The Disney Channel Presents: "Girl vs. Monster"
Jump to: Olivia Holt Interview | Luke Benward Interview
It’s a Halloween Trick and Treat When “Girl Vs. Monster” Premieres on The Disney Channel!
By: Susan J. Yeager
Just in time to scare up some drama, another great Halloween original movie premieres on the Disney Channel. “Girl Vs. Monster” carries on the tradition led by made-for-TV events such as the “Halloweentown” movies and “Twitches.”
Meet Skylar Lewis, a confident high schooler who can’t wait for Halloween so she can party with her friends and maybe even sing a number or two for the crowd. She’s also ready to hang out with her friend “Ryan,” another student who likes to sing and play guitar. She’s pretty sure that he wants to ask her out and she’s pretty sure that she would say yes if he did.
There’s just one big problem. In an act of overprotection, Skylar’s parents forbid her to go out on Halloween. She has no idea that their fears are warranted. Unbeknownst to Skylar, her parents are fourth generation monster hunters and Halloween is the most dangerous night to be out.
When Skylar decides to disobey her parents and head out anyway, she unknowingly unleashes all the monsters her parents have been holding captive. Did Skylar inherit her parent’s monster fighting abilities? Can she and her friends save Halloween? Does she have a ghost of a chance?
“Girl Vs. Monster” boasts a great cast of up-and-coming talent like “Kickin’ It” star Olivia Holt, Luke Benward and Katherine McNamara. We chatted with Olivia and Luke to find out more about this fun-filled, Halloween adventure.
To learn more about "Girl vs. Monster" check out the official site: tv.disney.go.com/disneychannel/originalmovies/girl-vs-monster
The “Sky’s” the Limit for Actress/Singer Olivia Holt
Olivia Holt is a very busy teenager these days. Disney XD fans know and love her as “Kim” on the martial arts themed show “Kickin’ It” and this month she’ll appear as “Skylar” in the Disney Channel original movie, “Girl Vs. Monster.” She also recently stopped by Radio Disney to premiere a new single from GVM called “Had Me at Hello.”
The ambitious teenager doesn’t mind not having much free time these days. She is living a life that she’s dreamed about for a long time, she just never quite knew how to get to where she wanted to be. Lucky for her, fate had a plan.
“You know, it’s funny, growing up, I was a gymnast for a really long time,” Olivia says about knowing she wanted to be a performer. “Along side of that, me and my sister, we would put on little plays for my family. We would sing songs. My Mom saw how much we both loved it and she took us to little local theater camps in our hometown. It’s funny because I didn’t come looking for the whole being on TV or doing films. I thought it wasn’t possible for a like a girl from a small town in Mississippi.”
“My voice coach for singing brought me out to a convention, out in California,” she continues easily, as if she was just chatting with an old friend. “We thought it was just like something fun, a cool experience. I actually ended up getting over 40 callbacks from different agencies. I ended up signing with one.”
Though she obviously impressed the Hollywood talent scouts, her family was bound and determined to keep her feet on the ground and shelter her from the rejection that inevitably happens to actors. “My parents were like, ‘Okay, we’re NOT moving out here. Just every summer, we’ll come out here; you’ll do a couple auditions. If you book something that’s great… but we’re going back for school.’ So we ended up doing that for about four years. Then I ended up booking the role on ‘Kickin’ It’ on Disney and we ended up moving out here.”
The actress is incredibly grateful for how the journey is going this far. “I’ve been learning so much ever since then. Every day I realize how blessed and happy I am to be right here out here now. I think it’s such a cool experience. Just, growing up, I always wanted to be an actress. I never really understood how it was possible to be doing the things that I’m doing now. Now that I’m here, it’s like ‘Pinch Me! Am I dreaming?’ I absolutely love it!”
Prior to “Kickin’ It,” Olivia gained in-front-of-the-camera experience by appearing in several commercials. “The first time I ever booked anything, it was a Hasbro commercial for Littlest Pet Shop. That was so cool to me. I thought it was so much fun. I think then, that’s when I realized I loved doing things like that. I ended up booking a couple of commercials after that for Bratz dolls, [and] Kidz Bop.”
For the past couple of years, Olivia’s main gig is one of the original shows on a Disney Channel spin-off channel called Disney XD. “Kickin’ It” is set in a martial arts dojo and Olivia is the lone girl in a cast of boys. She’s having the time of her life! “I think the people make it so much fun!” she gushes when asked about the best part of the job. “I absolutely have a ball with the people that I work with! I could not ask for a better cast and a better crew. They’re all so hard-working and talented. Every day is like a new adventure up on set. We all have such a great time.”
She also knows that one of the best ways for an actress to improve is to work! “I’m learning so much a long the way. Being on set, I learn the ropes on [how] the camera works or things in wardrobe and props. We get a new director almost every week and I get to learn how they work. It’s just really cool and I’m having such a great time!”
