Singer/actress Mandy Moore is desperate to break away from her girl-next-door image because she's struggling to land decent movie roles.

The clean-living star is known for family-friendly films like 2007's Because I Said So and 2006's American Dreamz.

She has taken a break from her acting career to focus on her music but admits she has not starred in a movie since 2007's License to Wed because she keeps being offered the same boring roles.

And Moore is calling on casting directors to give her a chance to prove she can take on edgier projects, insisting she'd "work (her) a-- off" to get it right.

She tells Marie Claire magazine, "That won't cut it anymore. I don't want to be a wallflower. I don't want to be shy. Give me the opportunity to get in the room and have a conversation as to why I know I can do this. It's OK that you see me as this person, but I'm an actress, and I'll work my a-- off to play the part."

But that doesn't mean Moore will take on just any role: "It has to be right. I've had the opportunity to play the drug dealer who gets gang-raped, and I'm like, for what reason? Doing it just to do it? To just show people that I can be sexy or dark? I don't want to do something just to make that point. It needs to happen organically and I'm really confident it will. I'm a pretty patient person, and I'll wait until we find the right stuff."

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)