from 2010
DANIELLE CAMPBELL
talks about her starring role in the Disney Channel Movie StarStruck

by Scott Wolf

Scott Wolf: When did you first realize you wanted to be an actress?

Danielle Campbell: I had never really thought of acting. I was getting my hair cut in Chicago when I was about ten, and someone approached my mom, asking me to audition for an agency. So I kind of just fell in to acting.

SW: You had never done any before that?

DC: No.

SW: So what happened as a result of that?

DC: I got set up with an agency in Chicago and she set me up with my agency now in L.A. and a manager down there, too. I did a Build-A-Bear workshop commercial. I’ve done a bunch of different commercials. I did some print work. I did Prison Break. The more I did it, the more I fell in love with it. I’ve just really been enjoying it.

SW: How did StarStruck (the Disney Channel Original Movie) come to be?

DC: I was auditioning over the summer, and StarStruck was such a cute story and I loved reading the script, so when I went and auditioned for it, I had a great love already built up for the movie and I think that helped me a lot. It was a lot of fun. The auditioning process was quite long actually.

SW: How long was it?

DC: It was like seven auditions. There were producer sessions and screen testing. There were quite a number of auditions.

SW: Did you read with others who are auditioning for other roles?

DC: With different movies, different casting directors might pair you up with different people. Usually when you get closer to the end of the auditioning process they’ll start mix-matching characters up to pair up and see the chemistry, called a chemistry read. So that’s how those usually work.

Sterling (Knight) and I bonded right away so it was really easy.

SW: Were you familiar with him or any of the other cast?

DC: I had seen them on TV but I’d never met them before.

SW: How did you find out you got the part?

DC: I got home from lunch with some of my friends and I was in my bedroom and my mom came upstairs and she told me that I’m going to be Jessica Olson in StarStruck and I didn’t believe her. I thought she was joking with me at first and I kind of looked away and she was still staring at me. Then I was speechless and it was just like an “Oh my God!” moment, so it was really cool.

SW: Do you remember telling your friends about it?

DC: I told my close friends, but it kind of ended up spreading to the rest of the school.

SW: Was it different for you going back to school after it aired?

DC: It wasn’t much different for me because everyone had known about me and my acting by the time I went back to school. I had missed the first semester of my first high school year, so that was a bit hard. I kind of came in as a new student, but everyone was really nice and I had friends who were already there, so I just fit right in and everyone has been really supportive of me, so it’s been working really well.

SW: Were there any surprises to you in the work while filming or did it all go as you would have thought it would?

DC: I had never realized how many people there are in making one movie and it really makes you appreciate how much work is put into it. There’s so much more than meets the eye when you think of a movie. There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes and I really got a better understanding of how that all worked and it made me appreciate it a lot more.

SW: I know you don’t sing in StarStruck but a lot of Disney actors end up singers. Do you do any singing?

DC: I haven’t done any professional singing. I like to sing in the shower and the car, but right now I’ve just been acting.

SW: What are some of your favorite memories of working on StarStruck.

DC: Just being with all of the cast members. They’re so much fun and we formed really good relationships on set. It was like our own little family. Also the directors, the producers, just everybody. Everyone was so much fun to be around and we had kind of our own party every day. It was a joy to go to work.

SW: Have you done any other work for Disney since StarStruck?

DC: I’ve done an episode of Zeke and Luther on Disney XD, but not too much.

SW: Do you have anything in the works for future roles at this time?

DC: I’ve been auditioning and I’ve got callbacks on a few projects. Hopefully they’ll be something I’ll be seen in soon.

SW: You’ve got great reviews in StarStruck so I’m sure we’ll see more of you. In fact, I think the “Hollywood Reporter” called you “the next Miley Cyrus.”

DC: That was really cool. Hearing that makes me really smile. I’m really just working hard and trying to make a name for myself out there and I’m just trying my best.

Sterling Knight interview
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