“I’m learning new things about my character,” she continues. “When I booked the role of ‘Kim’ I had a back-story for her. Each day, I’m kind-of learning [something] new and growing in to my character. I think that’s really cool that I get to learn and express new ways of how to show ‘Kim’ and what her story is.”
During a break from “Kickin’ It,” Olivia filmed a “monster” movie. “’Girl Vs. Monster’ is a fun Halloween movie,” Olivia answers when she’s asked to describe the movie. “It’s cool because you know, it’s a kid-friendly Halloween movie but it is also has a little bit of intensity feeling to it. It’s basically about my character, Skylar Lewis, who on Halloween, finds out that she’s a fifth-generation monster hunter. She has these big plans on Halloween. She wants to go to this party with this guy she likes.”
“It ended up not going as planned,” she continues. “Her parents are making her stay home on Halloween. Her parents leave and she ends up wanting to just get out of the house. Well, she ends up releasing all of the monsters that her parents and her ancestors have gotten over the years. It turns into this huge, hectic, chaotic night where her and her friends have to kind of save the Halloween day. I totally had a great time filming it! I think the movie brings such a cool message. It’s about facing your fears and how to overcome them. I think everyone needs a little bit of inspiration in their life to overcome their fears. If they realize how powerful and confident they are then I think you can totally do it!”
“I think Skylar is a total confident girl. She’s so fearless. She doesn’t care what anyone else thinks. Halfway through the movie, when she releases all the monsters, she learns fear and she has to learn how to overcome that fear. I think that when she finds out that she’s a fifth generation monster hunter, I think she has to decide if she accepts the fact that that’s who she is and that’s where she comes from. I think a long the way when she’s learning more and more fear, I think she’s realizing how much she has to learn how to overcome all of it. I think her friends help her do that. She ends up overcoming her fear. I think that’s really cool. Everyone needs a little bit of fear in their lives. I think that Skylar had it and now she understands it a little bit better.”
Olivia didn’t have to look to far for inspiration to create the character. “I think it’s really cool because in ‘Kickin’ It,’ Kim is a really confident girl. Like Skylar, she doesn’t care what anyone else thinks. I kind of got to bring Kim a little bit into Skylar.”
“When it came to the fear time, it was kind of a challenging role because in the beginning of the movie she’s totally confident, she doesn’t really care but then kind of halfway through the movie, I had to challenge myself to become scared,” Olivia admits about playing someone who has to battle monsters. “I kind of just put myself into those shoes as being scared and thinking ‘Wow, what if I was actually facing a monster right now?’ That kind of helped a little bit, by becoming Skylar and realizing that she is in the middle of fear at the moment.”
One of the perks of this job was getting to hang out with peers like Luke Benward and Katherine McNamara. Olivia can’t say enough good things about her co-stars. “The cast and I clicked like the first day that we all met each other. I think that was really cool because we spent two months together. We had such a great time! After every day on set we would go out to dinner. We all stayed in the hotel together so we played hotel tag. We played games every single night. We all just got along so well!”
“They’re all so nice!” she continues to gush. “They were so focused but loved to have a good time! That was one of the things that I loved about working with them. I think that we all just got so close and now we’re all such good friends. I see them basically every day. I made some life-long friends and that made me really happy!”
Since the movie is about Halloween, we asked Olivia her thoughts on the upcoming holiday. “The whole Halloween time, I think it’s so fun! You get one night where you get to just dress up and be free and just have such a great time. You just go around, trick- or-treat, throw a party, have a great time, eat all the candy you want! I love it! I think it’s so much fun!”
“This year, I am totally dressing up! I will probably dress up for the rest of my life! I’m not sure what I’m going to dress up as this year! I’m going to figure it out though because I know for sure that I will be dressing up!”
Between the acting and the singing, it’s hard to picture Olivia having time to sleep, let alone be a normal teenager. She does find time sometimes though to just hang out. “My parents and my family, when I’m not working, we all love to just kind-of hang out together. Every Friday night, our tradition is to go to the movies or to watch a movie. It’s so fun because after work they’re like ‘Okay… are we going to the movies?’ and I’m like, ‘Again?’” she laughs.
“I love it because I don’t really have so much down time. When I do have that down time, I love to spend it with my family. I have a close set of group of friends that I don’t get to see often so I think it’s cool when we all hang out together. I absolutely love when I have that down time because it’s just kind of a catch up moment. They’re all really supportive. I can’t thank them enough for the love and support that they’ve given me.”
Olivia is also learning the joy of donating some of that free time to help others. “Not too long ago, I went to the Variety ‘Power of Youth’ event,” she states. “Things like that really inspire me. It’s just where all these charities come together. I think it’s really important to give back, especially in our generation now, we have such a huge impact from giving back and we have such a huge impact on the world. No matter how old or how young you are, you can change the world.”
