March 19, 2024 • 35 mins
This week, Tommy is joined by actress and recording artist Kira Kosarin, best known for her starring role in the smash-hit Nickelodeon television series, The Thundermans. The Thundermans is about a family with superpowers who try to live normal lives. Kira played Phoebe who dreams of being a superhero and using her powers for good, while her twin brother Max wants to be the next big supervillain and use his powers for evil. The series is now being rebooted as an all-new movie called The Thundermans Return, out now. Today, she opens up about what we can expect with the new movie, revisiting a character years later that she made peace with saying goodbye to, the emotional first day back on set, how slipping back into Phoebe’s shoes reinvigorated her love for acting, the fear that came with revisiting a beloved character, figuring out her place in Hollywood over the last few years after gaining so much success as a teenager, tuning out other people’s opinions and ideas of what her life should be, the importance of listening to our inner voice, and why pineapple on pizza is never a bad idea despite how polarizing it can be.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey guys, welcome to I've never said this before with
me Tommy di Dario. Today's guest is actress, recording artists,
and Internet sensation Kira Casserin. Kira is someone that teen
Vogue dubbed as a real life superhero because well, she's
a total badass now. Kira is best known for her
(00:22):
starring role in the TV series The Thundermans The Thundermins.
It's about a family with superpowers who try to live
as normal lives as possible, and Kira plays Phoebe who
dreams of being a superhero and using her powers for good,
while her twin brother Max, while he wants to be
the next big super villain and use his powers for evil.
(00:43):
The show is so much fun, and now it is
being rebooted as an all new movie called The Thunderman's Return,
and yes it is out right now. Today we dive
into the new movie. We talk about revisiting a character
years later that Kira made peace with saying goodbye to.
We then dive into the emotional first day back on set,
(01:05):
and we pivot towards figuring out her police in Hollywood
over the last few years. After gaining so much success
as a teenager. And then perhaps one of my favorite
topics of conversation in this entire interview is when we
talked about tuning out other people's opinions and ideas for
what her life should be, and ugh, there is just
so much more. So let's see if today we can
(01:28):
get Kira to say something that she has never said before. Garah,
my friend, how are you today?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I'm so good. It's so good to see you again.
How's it going.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Oh, it's going awesome. It's so good to see you.
You miss than have a lot going on.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yeah, you can say so.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, I would definitely say so. My favorite thing to
see right now is on social media. I love seeing
you posting pictures with your billboards all over town and
people snapping pictures of them. I mean, is it just
surreal to be revisiting a project that maybe you never
knew or thought you would revisit again.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Oh I definitely never thought we would revisit it again. Yeah,
it's wild. I keep describing those first few days on
set as that dream that you have as an adult
that you're back in high school and you're like, wait,
how did I get back here? I already did this?
What's happening. It was so surreal and so cool. Yeah,
it's been really amazing to get to like come home
to these people and the fans, and like I've just
(02:30):
been feeding off their enthusiasm and getting to like be
in conversation with them again about this whole Thunderman's world.
Has been very, very satisfying. It's been awesome.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
So you really never expected to bring the Thunderment's back,
even with all the success it initially had.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
I you know, there just wasn't really a precedent for it.
Like the show ended seven years ago, and when we ended,
we had done one hundred and ten episodes a movie episode,
you know, we had won our Kid's Choice Award. It
kind of was like okay, check, check, check, Like we
did all the things that we set goals to do.
On the very first day that it all started, we
(03:06):
were like, we want four seasons in a movie and
akca and we got them. And I don't know, that's
a really long run for a Nickelodeon show. And by
the time the show ended, you know, Jack Riffle and
I were like nineteen and twenty or twenty and twenty
one when it stopped daring and we just didn't think
we'd have the opportunity to come back, and frankly, we
also we needed some time away from it to like
(03:27):
go become people. You know, you're like emotional developmental growth
is definitely stunted a little bit when you were playing
this character that's a pseudo version of yourself all day,
every day for six years straight. Like you you don't
get a chance to evolve as a human being in
the same way as you might otherwise when you're that age.
So it was really great to like leave, and it's
(03:48):
been even better to come back.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Do you remember a moment where you were like, Okay,
I'm starting to miss this, Like I feel ready to
revisit this role.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
You know, it's a complicated topic, so I guess I'll
start here. I actually quit acting a couple of years ago.
I completely stopped auditioning because I love multiicam sitcom like
The Thundermans is, like, you know, any show that has
laughter and a live audience, Like That's the reason I
came out to La to do that genre. I love
making people laugh. And when The Thundermans ended, you know,
(04:18):
I started auditioning in the rest of Hollywood, and I
just found that there really isn't any comedy elsewhere and
in that sort of style, and I sorry, there's no
multiham comedy and I really knew I missed that. But
in terms of the show itself, I don't know. There's
a really weird thing in Hollywood where when you're on
a kid's show, people make you feel like it doesn't count.
(04:38):
And I think that I like let a lot of
people get to me to think like, Oh, this isn't
something that I should be proud of, this isn't something
that I should want to do again. Like, especially as
a musician, I had people in the industry being like,
you need to make people forget this ever happened. And
I think I let them convince me, Like I think
I believed them for a minute where I was like, Oh, yeah,
that's that's doesn't count. That was somebody else, that was
(05:00):
a different version of me, that was a character, that's
not real, that was a kid's show, and I sort
of discounted it. And it wasn't until the opportunity arose
to come back and do the reboot that I started
to really confront what those feelings were and who had
put them in my head. And once I got back
into this world. I realized those feelings never came from me.
