THE INSIDER: KEEGAN ALLEN

Considering Lucy Hale's on our cover this month, our excitement for tomorrow night's winter premiere of ABC Family's hit show Pretty Little Liars shouldn't come as a big surprise. And of all the interweaving plots and high drama, the character we're most interested IN at the moment is ironically the one we know least about: the oh-so-mysterious Toby. Though he's definitely secretive and brooding on screen, Los Angeles-based actor Keegan Allen is quite the opposite in real life. At 25, Allen is at the top of his game and excited for what's to come. But what secrets lie behind his pearly white smile and inquisitive eyes? We called him into the office to find out…

Did you see Lucy on our cover this month?

Yeah, she showed me! I loved that issue. The photos were very cool. I'm very close with Lucy, I love reading the articles she's in. She's so funny to me.

Judging from the camera hanging around your neck, I'm guessing you take a lot of pictures?

Yeah, I have panic attacks when I don't have my camera on me. I try and bring it everywhere to alleviate the problem. Otherwise there are just so many moments where I'm like, 'Ah, I wish I had a camera right now!'

What's your stance on dating people you work with it?

It's definitely difficult to work with very interesting women everyday and be a single guy.  Whenever you're around someone so much, you feel okay and secure. But ultimately, I don't think it's a good idea at all. It's way too messy.

Your character on PLL seems the most mysterious of all the others. What kind of guy do you see him as? 

He's very meticulous, and a very interesting guy. He started out this outsider and this moral kid. In high school, I knew a lot of people like Toby in Season One—and the beginning of Season Two. I had to keep reminding myself that this is a child; he's not an adult. And as much as high school issues can feel like hell, it's not the end of the world, which is definitely hard to remember. I get that part of Toby though…I hated high school.

Do you think of yourself as similar to Toby?

From the beginning of the show, I felt like I was a total 360 from Toby. I'm always thinking, ‘God if I was really a black-hooded maniac and living in this town and dating this girl, how would I react to this?' But I'm a lot nicer than Toby I think, so it's never what I would say or how I would handle a situation. The writers are also really helpful on the show though, so I can always go to them and ask what my motivation in a certain moment is when I get stuck.

What do you do when you're not filming PLL?

Coming out to New York, it makes me realize how much I want to come back on my off time and do theater. Troian Bellisario--who plays my girlfriend on the show--is a really good friend of mine. We're on the opposite spectrum of anything romantic in real life, but we get along really well as friends. We share an interest in theater—when we hang out sometimes we'll call it “college,” and read plays together. I'd love to come back to New York and do a Broadway or Off-Broadway show.

What music are you listening to these days?

I listen to a lot of older music like Neil Young and the Beatles. I like Taylor Swift's music, but I think that's just because I have a crush on Taylor Swift. I don't know her, so it's not a real crush. I have stronger crushes on people that I actually know. But I like the product she's become and I'm definitely attracted to that whole heartbreak thing she has going. You look at her and it's like, ‘How could anyone dump you? How are you not the one doing the dumping.' I have a very ethereal crush on her.

But you must deal with many girls obsessing over you who you don't actually know, right?

Yeah it's definitely a weird thing. Like, I met a fan the other day and she goes, ‘I don't think you know this but we're married.' I was like, ‘Oh really!' It's definitely weird but I also get it…I think that way sometimes about old movie stars; like, ‘I'm married to Katharine Hepburn. I go home to her every day.'