Liv and Maddie Interview and Episode Preview #LivandMaddieEvent

Liv and Maddie Interview and Episode Preview

I can’t believe this is my last post from the Ant-Man Event.  I finally get to share with you the Liv and Maddie cast interview we had back in June.  I’m kind of a Liv and Maddie fan.  My daughter is a huge fan of the show so by default I end up watching quite a few episodes with her.  When I say I am a fan I really mean it.  Like I was upset when Maddie and Diggie broke up and I still can’t believe Liv and Holden won’t be a couple (I’m still holding out hope on this one).  So walking the halls of Ridgewood High was kinda awesome for me.  We weren’t allowed to take photographs on the set that day due to filming.  The cast did chat with us for a few minutes about their characters, season three and so much more.  We even had the opportunity to take a few photos in the Rooney living room.

The interview started when the cast came out and introduced themselves to us.  We had been watching rehearsal for the episode they would be filming that night.  The cast took a break to chat with us.  Of course one of the first questions was to Dove Cameron about her character/s Liv and Maddie.

Is Dove more like Liv or Maddie in Real Life?

Dove: Actually, funny enough like super, super short version of the long story. I originally only played one character. And then when they brought us back after 9 months of testing, they sort of informed all of us that it was now a Twin Show. So I didn’t audition for either character, so when the opportunity presented itself, our Director Andy Fickman was just sort of like, who do you want these girls to be? And so I just sort of split my own personality down the middle and then turned it up extreme Disney style. So I’m kind of a lot like both of them.

Comparing Working on a Film vs a Television Show

Kali: It’s sort of like a School year, like when you start a school year, you’re like, ‘I’m gonna get all A’s and I love extracurricular activities,’ and then you get to the end of it and you’re like, ‘I need Summer.’  So, you know, everything in moderation.  I feel like when you get to the end of the Season, you feel like – I want to do a movie.  And then you do the movie and you’re like, ‘I can’t wait to be back on a Monday through Friday schedule!’ So they’re both fun for different reasons.  I think everybody goes through that for different reasons.

Joey: Completely different, like we know everybody, we knew the crew here because we’ve done 3 Seasons for the most part with the same people in this giant big Black Box thing all day so you get to know these people. But coming here is kind of like…

KALI: A Family.

JOEY: Yeah, like a safety zone. Like when you go to a movie, it’s a new crew, new cast, it’s a new everything. And then you come back here and this feels like home base, so a sense of security.

KALI: I’m gonna cut you off here.

JOEY: Please do.
KALI: I would also say, and Ben and I could speak to this, we have kids. We are a Mom and a Dad. And a TV schedule is just so lovely for that whereas a Film or an Episodic, you know, which is basically like shooting a Film, you’re gone. You know, you’re gone around the Clock. So this has been a really nice experience for us to be able to incorporate our kids into this world and they watch the Show.

 

Is Playing Two Characters Confusing for Dove?

KALI: She doesn’t, we do.

BENJAMIN: Yeah, I’ve never seen her get confused. We’ll walk in and not know what’s going on.

DOVE: Well I was so petrified because the Twin thing was just sort of something that just like happened. So they were like, by the way, you’re going to be playing Twins. We’ll see you on Monday and I was like Ha Ha. I’m gonna get fired. I’m gonna lose my job. They’re gonna choose somebody else. So I was just so scared to get it wrong that I like severely over compensated and like went crazy far in the direction of like they have to be completely separate entities. So during the first Season, I think none of that happened. But I mean, I’ve never gotten confused but as the Seasons go on, I’ll walk into a scene, and I’ll be like Wait, who am I?

BENJAMIN: But I can’t go through a scene with Liv or Maddie without calling them the wrong one. So it’s confusing for everybody else.

Kali and Benjamin recalled what it was like when Dove first played both characters and how chilling it was to watch her transform from one to the other.  Kali praised Dove for her ability to portray both characters so well.

What’s Dove’s Favorite Moment on Set?

DOVE: Yeah, honestly and I think that everybody like in the world is so tired of hearing actors say this because everybody’s like “every day is a favorite.” I can’t even think of a favorite moment because there’s so many. And while that’s actually true because we really like each other and we function like a real family. Like, I’ll come to Kali and Ben for parenting advice and we fight all the time.

BENJAMIN: Oh yeah.

DOVE: I always win and stuff. But you know, but we really do have fun every single day. I think the first moment that came to my mind was when we got picked up to be a full series and they gathered us all.

It was, because we only initially got ordered for 6 episodes in Season One. And they gathered us all in the twins room and they were like, “Hey, we have an announcement,” and our Director played it off like we were gonna have a really exciting Guest Star. He kept being like, “Yeah, the Rock, the Rock.” And we were like, “The Rock is gonna Guest Star!” And then we got picked up for a full Series.

JOEY: It was like, “Oh not the Rock?”

DOVE: No… I just think that’s really fulfilling as an actor. We were all sobbing, we were all sobbing.

KALI: Well it has been a long journey, it has.

JOEY: That’s what’s so crazy is that it’s been… This is the 3rd Season, like we are right now where most Disney Shows reach their peak and are finished and are wrapping it up and they’re getting ready to start another Disney Show or to move on past Disney.

Was Disney the Main Goal For These Actors?

DOVE: I think secretly Disney Channel is kind of the goal for every young Actor, like I think that, I think it’s just so… You grow up watching it, it’s in your home. It’s like when you walk into Disneyland and you see Mickey, and you go, is that really Mickey? But maybe it is, you know? I would still go to Disneyland, I would be with my boyfriend and I’ll say – let’s take pictures with the Characters. He’s like, “you’re almost 20.” And I say, “OK Hon, I know but what if it’s really them?”

TENZING: With Disney Channel, there are the Shows and all the Casts are kids our age, for the most part. But with other Shows, when you find an NBC Pilot who have all Adults and if you’re lucky, one of them will have a Son that comes in every once in a while so the part’s aren’t as plenty as they are at Disney Channel. So when you’re a young Actor, odds are for the most part, you’re mostly auditioning for Disney/Nickelodeon, and the other parts very, very rarely come up.

So Disney/Nickelodeon is kind of something that everybody goes out for and some people are right for it and some people go on and do other things. And some people come here and settle down. Some people come here and move on, like it’s such a Court for young Actors to do whatever they want after it because they publicize you so much and you really learn your Craft and learn your voice. I think it’s a great jumping off point. I think it’s a great thing for us to have gotten into, especially at this age.

KALI: Oh yeah, I’m still Star struck to be here.

BENJAMIN: Yeah, and for me, Disney Channel was always on in my house like it was on so much that when I was little, I didn’t think that there was any other– {LAUGHTER] And so being here is just like, just amazing to me. I still can’t believe. like it’s already 3 Seasons and I still feel like I’ve just started.

We had a fantastic time chatting with the cast of the show.  They really enjoyed chatting with us as well because they didn’t want the interview to end.  I even had the opportunity to snap a photo with Joey.  He’s one hilarious young man.  I can’t wait to see what the Rooney’s are up to next.  Be sure to catch an all new episode of Liv and Maddie this Sunday – August 16th at 9 PM on Disney Channel.