There's no question about it, actress Anna Kendrick's career has rocketed into the stratosphere since her Oscar-nominated role in the 2009 George Clooney dramedy "Up in the Air."

Still, despite finding success in such follow-ups films as "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World," "50/50," and more recently, "ParaNorman" and "End of Watch," the 27-year-old actress has managed to maintain an even keel.

"It's funny, people ask me all of the time how my life has changed (since 'Up in the Air'), but mostly it just feels all the same," Kendrick told me in a recent interview. "I'm still the same person in the same brain and body. The setting is different now, but it all feels the same. Not that it isn't exciting -- I don't want to sound jaded. It's just feels like the new normal to me. What happens to me next will be that new normal. "

In her new film "Pitch Perfect," Kendrick plays Beca, a college freshman who is cajoled into joining the Bellas -- an all-girls a cappella singing group entrenched in a rivalry with an all-male singing group on the fictional campus of Barden University.

Also starring Brittany Snow ("Hairspray") and Rebel Wilson ("Bridesmaids") "Pitch Perfect" is new in select cities Friday and opens wide Oct. 5.

Kendrick is returning to her performance roots in way with "Pitch Perfect," in that long before she appeared in films, she became an instant hit in Broadway musicals. In fact, in her debut as Dinah in "High Society" at age 12, she earned nominations for a Theater World Award, a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award.

Still, with music in her soul, Kendrick said it was the words -- not the tunes -- that got her interested in joining "Pitch Perfect."

"I think it was the script that was so seductive because it was so odd, funny and surprising," Kendrick said. "The music part of it was this additional element, but that's not really what drew me to the script to be honest. That was just an extra thing I got to have fun with in the rehearsals."

That's not to say she didn't enjoy belting out a few tunes -- even if it meant doing it over and over again.

"I geeked out pretty hard once we got into rehearsals. I think a lot of people felt that the rehearsals were long and I was just like, 'Yeah, this sucks!' -- but I was secretly just like a pig in mud. I was just so happy to be there," Kendrick told me with a laugh.