Ryan Gosling. Rachel McAdams. Liam Hemsworth. To think, you may have never known their names if it weren’t for one of the weepy romances by Nicholas Sparks, the writer behind “The Notebook,” “The Last Song,” “Dear John” and more. And as we ring in a new year of cinema, we find yet another actress toying with the lever on Sparks’ star-making machine: Massachusetts native Taylor Schilling. Fans of NBC’s short-lived medical drama “Mercy” may recognize the 27-year-old as nurse Veronica Flanagan Callahan, though she’s since hung up her scrubs, making the transition from TV to film in earnest this year with roles in the Sparks adaptation “The Lucky One” and Ben Affleck’s “Argo.” We chatted with the actress about Zac Efron, her breakout 2012 and whether making out underwater is as hard as it looks.

MTV News: Does this year feel like a particularly big one for you?
Taylor Schilling: Last year felt like a big year. This year feels just kind of like riding the wave. I did some fun work last year, so I’m excited to see how it shakes down.

MTV News: First up for you this year is “The Lucky One,” co-starring Zac Efron. Let’s cut to the obvious question: Is kissing Zac as amazing as one might imagine?
Taylor Schilling: Oh my gosh. I’m not going to let you down. It’s not a bad way to make a paycheck.

MTV News: My favorite Nicholas Sparks movie motif is the rain-drenched makeout scene. From the trailer, it appears you and Zac share a steamy smooch under a showerhead, which is a bit of a twist. What I’m wondering, technically speaking, is if there’s any special choreography to ensure you don’t drown with all that water falling on you?
Taylor Schilling: [Laughs] No, there didn’t seem to be a problem.

MTV News: So you’ve got both Ben Affleck and Zac Efron as leading men this year. How are you going to top that? Is Brad Pitt next?
Taylor Schilling: I don’t know. I don’t know where it goes from here. Brad Pitt, bring it.

[Source]