(05:23):
I love this job. I'm so proud of the Thunderman's
I'm so proud of the work we did. I think
it's funny as hell. I think we worked so hard.
I think, you know, I have come to terms with
the fact that I had to go through puberty on camera,
and now I like how I look in the episodes,
which I didn't for a while, and like yeah, once
we got back into it, then I voraciously missed it
(05:45):
and was like, oh, I'm home now. This is what
I do, this is what I love. I'm good at this.
I want to do more of this. And so it's
also why I ended up becoming an executive producer, because
I care so deeply about this project and I had
really strong feelings about how I thought it needed to
be done if we were going to open this chapter
back up. And I'm really lucky and grateful that the
higher upsit paramount of Nickelodeon were willing to let me
(06:07):
come in with my very strong ideas and be like,
this is what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
So yeah, not only are you starring in this, you
are a boss, but a capital B. And that must
feel pretty damn good. And it's so crazy that people
in the industry would even have the audacity to say
anything to make you think that that wasn't a real
professional acting job.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
I think it's more more ignorance than audacity. I think
people tend to think that because the style of acting
is so specific and broad that it's not as skilled,
or because there's four cameras, it's easier than like real filmmaking,
which is crazy because there's four cameras, which means there's
four times as much for a director to keep track
(06:46):
of and not to mention, like when there's a stunt
every three seconds, when there's like a crazy you know,
someone's getting slimed, or like there's an explosure or something
every three seconds. Like it's a lot of work for
the crew too. Like kids shows are, they're no joke,
they're really intense, the intense productions that require a lot
of people to work really hard. I just think people
don't know necessarily.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
I consider myself an artist too, of sorts, and like
for any artists to judge another artist work like that,
I mean, art is art is art is art, So
it just makes me feel like, what the hell is
wrong with people.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
I know, I you know, I know, and maybe I'm
too forgiving, but I do. I get it. You know,
Like comedy is already not given as much prestigious drama.
Multiicam comedy is not given as much prestige as single cam,
and kids comedy is not given as much prestige as
adult comedy. So when you get a kid's multi comedy,
it's like you I would go on Red Carpets and
(07:36):
like somebody who was on a Networks at Common would
show up and everyone would go do and pivot to
them and be like, Oh, she's just on a kid show.
Who cares? I get it, but also say I'm glad
that I have now broken out of that matrix. And
I'm like, no, you're wrong. We make something really good
that I'm really proud of. It makes kids really happy,
and I'm really happy to do it again.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Yeah, but I also imagine the moment of that happening
when you see somebody where all the cameras turn to
them and you're like, hey, I'm here. That probably didn't
it feel great back then? And I mean, hindsight is
twenty twenty, but that probably.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Sucked at sixteen. Yeah, it wasn't like a great feeling.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Yeah, yeah, that's so crazy. Well, thank god you've stuck
with the project. You've believed in it. It means so
much to so many people. So why was now the
right time to create this movie?
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Great question. Well, you know, the show got popular again
in twenty twenty one during COVID on Netflix, and it
got a really interesting resurgence where old fans had refound
it and were rewatching it and new fans, new young
kids just kind of looking for something to watch stumbled
upon it and became fans of it. And I think
it was fall of twenty twenty one that I got
(08:36):
the call saying, hey, Paramount Plus wants to do something
with the Thundermins, And they just were really excited to
ride that wave. And they had kids asking, you know,
when's the next season because all of the new fans
didn't even know that it had been years at that
point since we wrapped. So they called us to do something,
and like I said, there was a there was a
lot of back and forth in the early stages. I
(08:57):
initially said no because the project looked a little different
and I didn't think it was right, and I just
said I don't think that this is how we should
bring the show back. I don't want to do this.
And luckily, instead of saying okay, the team at Paramount
Plus and Nickelodeon said well, what would need to change
for this to feel right? And I was able to
then have a dialogue and we were able to make
(09:18):
it what it is now. But yeah, and then it
was it was, let's see, kind of a year of
the back and forth of that, and then the year
you know, of pre pro development and then filming in
April twenty twenty three. It's like almost exactly a year
from when we shot it to it now coming out,
which is crazy because we only had nine shoot days.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Wait, I'm sorry nine nine You made a movie in
nine days?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Movie in nine days?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
I don't even know what to say to that.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
I know, well, we shot it. It was over the
course of four weeks because we used a hybrid multicam schedule.
This was not my choice, by the way, would have
loved a couple more weeks. But although we wrapped the
day before the strike hit in Hollywood, so I'm so
grateful that it was what it was. But yeah, we
rehearsed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and filmed Thursday Friday, just like
in the old days, but instead of that being a
(10:08):
whole episode, it was scenes plucked from throughout the whole movie.
So we filmed super out of order some weeks. I
think we shot Wednesday, Thursday Friday, But basically it would
be like a couple days of rehearsal, a few days
of shooting weekend, repeat for four weeks.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
I mean that just shows what kind of an artist
you are, and how much work goes into this and
how valid and incredible this work is. Going back to
what you said earlier of those annoying people who like
to put other artists down.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Like, wow, yeah, all my props goes to the crew
on that one too. They work so hard, like even
putting up and taking down sets because we only had
two stages at Paramount for a whole movie, and so
they had to put sets up and then tear them down.
You know. We would wrap filming at ten pm and
then they go straight to work, working all night until
five am the next morning to get the sets changed over.
