'photography by Bradley Walsh'

You may recognize this doll-faced beauty from the hit television show “Summerland,” where she played the role of “Callie,” heartthrob Jesse McCartney’s love interest. After “Summerland,” Danielle landed other TV shows such as “CSI: Las Vegas,” “The Closer,” “Grounded for Life,” and “Heroes,” and movies Bring It On: All or Nothing,  In The Land of Women, and American Primitive working with names such as Hayden Panettiere, Tate Donovan and Adam Brody.
Now, in between her impressive acting roles, Danielle has been in the studio recording what she calls her “edgy pop music,” with professionals who have worked with Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne. She is working on a solo album and in talks with major labels.
One thing is for certain- Danielle is a young star to watch in 2009. Continuing her endless drive to pursue her acting and musical career, she is also acting on her passion for directing, writing, theatre, and dance. She has already begun writing movie scripts and hopes to excel in the industry reaching even greater heights. What more could a girl do? If there’s more—we’re sure Danielle will figure it out and do it with stride!

Here’s a look at some of the questions we got to ask her when we ran into her at Sundance recently:

Hollywire: Your major acting debut came with the hit television show “Summerland,” where you played the role of Callie- Jesse McCartney’s love interest. Tell us about what that was like and what it did for your career.

Danielle Savre: Playing Callie was exciting and so much fun!!!  Imagine being at the beach everyday with the nicest people and getting paid for it all. I couldn’t have dreamed it up any better. It was excited because it was my first television show where I had a recurring role. It was really the show that set in motion my final decision to taking on acting full time. “Summerland” helped with my confidence in my acting as well as personally. Also I’ll never forget it was where I had my first on screen kiss! (Laughs)

HW: In 2006 you landed a on the hit NBC TV show “Heroes” alongside Hayden Panettiere. You played cheerleader Jackie Wilcox- what was that like?
DS: Being a part of “Heroes” was amazing. I signed on before the show was released and none of us knew what a success it was going to be! It was quite a trip to see something like that make such an impact overnight. Playing Jackie was completely different than Callie and previous roles I have played, so it was a challenge that I was so excited to dive into. I have to admit, playing the bad girl is definitely more fun than the good! I got to have my first gruesome death scene on this show. Which, as weird as it sounds, was hilarious to shoot- but very sticky with all the fake blood.

HW: Tell us about your time starring on MTV’s “Kaya.” Why didn’t the show get picked up? It was a fan favorite! Did it do a lot for your career moving forward?
DS: “Kaya” was a show that I fought so hard to get. I went in for it about six times before I finally landed the part. Truthfully, the last time I walked in the room I didn’t think it was going to happen.  But when I got that phone call I was jumping up and down like a crazy person. “Kaya” was such a unique show. It was a show that really dug deep into the depths of the music business. I have heard so many times from famous music artists how much they could relate to Kaya [the character]. It was a challenge for me as an actress to invent the confused soul of Kaya. She was so torn between the events in her real life and the events in her business life: father, mother, sister, boy band problems, and manager problems. If I were truly in her position I think I would have lost my mind.

I got the opportunity to be the lead of my own show, which was a huge task to take on along with the character. I left “Kaya” as a wiser person and a more well-versed actress. No one will ever know why “Kaya” didn’t get picked up for a second season. The cast and producers and I have sat around too many times and asked that question. If there is one thing I learned, it’s that all you can do is your job to the best of your ability and then the rest is out of your hands. But “Kaya” and my amazing boy band members and producers will always be a part of me. It was honestly the most fun I have ever had on a set.

HW: The industry is starting to really buzz about you in the indie movie “AMERICAN PRIMITIVE”… Heard the movie got a standing ovation at the Palm Springs Festival. What was it like playing such a challenging character and having the pressure of your role being your director when she was a young girl?
DS: “American Primitive” has been surreal and those standing ovations sent chills down my back. It was a project that everyone involved had to put their blood, sweat, and tears into. I had to gain weight for the role which as a woman is always scary to do, but after reading the scripting it was an easy decision. Again, the character Madeline was so different that any other character I had played. I think I am starting to notice I hunt down characters that would be new challenges for me. Madeline was vaguely based on the director Gwen Wynne; it was more her story than herself. It took place in 1973 and since I was born in 1988, I knew nothing about the 70s. It was an adventure to have to ask my family and friends anything they knew about the time and then to get to dig up all the stories from Gwen’s real life through her friends and family. It’s amazing how much you learn about a person that way. The story touches on such a taboo topic of children being raised by homosexual parents that it had to be interpreted perfectly. It was extremely mentally draining to play Madeline due to the fact that she was trying to keep a secret from everyone she loved and at such a young age, didn’t know how to handle it all. From day one my goal was to bring life into Gwen’s story and so far the fans are embracing it.

HW: There’s also a buzz going around about your music. What kind of music is it exactly and what can we expect to see of it in 2009?
DS: My music is a passion of mine. I have been blessed to work with some amazing and talented producers. It’s “pop with edge.”  It is a mix of the music styles of Pink and Britney [Spears]. The album I am working on now is hopefully going to be released by the end of 2009. With albums, it’s all about timing. It took me three albums prior to this to find my voice and vibe but I now know that this is going be the album that best represents me. All I can hope is that it has the same acceptance that my previous projects have.