from 2010
STERLING KNIGHT
talks about his roles in the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance
and the Disney Channel Original Movie StarStruck

by Scott Wolf

Scott Wolf: I really enjoy Sonny with a Chance. My kids love it, too. Your character is quite the suave villain.

Sterling Knight: I’m definitely the antagonist which I enjoy immensely.

SW: Did you ever have anybody who believed you really are Chad Dylan Cooper or that type of person?

SK: Yeah, my favorite thing is when kids come up to me and they yell at me, “Why are you so mean to Sonny?” It’s hysterical. Especially the younger ones, they have a hard time separating it and realizing it’s all pretend and everyone’s playing characters. I don’t really hate her. We get along really well and I’m not that much of jerk. It’s surprising to see how many people are cautious about approaching me or something because they think I’m going to rip them to shreds and verbally eviscerate them.

I like to think of myself as a fairly approachable person.

SW: (The show's creator) Steve Marmel told me you auditioned as part of the So Random cast. (NOTE: So Random is the fictional sketch comedy television show which appears within Sonny with a Chance.)

SK: The pilot was a completely different premise. When I booked the pilot, I was a member of So Random and my character’s name was Stuart. Then they realized they were going to change the dynamic of the show and my character really didn’t fit in. So I was kind of unceremoniously removed from the cast for a few months until they realized they needed an antagonist and they came back to me and presented me with this role which I absolutely fell in love with. How could you not? He’s so horribly brilliant. You want to hate him, which I’ve never gotten to play before which was such an exciting idea.

SW: What other jobs have you had before that?

SK: My first job was a guest star in Hannah Montana where I was kind of the cheating boyfriend, so that was fun. I was the main point of conflict for that episode. Then I had a small part on The Closer, the TNT show, and a small role on Out of Jimmy’s Head, the Cartoon Network show, and I had like two lines on Grey’s Anatomy which was fun, especially being such a great fan of the show.

Then I booked 17 Again right after we filmed the pilot for Sonny With a Chance. That’s kind of my whole résumé, it’s been a wild ride because that’s all over the course of like three years or so.

SW: How did you first get into acting?

SK: I was a theater kid growing up and it was always just something I did as a hobby. It was something fun to do on the weekends, and I did that while I was doing school and while I was playing sports. I did everything as a kid. I was a little too ambitious. But, I just slowly started realizing that I truly enjoyed it and really loved the process and learning about it, and when the opportunity came to move out to L.A. and start pursuing that as a career I had to jump at it.

SW: So you just got an agent and did it the traditional way?

SK: Yeah, exactly. It took me almost three and a half years to get a job. As soon as I started working I just kept working which is great. Now if I can get a movie role for my hiatus I’ll be really happy.

SW: How did StarStruck come about?

SK: It was just a fluke. They ran into a scheduling conflict with the guy they had originally cast and they called me a week before they started shooting, and they sent me the script and I loved it. Then I kind of commenced with this intense week of preparation and meeting everybody and hearing the music and trying to learn everything as fast as I can because I came in so far behind.

It was just kind of off to the races after that.

SW: So you didn’t have to audition? Did they just know they wanted you at that point?

SK: I think I was just their last ditch effort. They really didn’t have time to audition anybody.

I got a call on Saturday, read the script on Sunday, met everyone on Monday, had a table read on Tuesday and then from then on it was photo shoots and dance rehearsal, and then we had time in the studio.

SW: Had you done any dancing before?

SK: I’ve done some basic dancing, being a musical theater kid, I had a brief education with jazz and whatnot, and following choreography, but by no means am I a dancer or am I confident in my dancing ability. I’m not that guy at the party that’s off on the dance floor cutting a rug.

SW: What about the singing?

SK: Because I came in so late in the process, I just didn’t have time to go into a recording studio and record these songs, because we started filming a week after I got the script. I was lucky enough to get in there and record the song “StarStruck.” The rest of it was done by a fantastically talented kid, Drew Ryan Scott, who did the music for the movie.

I think having him do it was really beneficial just because I wouldn’t have had time to go in and record all the songs, and with the crazy schedule we were on, it was easier to have the person that had already been listening and working on the music for a lot longer than I have, to just get in there and bring it up a notch, especially with him being a professional singer, which I am not.

SW: Did you have any favorite parts about playing the role of Christopher?

SK: I think pretending I had six cars is pretty awesome. I’m a huge car buff, so they opened up the garage and I see a brand new Porsche Turbo and a Ferrari F430, and a ’69 Camaro and a ’57 T-Bird, I was in heaven.

SW: Do you have any particular favorite memories from all of your work on the film?

SK: I really had a lot of fun doing the music performances, and the main reason I had so much fun is because I was so nervous. I had to try and make it believable that I had been doing this my entire life and I’m not a professional musician or performer. I’ve performed a few times in my life, but that’s not my job. This is not something that I’m completely desensitized to, so I was really nervous and really anxious and I had a lot of fun doing it.

SW: What was it like working with Danielle (Campbell)?

SK: It was great. She came in, really ready and willing to do the work, and really committed to the whole process and she handled herself like a pro. I was really impressed with her.

SW: Where do you see your career in the future if you had your choice?

SK: I really want to do movies. This is what I truly love to do. If I had my way, I’ll be doing this for the rest of my life. I want to be Clint Eastwood at some point, you know, directing films and still acting at age 70. He’s doing amazing work! If I can continue to do this as long as I can, that’s what I’m going to do.

SW: What’s the difference between doing movies or TV?

SK: Movies are a slower process. With a multi-camera sitcom there are four cameras and you’re getting four angles at once, but with a movie, one thing might take all day because let’s say there’s only two people in the scene, you’ve got to get each of their close-ups, and each of their medium shots, and you’ve got to get a wide shot and any cool little artsy shots you want to do. It’s a time consuming process which really gives the actor more time to kind of explore it.

SW: Are movies done with a single camera?

SK: It’s either one or two. In StarStruck, a lot of the time we were shooting with two cameras, but even with two you still have to turn around and shoot the other person. It gives you the opportunity that while your back’s to the camera, your performance is kind of altered to help the person’s performance who’s on camera.

It’s a different process that I really enjoy.

SW: What was it like filming on location with StarStruck?

SK: I think it’s fun. When you’re on location, it really helps provide this sense of reality because you’re somewhere real. On the show it looks like we’re in a house, but we’re not, it’s just three walls set up. None of the doors actually go anywhere. You’re in this big huge box with a bunch of other little sets that look like houses or whatever. It’s a little more surreal so it takes a little bit more imagination working on a multi-camera sitcom to believe you’re actually in someone’s house than it is if you’re actually in a house.

SW: How has your life changed since you’ve been Sonny With a Chance and StarStruck?

SK: Every once in a while I’m recognized, which is always fun. It’s a nice compliment when a complete stranger comes up to you and tells you that they enjoy the show, they enjoy the movie or anything like that. It takes a lot of guts for a complete stranger to come talk to someone and give them a compliment. But I think for the most part, nothing else has really changed. I’m still just a kid from Texas. I like the same stuff, and I’m trying to just get along and do what I love to do.

Danielle Campbell interview
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