So we had some really amazing, hardworking crew on the set.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
That's amazing. So how was this movie different from the series, Like,
what are the things that excites you this time around.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
I mean, I've just been describing it as like everything
you know and love from the original series, but bigger
and better. It's just it's elevated, you know, it's just
in scale. First of all, we got not only the
entire main cast back, but like almost every guest star
we've ever had. There's so many wonderful cameos throughout the
project from people from the original series. The set pieces
are much bigger, the stunts are way way bigger. We
(11:22):
have some really we got an amazing stunt coordinator on
this project who just really took what we had done
and just like took it above and beyond. Really fun
stunt choreography, really fun special effects. Just so many things,
Like it's a lot, it's jam packed, there's a lot
squeezed into. I think it's like a sixty seven minute
run time without commercials. So yeah, it's it's elevated for sure.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
And it's a movie that everybody can enjoy, right Like
it's I feel like different generations of people can enjoy.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
This, I hope. So, I mean, we definitely used to
pride ourselves on like being one of the kids shows
that adults didn't mind or even liked watching. Yeah, because
you know how it is like if you have kids,
they're in the living room playing something over and over,
you have to listen to that. And we used to
have parents be like, if my kids are gonna watch
a kids show, I want it to be yours, which
I always really appreciated. But yeah, I mean, you know,
it's for the legacy fans who are there from the
(12:17):
beginning from twenty thirteen. It's for the new fans who
found it in twenty twenty one. It's for the families
of those kids, the parents who are going to watch
with them, and you know, fans of anything superhero and
anything comedy. Like I don't think you have to have
watched The Thunderman's to enjoy this movie. I mean you
get a lot more out of it if you have, obviously,
But I think it'd be fun for everyone.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
And there's something about playing a superhero that I just
feel like any actor would jump at that opportunity. Has
that just been so fun to step back into totally.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
You know, it's funny. I used to get asked, you know,
in interviews and impress I used to get asked about
like superhero things all the time, like who's my favorite?
And I didn't know anything about superheroes. It was so
funny to be like playing a superhero and have absolutely
no context for anything superhero. I've done some research since then,
but yeah, it's great. I mean, you know, it resonates
(13:10):
with people. Obviously, people like superheroes. It like hits a
specific combination of aspirations and fantasy. That's really fun. It's great.
It's fun to feel. It's fun. You genuinely do feel
when you leave set like you have superpowers, Like if
you're on set all day going like this, and when
you do, things actually move in the real world, somebody's
like holding it on a fishing wire. Like you come
(13:32):
home after a long day at work and your door's
open and you go, oh, let me close that, and
you have to like remind yourself you don't have superpowers.
It really does like convince you, which is fun.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
That's incredible, and also give me a little fomo. I'd
be like, damn, I really wish I did have that power.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
I know. I'm like that movie Bolt where the dog
is like a superhero dog and then he leaves set
and he thinks he has real superpowers, like that's my life.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Oh my god, what a great life that would be.
I love that so much. So when you walked away
from the show all those years ago, over decade ago,
I guess, up to this point or close to it,
since you began filming day, yes started.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
We filmed the original pilot in twenty twelve. September of
twenty twelve, we went to series spring of twenty thirteen.
So it's been eleven years since we started and seven
years since we wrapped.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
So on that day one eleven years ago and you
stepped into this character shoes, right, Phoebe, and then you
eight years old at fourteen years old, and then you
step into them again eleven years later, was that a
really all the emotional experience for you?
Speaker 2 (14:31):
So emotional? I mean, you can see there's a video posted,
it's on my accounts, it's on Nickelodeon's accounts of us
seeing the set for the first time on the very
first day. It was the content piece. I was like
most adamant that we filmed because I had seen the
Friends Reunion and it was so emotional just watching that.
I was like, we need to do that. So we did.
And there's a shorter version that's like a little quicker,
(14:51):
and then there's a long version that just got posted
more recently. But yeah, you can see how incredibly emotional
it is for all of us. I mean I walk
in and start crying. Jack walks in and is like
in a daze. Addison walks in and is like, I'm shaking.
What is going on? Maya walks in and she goes
everything's so much smaller than I remember, because when she
(15:12):
wrapped she was five years old and now she's twelve
and she's like an adult now, which was very funny,
but yeah, it was. It was very emotional putting on
the super suit. Like not to mention, I mean, honestly,
the biggest thing is like the cast, we hadn't all
been in a room together since the day we wrapped.
It was six years that we hadn't all been in
a room together, and then there we were on the
(15:32):
first day, not just in our room, in our Hiddenville
living room set. It was very emotional.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Is it better playing the same character the second time
around or really no different?
Speaker 2 (15:44):
It's scary in a way because I didn't want to
betray what I had established Phoebe to be, but I
had grown up so much in those six years, and
I also wanted Phoebe to have grown up. And it
was a really mindful task figuring out what I wanted
(16:05):
to bring of my newer self to the new Phoebe
versus what I wanted to play as original Phoebe. There
were some moments on set that were really funny, where
like I had come up with like a new funny
line reading that was maybe not something I would have
thought of when I was younger as the original Phoebe,
and Jed Spingarn, our show's creator, would come up to
me and he'd be like, Kia, that was really funny.