“I want to be one of those people who can just help out as much as possible. I’m from the south, so I’m kind of in with St. Jude. I went to the hospital once. It was just such a cool place. To be there and experience what it was like being there. Learning new charities and being involved with as many as possible is really important.”
At fifteen, Olivia Holt is making a name for herself as a young talent that everyone should keep an eye on. That shouldn’t be hard, given that she’s got so much on her plate right now. “Definitely keep tuned to more episodes of ‘Kickin’ it,’ she exclaims as the conversation begins to wind down. “There’s definitely going to be a lot more episodes coming out for the second season.”
“I’m working on some music right now which I am really excited for everyone to listen too! Also, just check out ‘Girl vs. Monster!’ It will be premiering October 12. I’m really excited for everyone to see this whole entire movie put together. It’s such a cool film and I’m really excited for everyone to watch and have a good time for Halloween.”
There is a lot going on for the small town girl from Mississippi who took one step at a time to make her dreams come true. She’s a full-fledged member of the Disney community and it’s a status that Olivia won’t take for granted any time soon. “It’s such a honor! I watched Disney ever since I was little. Growing up, Disney was like MY channel. Lizzie McGuire, That’s so Raven, Even Stevens, Phil of the Future, I loved all of those shows! Being with them now makes me so happy because they’re such a great network. I love the Disney Channel family! They are like a huge family and I think it’s really cool that I’m able to be a part of it and work with them every day.”
Be sure to catch Olivia’s talented turn as “Skylar Lewis” on October 12 at 8:00PM EST on the Disney Channel. Don’t forget to tune in to Disney XD to see her as super confident “Kim” on “Kickin’ It.” She isn’t quite sure how she got here, but one thing is clear. This girl is here to stay!
For learn more about Olivia's Disney Channel series Kickin' It check out the official site: disney.go.com/xd/kickinit
Follow Olivia on Twitter @olivia_holt
Luke Benward Is the Boy That Every Girl Wishes Lived Next Door in “Girl Vs. Monster”
Disney Channel fans are going to love getting to know actor, Luke Benward, a little better, thanks to his role as “Ryan Dean” in the original TV Movie “Girl Vs. Monster” which premieres on October 12. Those with good memories might remember seeing him play “Charlie Tuttle” in another DC original called “Minutemen.” The Tennessee native is thrilled to be back on the network and recently called in from a visit home to talk about singing, acting and monster fights.
“I’ve grown up in an entertainment family,” he replies when we ask that he just start at the beginning. “Pretty much my entire life, I’ve lived and breathed entertainment. My Dad is a singer/songwriter and my Mom’s an actress. I just kind of grew up living in this business as a whole. I went of my first audition when I was five. My Mom’s agent called me on it. I left Kindergarten class and went. That happened to be for a Mel Gibson movie called ‘We Were Soldiers,’ which I booked. That was my first job. I didn’t really realize that I was passionate about acting until I met my agent and shot my first, like, actual speaking role, in the movie ‘Because of Winn Dixie.’ That’s kind of when the passion started in me.”
Having a natural ability in front of the camera, Luke landed parts in commercials, music videos and feature films like “How to Eat Fried Worms.” He balanced auditions and jobs with “normal” life, like school, family and friends. He’s perfect for the part of “Ryan” in “Girl Vs. Monster.”
“For this character in particular, he definitely had some of the same qualities I had,” Luke says about relating to his character. “He’s a musician. He’s self-conscious about singing on stage and his voice. For a long time, I was very self-conscious too about singing in front of people. As I’ve auditioned for Disney and for other singing roles, I kind of gained more confidence in that area, but I still have that inside feeling of, ‘Yikes! You’re not good enough or what if your voice cracks and everyone laughs?’ So I’ve definitely dealt with that, which Ryan deals with in the movie.”
“I can tell you a lot more than I could about two weeks ago,” Luke laughs when asked to describe the movie. “We just had a screening. It turned out amazing! I think audiences are really going to like it. It has entertainment for the whole family. It’s funny. The guy who plays ‘Cobb,’ Adam Chambers, the Mom and Dad in the film, they’re all really funny. So there’s these comedic moments. There’s the action. Then there’s the costumes and the monsters for Halloween. There’s love. So it really does cater to all audiences.”
“It’s about this girl name Skylar,” he continues. “Who’s kind of coming into herself. She wants to go to this Halloween party. It’s Halloween night and her parents who are, you come to find, out monster hunters, don’t want her to go out because the monsters are more strong on Halloween. They say ‘No!’ She ends up defying that and breaking out. In the effort to break out, she releases all the monster that her parents had captured.”
