following. And you always think, well this girl might be totally out of her mind and she’s like the sweetest, nicest girl you could ever meet.

And then she turns it on you, like “oh my God, she’s a horrible person on screen.”