(16:26):
I need you to do this one like fifteen year
old Phoebe. And I'd be like, oh really, and then
I would do it, and then I would go, damn,
you were right. And those are my favorite parts of
the movie, the ones where I'm just like Max, just
like being fifteen again.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Yeah, my little moments of like, oh, you gotta be
kidding me, you know, it's just like there's Boebe there
she is.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
I imagine that could come with a lot of self induced
pressure or anxiety, right because you, like you said, you
don't want to let any of the og fans down.
You want to honor what you created, but you've evolved
as a person. So was that something you kind of
had to grapple with like you have I guess a
little bit of fear stepping into this totally.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Yeah. Absolutely. I remember the night before the table read,
I read through the whole script with my dad, who
used to be my coach back in the days when
I was like first auditioning and doing comedy. You know,
he's so funny and he really understands that style of sitcom.
And he coached me for my audition for the original Thundermans,
and like he used to help me come up with
line readings before I went in. You know, he never
(17:25):
like overstepped on set or like gotten anyone's wired. Like
he was never a stage parent, but like he would
help me a lot backstate, like behind the scenes at
home when I was preparing and I was like, okay, Dad,
like let's pretend I'm sixteen again. I want to read
the script for you. Just tell me if I'm even
anywhere close, because I just I'm so scared that I'm
not doing good enough job. And I did the script
and he was like, you're so stupid. That was perfect.
(17:47):
That was perfect, Like you're Phoebe, like you got you
know what you're doing, Like stop worrying. That was hilarious
and he was laughing and I was like, Okay, I've
got Dad's stamp of approval. I know what I'm doing.
Now I can like be confident on set. But yeah,
it's scared, you know. It's also we used to do
a lot of live audiences, which are my favorite thing
in the world, because after you've been rehearsing an episode
all week, all the writers, all of the people and
(18:08):
said they've heard those jokes a million times and they
change a little bit throughout the week, but like they're
not actually funny to anyone watching in person by the
time you're filming, and so people aren't really laughing, and
you can get really insecure and you start to like
overact and overpush because you're like, why aren't people laughing?
Am I not funny anymore? And it's not. It's just
because people have heard it already. And on the movie,
we didn't have a live audience because of COVID. We
(18:29):
were in deep, deep COVID protocols, and so there were
definitely moments on set where I was like, is this
still funny? Like no one's laughing, And luckily I really
trust her our director Trevor, and I was able to
be like Trevor, like is this not funny or is
it just that people have heard it a million times?
It's like, nope, You're exactly as funny as you were
on day one. Just trust it.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
And I was like, Okay, so interesting with what you
do because in a lot of other jobs you don't
have to seek the approval of a million people, right,
So true and for this a for acting, it's like, yeah,
you do you want people to find it funny and
charming and exhilarating, and it's like, how you don't let
that get in the way is just so impressive?
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Think well, I mean I do. I It's something that
I constantly have to work against, is like worrying about
if people are going to like it as much as
I want them to. Like I said, it's one of
the reasons that I like comedy so much, because you know,
if someone thinks something's funny, it's right there in front.
And that's a really really great feeling one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
And I know so many people are looking forward to
seeing you and Jack together again. How was reuniting? I mean,
your chemistry has always been so right on throughout all
the years.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Jack and I have a very storied relationship where, you know,
we knew each other before the show. We were just
kind of friends and acquaintances. We went to school together,
we were in acting school together. We were close, but
we knew each other. And then we booked the show,
and you know, we were each other's like kind of
only peer, our own age all day every day for
(19:58):
six years. Like we were on top of each other,
not like that, like we were like you know, in
a room together, having to work together all day every
day for many many years. And it wasn't always easy.
It was fraught at certain points throughout our adolescence, and
we were very different people and we didn't Sometimes we
had really great times together, and sometimes we had some
really hard times. And when the show ended, we just
(20:21):
really needed to like go our separate ways and become
adult people away from each other. And so we hadn't
spoken or seen each other in a really long time.
When the show came around and we got lunch, like
not too far out before, we kind of agreed to
like do the project. And once we had go to
set and kind of talked everything out and like got
(20:43):
back on the same page, and it took us a
minute to like kind of find each other again, and
then once we did, it was like, oh, that's my brother,
that's my sister, Like we're family. We will always be family.
Like we needed a minute to grow up and become
people before coming back together. So like, that's my brother
forever and ever. Literally, like I'm an only child except
(21:04):
for Jack is my brother, and he's the youngest of
all of his siblings by a lot, but like I
am his sister, like and it was really special, like
once we started acting together again, just remembering like what
a rapport we have, Like we really can reach other's
minds when it comes to like timing of jokes and
like I know how he's gonna throw something to me,
and how I'm gonna throw something at him, and like
(21:24):
we've just we did it for so long and we're
a good team when it comes to that stuff. So
it was really fun to get to do that again.
And now you know, we've been on a press tour
for the last couple of weeks, traveling the world together
again just like when we were kids, but this time,
instead of being kids with our parents, were traveling around
with my fiance, who he also loves, and we're all
like being adults and having a nice time. And it's
(21:46):
different but exactly the same. It's been.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Yeah, you have like one big family again.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Yeah, it's been really special. It's been a chance to
like kind of heal a really important relationship too, which
is nice.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
And I think it's so cool that you are openly
speaking about that because many people went in they were
kind of high or tend like everything's always been okay
from day one, But that's just not the reality of
real human relationships. You go through things.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah, I hit it for a while, but now that
things feel kind of resolved, I feel a little bit
safer talking about it. You know, he knows how I
feel about it, and I know how he feels about it,
and we've come to this really great place where we're
able to kind of go. You know, it wasn't always
smooth sailing, but now we're teammates again and we're really
happy and proud of that, and you know it's we're
like real brother and sister. I mean, that's what siblings do, right.
