Adventures in Babysitting’s Sofia Carson Exclusive Interview

By: Lynn Barker

In “Adventures in Babysitting” airing on the Disney Channel June 24^th, actress/performer Sofia Carson (she’s also Evie in the “Descendants” TV movies) co-stars as a reluctant babysitter caught up in a dangerous adventure in the big city. As Lola, will she, her co-sitter Jenny (played by Sabrina Carpenter, Maya in “Girl Meets World”) and the kids in their charge survive their crazy adventures?

Busy Sofia took a break and called us from her world-wide tour where she is promoting her new single “Love is the Name” from her soon-to-be-released album as well as talking about “Adventures in Babysitting”. We learned that Sofia is super dedicated to acting and performing but is also getting a college degree. This girl is everywhere! Check it out.

Kidzworld: Ever have an adventure away from home in the big city when you were younger?

• Sofia: Well, I haven’t had a babysitting adventure. I’ve had pretty tame experiences in terms of babysitting except for when shooting this movie which was cool. It was cool to go on this adventure with the whole cast.

Kidzworld: Did you babysit when younger? Best and worst thing about it?

• Sofia: I would babysit my little cousins and they were two angels so I had no crazy adventures with them. The most we’d do is go get ice cream. No kid was lost. No child was left behind. All was good. I was babysitted a few times when I was growing up by my neighbor or friends or cousins.
• My favorite thing was when my older cousin would babysit me and we’d do a fun glam session and she would do my make-up and I could wear her clothes and we’d do little fashion shows. That was fun.

Kidzworld: How was working with the younger child actors in the film? Did you feel like their mom, an older sister or an equal?

• Sofia: We became like family. They’re all like my brothers and sisters. They are such incredible kids, so talented and truly in love with their craft which is so beautiful to see at such young ages. We were like a family and still are. We get together whenever we can and have barbeques and group chats or all the moms and the kids talk. It was a special cast.

Kidzworld: To be successful as a young actress in Hollywood you have to be pretty disciplined and responsible but would you say that you have ever been kind of flakey or disorganized like Lola is?

• Sofia: It’s funny because I’ve always been more like (Sabrina Carpenter’s character) Jenny. I was always very disciplined and very studious and a total nerd. I was totally that girl growing up. So it’s funny because Sabrina and I are both kind of mixes of Jenny and Lola. I’ve got Jenny in me in that I love studying and reading. I always listened to my parents etc. I think the little bit of Lola I have in me is how passionate we both are and Sabrina is all about her art and her acting craft. We’re both passionate about that. I think we’re a mix of both characters.

Kidzworld: Are you into photography at all? Lola is pretty obsessed with it.  Any selfies being sent from the set?

• Sofia: I’ve always been a lover of and admired photography but myself, I’m not the greatest photographer, unfortunately. I do love art. I guess it’s true that selfies are photography. If that’s the case I’m an excellent photographer (she laughs).

Kidzworld: Did you like Lola’s more casual wardrobe? Keep anything?

• Sofia: Lola’s clothes are great. She’s the effortless cool girl. I thought she always looked cool and I loved that about her. Unfortunately I didn’t keep anything but I would have loved to keep the bandana she wears in the opening scene when she is painting her first piece of art you see and I also loved the jacket she wears through most of the movie, the dark red, burgundy bomber jacket because bomber jackets are super in right now.

Kidzworld: Which scene was the most fun and which the hardest?

• Sofia: The movie had such high adventure and so many chase scenes and such high energy that we spent most of the movie running. Running at nighttime in this beautiful city was hard but fun. My favorite scene to shoot was the rap battle. It was so much fun just to record it then the song had such an incredible rhythm. It’s so energetic, almost electric and that scene saying “We’re no quitters. We’re the babysitters”, that became a theme throughout the movie. We really enjoyed that scene.

Kidzworld: Any other fave scenes?

• Sofia: What was cool for me is I got to do a lot of stunts. There is one where I’m hanging from the top of the laundry facility in a clothing hanger. It was so cool. I was wearing a harness. That was the coolest experience was getting to do my own stunts.

Kidzworld: You and Sabrina met while auditioning for these roles. After getting to know Sabrina was it difficult to play two girls who don’t get along at first in the film?

• Sofia: Actually it was. Whenever we had scenes where we were fighting we’d be like “You were really good in that one. You were really mean. I really believed you”. We get along so well. It was effortless. We’re friends now in real life. We feel really lucky to be on this journey together and just doing press together is so much fun.

Kidzworld: Ever try to talk your way out of a parking or traffic ticket? (Lola is given a ticket by a really cute rookie cop in the film).

• Sofia: I’m not as quick and savvy as Lola. I was driving to school in the first month I was driving and I think a cop stopped me because I was going just three or four miles over the speed limit. I was so nervous, Lynn that I started crying. I was hoping he would feel bad. I didn’t really mean to and I was running late to school and it was my first time. He was not having it! He did not believe any of my tears were genuine and he gave me the ticket.

