Vanessa Hudgens says drastic new cropped haircut makes her feel like a `soccer mom`

The movie beauty has chopped off her long curly mane to film new flick Gimme Shelter, in which she plays a pregnant teenager.

The 22-year-old is barely recogniseable after undergoing the dramatic snip.

On set, she's dressed in baggy jeans and a hooded sweater - a far cry from her usual smouldering look.

'Oh man, it's really intense, I'm still getting used to it,' she told Access Hollywood. 'Honestly, I kind of feel a bit like a soccer mom, but we're going to let that go.

'There's nothing wrong with soccer moms, but I'm only 22! I miss my hair believe me, I do. But there's nothing I can do about it.'

But unlike many A-list stars who went to the chopping block before her, Hudgens didn't visit a pricey salon or enlist a celebrity hairstylist.

'I grabbed the scissors and started cutting my actual hair,' the High School Musical star revealed.

'Then my director decided that he was going to grab the scissors, and he grabs a chunk of my hair and just chops it.'

In the upcoming drama film, to be released next year, Hudgens plays a pregnant teenager who is forced to live on a city's downtrodden streets.

She'll star opposite Brendan Fraser and Rosario Dawson.