(22:27):
You go to phases where you're just not each other's
you don't fit, shouldn't be friends, and now we're at
a place in our life where I think we can
be again. So it's great.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
What are you the absolute most excited about with this film?
Did you have a scene that you were like, I
freaking nailed that. I can't wait for people to see
it is at the ending, like, what are you most
thrilled about?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Great question. There was a scene on set that I
really loved filming funny enough, I talk all of this
big talk about love and comedy, and it was actually
the one kind of real dramatic moment, A couple dramatic moments.
They really gave us some a slightly freer rain to
have more grounded dramatic moments in this movie than we
used to on the original series, which was really nice
(23:09):
to have that freedom to like kind of sit into things.
But there's a scene where Max and Phoebe have kind
of a come to Jesus, for lack of a better term,
of like, this is why we've been behaving the way
we've been behaving. And it's something that they've done throughout
the series a few times, like they come together and
they have that It's very similar to that moment when
when Max is like, why do I want to be
(23:30):
a villain because you're the greatest hero? And I knew
I couldn't be the best hero, so if I couldn't
be the best hero, I might as well be a villain.
But they always made us play it with a little
bit of comedy, and this time around we got to
really sit into it. So I remember feeling really proud
of the way we did that scene on set. I
remember getting off set and Jed spin garn Our creator,
going there were some good acting on that screen just now,
and I was like, thank you.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
I don't know, might there be room for more of
the Thunderman's.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
You know, everyone's asking for it. All of the comments
that I see are like, cool, thanks for the movie.
Can we get three more seasons? And I would love to.
I know Jack would love to. I know that the
fans want it, so I would love that. I mean,
if this movie does well that it really all hindes
on whether or not this movie does well. So if
you want more Thunderman's, the way you can make that
(24:21):
happen is to watch this movie and tell all of
your friends and make a lot of noise about it,
because yeah, we would love to fingers crossed.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Well, I have a feeling there might just be some
more coming because I already see people going crazy over
this and wanting it and so exciting. And that's what
I love about this. It's it gives people a glimmer
of hope and excitement during tricky times in our world.
And I just think when movies and art like this
can do that and bring people together, why not make more?
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Yeah? No, totally. Anything we can do to make people
smile is always worthwhile. I mean not to rhyme, damn bar,
I know.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
I was like, wait a minute, that's very okay, songwriter.
I see what you're doing, right, I see what you're doing.
How do you You've been working pretty much your whole
lif I mean since you were a kid, right, and
it's a very yeah. I mean, it's a very tough industry.
It's very demanding. You thought you would quit it one day,
You've pivoted to other areas of the business. You've done
quite a lot. So how do you protect your peace
(25:14):
during all of that going on?
Speaker 2 (25:17):
The biggest thing is the people on my home team,
you know, my partner, my family, my best friends. Like
they are I don't mean this in like a narcissistic way,
but they are team Kira, Like they keep the real
Kira afloat, and they're wonderful and hobbies. Not that I
have a lot of time to use to do them
one and as busy as I am right now, but
(25:38):
like you know, when I get home from filming all
day and I can run home, rip off my fake eyelashes,
throw my hair up in a bun, and put on
some clay covered clothes and run to the studio and
like do some pottery for a couple of hours and
just like get my hands in the mud. Or I
can like come home and like crochet a sweater and
(25:58):
watch TV, or like play a video game or like
you know, any of my hobbies, like read a cookbook.
Like it just immediately takes everything that I did in
the day and puts in a different part of my brain.
And now I get to be just like real person Kira.
And that's really valuable, And that's that's one of those
things that I really didn't have when the show ended.
I didn't even really have until fairly recently. But you know,
(26:20):
all of those like real life human things are really
important to have to bolster against all of the like
weirdness that is Hollywood.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
Yeah, for sure. And it's very grounding and you seem
like you're in a very grounded place.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
And I'm literally sitting on the ground, So you're not wrong.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Are you barefoot too? Like feet on the ground too.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Oh yeah, I'm sitting on a pillow from my couch
that you just saw me take a second ago. My
stuffed animal is watching me like I'm having a great time.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
That's incredible. No, I love that. I love that about
you is you do seem like you're in a really
self assured place. And I know that takes work and
it takes time and it takes years, and it's not
just like oooh fun there. It really does take work.
But I like being artists and humans in that space
because so many aren't. Is there something through doing this
movie that you learned about yourself and a new lesson
(27:11):
maybe about who you are or where you want to
go or what you want to do anything.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Yeah? Well, I mean, like I said, I had a
really fragmented sense of self for a long time because
you know, I was trying to be a musician and
I was trying to make people forget about Thunderman's and
kind of always feeling like it was like a roadblock
to my success in a weird way. I had a
complicated relationship with the music industry too. I love music,
I love singing, I love making music, but the music
business is, like it sucks, let's be real. But I
(27:39):
had kind of not let myself let Thundermans feel like
a part of me, and I felt a little bit
like a fraud. I always felt like an outsider. I
alway felt like an outsider in music. I always felt
like an outsider in the acting business because I had
been on a sitcom and wasn't acting anymore. I felt
like an outsider as a digital creator because I felt
like my success was not because of the hard work
I put in, but because of the show that I
(27:59):
used to be like. I just always felt like I
just didn't let myself take credit for anything. And I
think doing this show allowed me to like reintegrate that
whole part of my personality and be like, oh no,
I was on television on a show that people liked
for eleven years, Like I'm allowed to be proud of
that I've done something in my life at at twenty
six years old, Like, just because my music career didn't
(28:21):
go where I thought it was going to go doesn't
mean that, like I'm not a successful person. And I
got a lot of to like blean a lot of
confidence from that, And in terms of where I want
to go next, I was reminded how much I love
this art form and how much I love like multiicam
sitcom that's kind of a dying genre outside of children's television,
and remind me like how much I really like behind
(28:41):
the scenes. I love working as an executive producer. I
really want to direct in the next like several months.