So where does Luke fit into the story? “Ryan is a musician. He plays guitar in his garage band. He’s a nice guy… boy next door. As far as his relationship with Skylar, they’ve grown up together. They’ve been best friends for as long as they can remember. They’ve kind of always had a mutual attraction but as you see in the movie, it starts to blossom. They both just seem to realize what they have in common. He’s a great, loyal, but witty boy next door. He’s a faithful friend. He’s a genuinely nice guy.” Luke was excited about getting the part because, “I absolutely LOVE singing and I LOVE acting. Roles where I can do both are a gift!”
It isn’t hard for the actor to recall his favorite days of filming. “As far as scenes that I, personally, was in… I loved the final song. It was ‘Had me at Hello.’ It’s like the final scene in the movie. I loved singing that. It was great. I got to play an instrument. It was all three of us; me, Katherine McNamara who plays ‘Myra,’ the kind of mean girl, and Olivia who plays ‘Skylar’ and we were all singing this song. There’s the band in the background. We got to switch around and play different instruments like I would get on drums and Olivia would get on guitar and the three guys that are playing the instruments come up and they sang the song. So that was really fun and we did some outtakes there. That was one of my favorite days of shooting.”
Another favorite day was “I was also on set. I was in school, I wasn’t in the scene, while they were shooting the whole rooftop fight and that was super cool to watch. You had explosions and the wind whipping back and forth and the lights. It was cool to see how all of the special effects came together to make this project.”
While filming, the cast got to know each other pretty well and Luke is grateful for that. “It was incredible! We had a blast every day… all day! We really got close quickly. We were all great friends by the end. We would hang out pretty much every day. My sister also came on set with me so she was part of the crew. We all just became really close. Almost every week, we would play hotel tag, up and down the stairs. [It] probably wasn’t the most awesome thing for the other residents. We weren’t too loud,” he promises.
“We obviously spent a lot of time in school because the majority of us are under age,” he points out. “We had the allotted three and ½ hours. Honestly, we had an incredible time and each and every person that was in this cast was so talented and so sweet. It was really just a blessing to be a part of this project.”
Since this is a Halloween movie, we asked Luke his thoughts on the holiday. “Halloween has always been a time for me and my mom because my Mom is super artistic. She loves putting things together and have crazy ideas. I would always want to just go to the store and buy a Power Rangers costume or something. We would always battle about that but I’d always end up wearing her costume and winning the best costume at the Halloween fair or whatever. So it’s always been a time for me and my Mom… that we could get closer.”
“Before we moved from Tennessee, every year we would go to downtown Franklin, which is the town I used to live in and trick-or-treat up and down the square. People would set up these big haunted houses. It was really cool. We did that every year.”
Luke is keeping pretty busy with the acting jobs, but what about when he isn’t reporting to a set? “I am currently a senior in high school. That takes up a lot of time. I go to public high school. Like any other teen, I play X-Box. I also have a keyboard in my room so I play piano and I learn songs and sing them to help maintain my voice. I like to swim! We have a pool at the house we’re renting, so me and my sisters will go swim out there. Hang with friends, like I’m doing now, here in Tennessee. Really, other than acting, I’m a normal teenage guy.”
He’s a normal teenager who know the joy of giving back. “Me and my family did this benefit for cancer called which was called ‘Country in the Rockies.’ We went to Colorado and raised money for the T.J. Martell Foundation. We did that for three years and two of the years I hosted one of the events they do called ‘CoCo for the Cure.’ It was just so amazing to see that the effort you are putting in is really going to help and save people and make people happy. So I definitely have a tie to that through this event. But also, my grandfather died like four years ago. He died of non-smoke lung cancer [in his fifties]. I definitely have a tie to cancer research through him.”
Not only can fans see Luke on “Girl Vs. Monster,” they can watch for him on another new series as well. “Off the topic of Disney, I’m reoccurring on the new Nick At Nite show, ‘See Dad Run’ with Scott Baio. So I’ve done about three episodes of that. That show’s coming out soon so I should be in one of the later episodes like the third or fourth episode maybe. So that’s been a blast! I play his daughter’s boyfriend.”
He might moonlight at the other network, but Disney will always feel like home to Luke. “As long as I can remember, from starting acting, I’ve met with Disney. Disney’s always been kind of the place where the heart resides just because they put out such good, wholesome work. It’s really family oriented, because family is a big part of my life. I’ve really grown close to all the Disney people. People go to Disney World and they’re like ‘This is the happiest place on Earth,’ but Disney really is like the happiest company on Earth. It’s been absolutely amazing to be a part of and they’ve taken great care of us.”
Luke is a genuine talent with southern charm and it’s going to be fun to watch what comes next for this talented performer. Check him out on “Girl Vs. Monster” and see for yourself why you should add this guy to your TIVO search list.
Follow Luke on Twitter @lukebenward