Amanda Crew might just be Hollywood’s nicest starlet. But don’t blame her for it—she’s Canadian. “I apologize for everything!” confesses the 24-year-old actress. “I was recently filming in Toronto and a hybrid taxi drove by, so I couldn’t hear it. He hit me with his side mirror—and I apologized!” This month, she stars as Zac Efron’s love interest in Charlie St. Cloud, and while she’s unflappable when it comes to er, minor accidents—starring opposite the hottest teen idol of our time was a teensy bit nerve-wracking. “There I am, it’s my first big studio film as a lead, and I’m hanging out with this good looking boy who’s pretty successful. I was like a 13-year-old girl again,” she says. Happily, Crew found her groove as the fearless, self-propelled Tess Carroll after just a few weeks of rehearsal: “Zac’s an amazing person. Any nervousness I brought with me was put to ease.” Perhaps it’s this adaptability that made her the ideal model for one of the most versatile hairstyles out there: A ponytail. Mark Townsend gave the star four innovative takes on the quintessential. The results? Drop dead gorgeous—and no apologies needed.

THE WORK PONY

A deep side-part, a sweep of bangs across the forehead, and brushed-out waves keep this mid-level ponytail from feeling too gym-ready. Crew’s favorite part of this look, however, was the nude lip. “I’ve been looking for a nude lipstick forever, but I’m a germaphobe so I don’t like trying them on in the stores,” she says. Makeup artist Fiona Stiles cracked the code with YSL Rouge Volupte in #2 Sensual Silk.