That's like really big on my list. And doing all
of the marketing and the behind the scenes stuff for
the movie has reminded me the passion and skill that
I have as a digital creator, which is really fun
and I'm like leaning into that more and I'm developing
a digital series that go into production in a couple
of months. Like It's been great. The show really kind
(29:03):
of changed my life. It tied up a lot of
loose ends and it brought a lot of things full
circle and I feel like myself again for the first
time in many, many many years, and like a confident
person again for the first time in many, many, many years.
So I'm excited to see, like what this next year brings.
If it's more Thunderman's than great. If this is a
one off and it's just this movie, then I'll take
(29:24):
those things that I learned and bring them into another avenue.
But I'm definitely in a very different place than I
was before this movie happened, and a lot of it
is definitely because of this movie.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
That's what I love about life in general. It's so
fascinating that the one thing you were trying to push
away and not be affiliated with because of what you
thought maybe society or others perceived. Being tied to that
project means is now the one thing that has brought
you so much joy and is opening other doors because
you're executive producing and you want to direct, and it's
(29:54):
just this beautiful, full circle moment where you never know
where life's going to take you, and if you allow
your to listen to the voice in your head, that
little voice that was saying, you know what, let me
get back into it, let me try it, let me
do the movie. Look where you can end up.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Yeah, if I have one piece of sort of advice
to give, it's that you know, we all have a
lot of inner voices speaking to us. It can be
really hard to know what's your voice and what's a
voice that was planted by somebody else. And so anytime
you have kind of an intense, like gut feeling or thought,
it can be really helpful to try to trace back,
like is that my voice or is that the voice
(30:30):
of someone who was mean to me or someone who
made me insecure? And the other thing is that a
lot of times the voice in your head saying no, no,
no is or this needs to happen is fear based,
and that's anxiety. And that's the voice that you need
to shut up, which is something we hear a lot,
like you know your fear is wrong, don't listen. But
sometimes that voice yelling at you is your intuition. And
(30:54):
I think if you can learn the difference between your
anxiety and your intuition, you can be a superhero. Hundred
percent there yet, But it feels like the biggest thing
that I'm trying to achieve this year is to be
able to learn the difference between those voices.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Yes, yes, yes, this is why I love this show
so much because I'm sitting here thinking I personally have
leaned into things or not leaned into things because of
how I thought others may or may not perceive it.
And that's something that I've worked really hard on over
the last couple of years, and it's it's easier so
than done. But thank you for that reminder because it's
(31:28):
so important. It is so important. I need a minute.
That was like, that's just like I can't even because
you need to hear it every once in a while,
you honestly do, and and I'm so happy you just
said that. I don't know why I'm getting kind of
emotional because I feel like we all go through that
and it's just important thing to hear again.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Yeah, I mean life is just like a series of
scary decisions. Yeah that nobody else can really tell you
what's right for you except for you, and sometimes that's
the hardest thing in the world. And so anything that
can make that decision make cross a little easier inside
your own head as a lifesaver, I.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
Think your character Phoebe is rubbing off on you because
you're giving some superhero advice up in here today.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
You're sweet.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
Thank you, and Kierra to wrap things up. The show
is called I've never said this before, and you've been
so gracious and open all throughout this interview, but I'm wondering,
is there anything else that comes to mind for something
you haven't necessarily said before.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
You know, it's a really hard question. I really have
made a conscious effort in the last several years to
say the things that are important to me and that
I feel strongly that I want people to hear. So
there's really not a lot of things that I have
never said. There's things that I've said that I think
bear repeating, Like I think the best thing you can
(32:46):
be in this life is to be curious and be
inquisitive and follow your curiosity and enjoy learning, because it's
like the best thing about being a human being in
this world. I've said it before, but maybe I've never
said it this publicly. Pineapple on pizza is good and
you're all.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Just cowards fighting words, fighting words.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
It's a very If you really want a hot click
baity title for this interview, there you go. You don't
actually use that as the title. I will get death.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
People are no. It's a very passionate debate.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Yeah, it's very intense listen. Pineapple is sweet and acidic,
just like tomatoes. What could be wrong? You get them
on a grill, you get a little caramelized texture. It's
just like having caramelized onions. You get a little brightness
to offset anything needy. A little hot honey suppersada with
some bits of pineapple on there. What could be bad?
Speaker 1 (33:36):
You've thought about this one before.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
We eat a lot of pizza.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Amazing. Well, I think you've just swayed a lot of
people who are on the fence. So there you go.
If anything comes from this whole interview, you are changing
the way people view pizza.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
Ignore everything else about how to become a fulfilled human being?
Speaker 1 (33:52):
All I love every time we get to chat. Thank
you for joining the show. Remind everybody what the movie is.
