Victoria Justice sits down with Long Island kids

We met one of our favorite singers and actresses, Victoria Justice, when she was in Manhattan recently.

Why do you think your shows are so successful?

I feel really lucky to have done some successful things. I think “Victorious” was really successful because I think people love music. So to be able to incorporate that into the show was really fun and what girl, and probably a lot of boys, secretly don’t really want to be on stage singing and dancing and doing their thing? It’s so much fun. It’s a great place for creative expression. I’ve also worked with a lot of amazing people, like a lot of talented people — the cast of “Victorious,” the cast of “Eye Candy,” which is a show I did for MTV. I guess they’ve been successful because they’ve been about interesting topics that I think are really relatable but intriguing at the same time.

How do you feel about being in public? Do you like it all the time?

Most of the time I’m always happy to take pictures with people and say hi. And I like being able to make people’s day, like make someone smile. I think that’s a really cool thing that I’m able to do. But at the same time there are definitely days when I don’t feel like putting makeup on or doing my hair or whatever. And you don’t really want to get recognized or have your picture taken and you just kind of want to walk around with your friends and family and just be normal, I guess. It depends on the day.

Are there any books that you’ve read that you would like to turn into a movie and star in?

Yeah. I feel like I read a lot of autobiographies and I love a lot of spiritual and self-help books. I don’t know necessarily how you would turn those into a movie. Maybe if I could play Tina Fey, in her life story, that would be pretty awesome. I recently read her book “Bossypants.” I love her sense of humor. She’s just the coolest.

You have a great sense of style. Where do you get inspiration from?

So many different things I guess. I don’t know. I feel like having your own sense of style is another one of the coolest things for me, it’s like such a fun way to express myself. Every day when I wake up in the morning, I can dress however I want and take risks and wear something a little weird maybe. I don’t know just whatever makes me happy and I think I’ve been inspired by so many different people. Bianca Jagger who was married to Mick Jagger for a little bit. She’s like a ’70s icon. She has a really cool sense of style. I like people who don’t necessarily follow trends, but can make trends their own and kind of do things that are different.

What was your favorite episode from any one of your TV shows?

On “Zoey 101,” I remember one in particular where I was dressed up as a boy. That was really fun to be able to act like a boy and do like a lower voice and have a wig on and it was very unattractive. From “Victorious,” there are so many good episodes. Like being Louise Nordoff where I had the disguise on and the nose. That was really fun. I love the episode where we were all trapped in the RV together and it’s really hot and we’re fighting over water. Also the episode where we go to Uba and we all get to perform the [Jackson 5] song “I Want You Back.” That was really fun to have all the cast like dancing together and prison uniforms. That was a cool episode. “Eye Candy,” that’s the most recent show that I’ve done. I played a girl who was a computer hacker who was being stalked by a serial killer. If was very different to anything I’ve ever done. There was lots of action on that show.

Is there any music group or person you would like to work with?

So many people. I would love to work with someone like Meghan Trainor right now. I think she’s so good. I love her lyrics and her music and I love Cool Play and this band called Phoenix and I would love to work with Pharrell. I don’t know, so many people.

What show that you made do you miss most?

I think I miss them all for different reasons. I miss “Eye Candy.” I’m sad that it didn’t get picked up for another season, just because it was a really new cool role for me and I play a very strong female character. I love that whole cast so much. All of them. I don’t think I could really choose. It’s hard to say.

Are you still friends with the friends you grew up with?

I’ve kind of lost touch with a lot of people I grew up with because I moved to L.A. when I was 11 years old. I keep in touch with one person from Florida who was my best friend all throughout elementary school, but then I met a lot of friends when I came here, too. So it was kind of hard to keep in touch.

How old were you when you started acting?

I was 8 years old when I started acting. I did my first commercial when I was 8. It was for Ovaltine. It’s like a chocolate milk powder that you put in milk and that was my first job and then the rest is history, I guess.