Bruin plays leading role opposite Dane Cook, Josh Hutcherson in “˜Detention’

Shanley Caswell, is following a different script than the average college student. Since she was 16, Caswell has been acting in Hollywood, scoring minor roles on popular TV shows such as “The Mentalist,” “I-Carly,” “CSI: NY” and “Bones.” Her new movie, “Detention,” which opened on April 13, was the first film in which she was cast in a leading role.

Originally from Sarasota, Fla., Caswell a third-year anthropology student, graduated high school early at the age of 16 and moved out to Los Angeles with her mother to pursue an acting career. Once here, they rented a room from some family friends who also helped get her an agent.

In addition to her acting, Caswell attended Santa Monica College for 3 years before transfering to UCLA last fall. She said her motto for balancing everything is to just take each thing one at a time. According to Caswell while on the set of “Detention,” it was a 19-hour workday. So, between shifting from outside to inside scenes, she had to rush to a computer to take a midterm for an online class.

Caswell’s love of film and acting far preceded her arrival in Los Angeles. She was involved in theater productions in high school, but she said her favorite experience was in a program called Teen Source.

Teen Source performers create skits that revolve around teen issues such as drugs, pregnancy and drunk driving, and perform them for schools that lack relevant education programs.

“It’s changed me because it made me take responsibility for my work. I was proud to do it,” said Caswell.

Caswell’s acting career has come a long way from her Teen Source days. She keeps high-profile company in “Detention,” working alongside co-stars Dane Cook, Josh Hutcherson and Spencer Locke.

“I was really, really scared. I had never been a lead in a film before, but the director had a lot of confidence in me and Josh (Hutcherson) had a lot of confidence in me. If they had confidence in me I could have confidence in myself,” said Caswell.

In the film, Riley Jones (Caswell) is portrayed as a loser who is hopelessly in love with her hipster best friend Clapton Davis, played by the recent “Hunger Games” star and executive producer of “Detention” Hutcherson. The two are terrorized by Cook’s character Verge, the ultra-angry principal of Grizzly Lake High School.

Riley’s life is soon jolted into even more disarray by the appearance of “Cinderhella,” a fictitious serial killer from an invented slasher-film within the movie. When a couple of fellow classmates are murdered at a party Riley and Clapton attended, they are sentenced to Saturday detention along with other party goers in order to root out the murderer.

According to director Joseph Khan, the multi-genre feel is meant to communicate Riley’s struggle to find herself.

“I wanted to simulate the confusion (of high school),” said Kahn. “That overwhelming feeling that the world is bigger than you can ever imagine, and you’re just trying to find your way through it.”

According to Hutcherson, who helped with casting as the executive producer, Caswell played a huge part in the success of the film.

“She was hand-over-fist better than anyone else we saw. She was very real, believable and likeable. And her character Riley is sometimes a pessimist, so it’s good to have someone likeable, so you don’t actually hate the character.”

Caswell said her future is a bit of a mystery, but she continues to work in acting, having just finished filming a horror movie titled “The Warren Files.” After college, Caswell said that she would like to do something in entertainment, either acting, casting or producing.

This comes as no surprise to co-star Hutcherson when he speaks of her huge potential.

“I think the kind of possibilities and opportunities for her are endless right now. She’s 20 years old and she’s extremely talented, and she’ll be on the up-and-up,” said Hutcherson.