Where to watch all the things.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
The movie is The Thunderman's Return. It is on Paramount
Plus for streaming. It also aired as premiere on Nickelodeon.
And I'm sure we'll be continuing in repeats there. I
am on the internet everywhere at Curacosser, in Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok,
all the fun quarters of the internet you can find
me in and yeah, I'll have some more things to announce,
(34:21):
hopefully soon that I can't talk about yet, but it's
exciting times.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Well, we look forward to all the things that Thank you,
as always for everything. This was such a fun conversation.
I really really enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Thanks Tommy.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
I've Never Said This Before is hosted by Me, Tommy Diderio.
This podcast is executive produced by Andrew Puglisi at iHeartRadio
and by me Tommy, with editing by Joshua Colaudney. I've
Never Said This Before is part of the Elvis Duram
podcast Network on iHeart Podcasts. For more, rate review and
subscribe to our show and if you liked this episode,
(34:58):
tell your friends. Until next time, I'm Tommy di Dario,
Hm
Hey guys, welcome to I've never said this before with
me Tommy di Dario. Today's guest is actress, recording artists,
and Internet sensation Kira Casserin. Kira is someone that teen
Vogue dubbed as a real life superhero because well, she's
a total badass now. Kira is best known for her
(00:22):
starring role in the TV series The Thundermans The Thundermins.
It's about a family with superpowers who try to live
as normal lives as possible, and Kira plays Phoebe who
dreams of being a superhero and using her powers for good,
while her twin brother Max, while he wants to be
the next big super villain and use his powers for evil.
(00:43):
The show is so much fun, and now it is
being rebooted as an all new movie called The Thunderman's Return,
and yes it is out right now. Today we dive
into the new movie. We talk about revisiting a character
years later that Kira made peace with saying goodbye to.
We then dive into the emotional first day back on set,
(01:05):
and we pivot towards figuring out her police in Hollywood
over the last few years. After gaining so much success
as a teenager. And then perhaps one of my favorite
topics of conversation in this entire interview is when we
talked about tuning out other people's opinions and ideas for
what her life should be, and ugh, there is just
so much more. So let's see if today we can
(01:28):
get Kira to say something that she has never said before. Garah,
my friend, how are you today?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I'm so good. It's so good to see you again.
How's it going.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Oh, it's going awesome. It's so good to see you.
You miss than have a lot going on.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yeah, you can say so.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, I would definitely say so. My favorite thing to
see right now is on social media. I love seeing
you posting pictures with your billboards all over town and
people snapping pictures of them. I mean, is it just
surreal to be revisiting a project that maybe you never
knew or thought you would revisit again.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Oh I definitely never thought we would revisit it again. Yeah,
it's wild. I keep describing those first few days on
set as that dream that you have as an adult
that you're back in high school and you're like, wait,
how did I get back here? I already did this?
What's happening. It was so surreal and so cool. Yeah,
it's been really amazing to get to like come home
to these people and the fans, and like I've just
(02:30):
been feeding off their enthusiasm and getting to like be
in conversation with them again about this whole Thunderman's world.
Has been very, very satisfying. It's been awesome.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
So you really never expected to bring the Thunderment's back,
even with all the success it initially had.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
I you know, there just wasn't really a precedent for it.
Like the show ended seven years ago, and when we ended,
we had done one hundred and ten episodes a movie episode,
you know, we had won our Kid's Choice Award. It
kind of was like okay, check, check, check, Like we
did all the things that we set goals to do.
On the very first day that it all started, we
(03:06):
were like, we want four seasons in a movie and
akca and we got them. And I don't know, that's
a really long run for a Nickelodeon show. And by
the time the show ended, you know, Jack Riffle and
I were like nineteen and twenty or twenty and twenty
one when it stopped daring and we just didn't think
we'd have the opportunity to come back, and frankly, we
also we needed some time away from it to like
(03:27):
go become people. You know, you're like emotional developmental growth
is definitely stunted a little bit when you were playing
this character that's a pseudo version of yourself all day,
every day for six years straight. Like you you don't
get a chance to evolve as a human being in
the same way as you might otherwise when you're that age.
So it was really great to like leave, and it's
(03:48):
been even better to come back.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Do you remember a moment where you were like, Okay,
I'm starting to miss this, Like I feel ready to
revisit this role.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
You know, it's a complicated topic, so I guess I'll
start here. I actually quit acting a couple of years ago.
I completely stopped auditioning because I love multiicam sitcom like
The Thundermans is, like, you know, any show that has
laughter and a live audience, Like That's the reason I
came out to La to do that genre. I love
making people laugh. And when The Thundermans ended, you know,
(04:18):
I started auditioning in the rest of Hollywood, and I
just found that there really isn't any comedy elsewhere and
in that sort of style, and I sorry, there's no
multiham comedy and I really knew I missed that. But
in terms of the show itself, I don't know. There's
a really weird thing in Hollywood where when you're on
a kid's show, people make you feel like it doesn't count.
(04:38):
And I think that I like let a lot of
people get to me to think like, Oh, this isn't
something that I should be proud of, this isn't something
that I should want to do again. Like, especially as
a musician, I had people in the industry being like,
you need to make people forget this ever happened. And
I think I let them convince me, Like I think
I believed them for a minute where I was like, Oh, yeah,
that's that's doesn't count. That was somebody else, that was
(05:00):
a different version of me, that was a character, that's
not real, that was a kid's show, and I sort
of discounted it. And it wasn't until the opportunity arose
to come back and do the reboot that I started
to really confront what those feelings were and who had
put them in my head. And once I got back
into this world. I realized those feelings never came from me.
