Kicking off the week with some media duties, Julianne Hough showed up at Rockefeller Center in New York City for an interview on the “Today” show this morning (February 11).

The “Footloose” hottie looked gorgeous as she sat down to talk about her brand new movie “Safe Haven,” slated to hit theaters on Valentine’s Day.

Of the only-acting role, Hough explained, “It was exciting. It was challenging. I love a challenge and this was a complete departure from what people discovered me as. It’s Nicholas Sparks so I am the demographic of people who watch it.”

Julianne continued, “The story is about a girl who has a bit of a traumatic past and she’s moving forward and she goes to Southport, North Carolina. So it was definitely therapeutic for me. Again, I think that it was a pretty heavy topic that she goes through- some domestic abuse- so to me it was a nice thing to be able to be free and liberated through the acting.”