Julianne on Relating to her 'Paradise' Character

In her upcoming film Paradise, Julianne Hough plays a conservative Christian girl who suffers a crisis of faith after surviving a plane crash and heads to Las Vegas in search of corrupting influences. At last night's premiere, Julianne discusses how the movie mirrors her own experience of leaving a conservative background to pursue her dreams in Hollywood.

"Absolutely, I mean that was how I connected in the first place. I grew up in a conservative state, Utah, and especially the town and the school I went to," said the 25-year-old star. "First I went to London, which was a complete culture shock, and then to L.A., which was completely opposite of what our Mormon folk in Utah have gone through."

VIDEO: Julianne Hough Speaks About Escaping Dark Past

"You know I was very happy when I wrote this as strange as that might sound," Diablo said. "And I think there's a lot of sincerity in this movie that might take people by surprise -- especially coming off a movie like Young Adult, which is very cynical. I just felt like I wanted to write something about healing and about survival, and just something that would bring positivity into the world."

Paradise -- in theaters October 18 -- is the directorial debut of Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult), who also wrote the movie. Also starring in the film are Holly Hunter, Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman, Octavia Spencer and Russell Brand, who plays a bartender who helps show Julianne's character around Sin City.

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Watch the video for more from Julianne and to also hear Nick explain what it was like working on-set with Diablo.