Kidzworld: Bummer! Had you ever seen the old 1987 Adventures in Babysitting movie with Elizabeth Shue as the babysitter?

• Sofia: Oh of course. I had seen it because my parents are huge fans of the film. We watch a lot of movies and my mom always recommends movies I should watch. So we watched it and my sister and I became obsessed. We watched over and over all weekend long. Our film is a reimagining of the original so we have our own little fun adventures that happen.

Kidzworld: Who was a big prankster or jokester on set and what did they pull?

• Sofia:  I think Sabrina is the jokester of all of us. She’s hysterical. Everything she says is funny. She was always making our director John (Schultz) laugh. She would always try to speak in Spanish. She’d say “papas fritas” which is French fries. She was definitely the jokester.

Kidzworld: So let’s get to know you better. In addition to “Descendants 2” what are you up to? Are you putting an album or single out anytime soon?

• Sofia: I just put out my debut single. It’s called “Love is the Name”. The day it was released it had over 13 million views. I’ve been writing music since I was ten years old and I’ve been singing since I was three so I’ve been making music my whole life and I’m so lucky to share my music with the world.
• I’ve been in the studio for the last year writing the music, collaborating with awesome writers and producers. It’s been a dream and I’ll be releasing the album soon and right now, I’m on a radio promo tour over the last few months all over the world promoting the single. It’s been an incredible whirlwind. I’ve been promoting “Adventures in Babysitting” and I also just shot “A Cinderella Story”. Hillary Duff started that franchise. I just shot that in South Africa and that comes out the end of the year and we will start shooting “Descendants 2” in August.

Kidzworld: Whew! You are soooo busy. Is there an historical character or a character in books that you would like to play some day?

• Sofia: Oh, so many. I’ve always loved Isabel Allende’s writing. She’s an incredible author and she has one about her daughter named “Paula” that I’ve always wanted to bring to life if I was lucky enough to play that role.
• I’ve always been a big fan of Disney films and Disney princesses. I loved Belle from Beauty in the Beast and would so loved to have played the role but I can’t wait to see Emma Watson in it.  Also Snow White and The Hunchback of Notre Dame I would love to play as well (as Esmeralda).

Kidzworld: Very cool choices! What is a typical day like for you when you are not shooting?

• Sofia: Well I’m traveling a lot on this tour so there are plane rides and trips to radio stations and press outlets doing interviews or going in the studio. But, it I’m not working then I would be sleeping and watching TV but that hasn’t happened very often lately. But, I’m so happy doing what I love.

Kidzworld: Which young actor would you just love to play opposite in a film?

• Sofia: I’m a huge fan of Ansel Elgort. I think he’s incredible.

Kidzworld: He is cute too. I’ve interviewed him.

• Sofia: You have! I really, really admire him. I also love Eddie Redmayne. They’re both such cool actors.

Kidzworld: Would you ever want to write something for yourself to act in?

• Sofia: I would love to. I’ve always loved writing. Writing was always my favorite class in school. I’m a communications major at UCLA and I’ve always wanted to write my own fiction book and adapt it to the big screen. That may be something in the future if I’m lucky enough to do that.

Kidzworld: Very cool that you’re so busy but you are also going to college. Was that important to you or your parents or both?

• Sofia: Both of us. I’m lucky to have a family that was able to gift me with an education. School’s always been incredibly important to me. It’s a big part of who I am. I’ve always been kind of a nerd even though my dream was always to pursue acting and performing, school was always in the equation. It was always a given that I would go to college at the same time. It’s important to get your education and your degree. Although it will take me a little longer to get it I’m very looking forward to it.

Kidzworld: What is the biggest pitfall for a young actress in Hollywood?

• Sofia: Usually the secret of keeping it together is having an amazing family and that kind of support system. Parents who remind you every day that you’re so lucky to do what we love.  I guess the only way you can kind of lose it is if you forget that you love what you do for a living and take it for granted. As long as you remember that you are healthy and happy and on top of it all, you get to do what you love every day then it really doesn’t get any better than that.

Kidzworld: Cool attitude. What about “Adventures in Babysitting” makes it a must for teens and tweens to watch?

• Sofia: I would say the fact that it is a reimagining of such a classic film but for a whole new generation is so exciting and it really is for the whole family because parents know and love it and kids do as well. I also love that there is such an adventure in this movie. It’s so high energy and so funny too.  The kids are hysterical and I really love the comedic elements of the film.
• Also, behind the adventure and comedy there is a story of a beautiful friendship between two girls who start out with no common ground but by the end of the movie they end up learning from each other and discovering a really beautiful friendship. Jenny learns from Lola and Lola learns from Jenny that life is sometimes a crazy adventure but you have to balance adventure with responsibility and like Lola, sometimes you have to take a risk. It’s a beautiful bond that I think girls everywhere will relate to.

Check out “Adventures in Babysitting” on the Disney Channel June 24^th!

Have Your Say

Have you been watching Sofia in “Descendants”? Have you heard her single? Are you generally just a Disney Channel fan or… not your thing?  Comment below.