(05:23):
I love this job. I'm so proud of the Thunderman's
I'm so proud of the work we did. I think
it's funny as hell. I think we worked so hard.
I think, you know, I have come to terms with
the fact that I had to go through puberty on camera,
and now I like how I look in the episodes,
which I didn't for a while, and like yeah, once
we got back into it, then I voraciously missed it
(05:45):
and was like, oh, I'm home now. This is what
I do, this is what I love. I'm good at this.
I want to do more of this. And so it's
also why I ended up becoming an executive producer, because
I care so deeply about this project and I had
really strong feelings about how I thought it needed to
be done if we were going to open this chapter
back up. And I'm really lucky and grateful that the
higher upsit paramount of Nickelodeon were willing to let me
(06:07):
come in with my very strong ideas and be like,
this is what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
So yeah, not only are you starring in this, you
are a boss, but a capital B. And that must
feel pretty damn good. And it's so crazy that people
in the industry would even have the audacity to say
anything to make you think that that wasn't a real
professional acting job.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
I think it's more more ignorance than audacity. I think
people tend to think that because the style of acting
is so specific and broad that it's not as skilled,
or because there's four cameras, it's easier than like real filmmaking,
which is crazy because there's four cameras, which means there's
four times as much for a director to keep track
(06:46):
of and not to mention, like when there's a stunt
every three seconds, when there's like a crazy you know,
someone's getting slimed, or like there's an explosure or something
every three seconds. Like it's a lot of work for
the crew too. Like kids shows are, they're no joke,
they're really intense, the intense productions that require a lot
of people to work really hard. I just think people
don't know necessarily.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
I consider myself an artist too, of sorts, and like
for any artists to judge another artist work like that,
I mean, art is art is art is art, So
it just makes me feel like, what the hell is
wrong with people.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
I know, I you know, I know, and maybe I'm
too forgiving, but I do. I get it. You know,
Like comedy is already not given as much prestigious drama.
Multiicam comedy is not given as much prestige as single cam,
and kids comedy is not given as much prestige as
adult comedy. So when you get a kid's multi comedy,
it's like you I would go on Red Carpets and
(07:36):
like somebody who was on a Networks at Common would
show up and everyone would go do and pivot to
them and be like, Oh, she's just on a kid show.
Who cares? I get it, but also say I'm glad
that I have now broken out of that matrix. And
I'm like, no, you're wrong. We make something really good
that I'm really proud of. It makes kids really happy,
and I'm really happy to do it again.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Yeah, but I also imagine the moment of that happening
when you see somebody where all the cameras turn to
them and you're like, hey, I'm here. That probably didn't
it feel great back then? And I mean, hindsight is
twenty twenty, but that probably.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Sucked at sixteen. Yeah, it wasn't like a great feeling.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Yeah, yeah, that's so crazy. Well, thank god you've stuck
with the project. You've believed in it. It means so
much to so many people. So why was now the
right time to create this movie?
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Great question. Well, you know, the show got popular again
in twenty twenty one during COVID on Netflix, and it
got a really interesting resurgence where old fans had refound
it and were rewatching it and new fans, new young
kids just kind of looking for something to watch stumbled
upon it and became fans of it. And I think
it was fall of twenty twenty one that I got
(08:36):
the call saying, hey, Paramount Plus wants to do something
with the Thundermins, And they just were really excited to
ride that wave. And they had kids asking, you know,
when's the next season because all of the new fans
didn't even know that it had been years at that
point since we wrapped. So they called us to do something,
and like I said, there was a there was a
lot of back and forth in the early stages. I
(08:57):
initially said no because the project looked a little different
and I didn't think it was right, and I just
said I don't think that this is how we should
bring the show back. I don't want to do this.
And luckily, instead of saying okay, the team at Paramount
Plus and Nickelodeon said well, what would need to change
for this to feel right? And I was able to
then have a dialogue and we were able to make
(09:18):
it what it is now. But yeah, and then it
was it was, let's see, kind of a year of
the back and forth of that, and then the year
you know, of pre pro development and then filming in
April twenty twenty three. It's like almost exactly a year
from when we shot it to it now coming out,
which is crazy because we only had nine shoot days.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Wait, I'm sorry nine nine You made a movie in
nine days?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Movie in nine days?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
I don't even know what to say to that.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
I know, well, we shot it. It was over the
course of four weeks because we used a hybrid multicam schedule.
This was not my choice, by the way, would have
loved a couple more weeks. But although we wrapped the
day before the strike hit in Hollywood, so I'm so
grateful that it was what it was. But yeah, we
rehearsed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and filmed Thursday Friday, just like
in the old days, but instead of that being a
(10:08):
whole episode, it was scenes plucked from throughout the whole movie.
So we filmed super out of order some weeks. I
think we shot Wednesday, Thursday Friday, But basically it would
be like a couple days of rehearsal, a few days
of shooting weekend, repeat for four weeks.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
I mean that just shows what kind of an artist
you are, and how much work goes into this and
how valid and incredible this work is. Going back to
what you said earlier of those annoying people who like
to put other artists down.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Like, wow, yeah, all my props goes to the crew
on that one too. They work so hard, like even
putting up and taking down sets because we only had
two stages at Paramount for a whole movie, and so
they had to put sets up and then tear them down.
You know. We would wrap filming at ten pm and
then they go straight to work, working all night until
five am the next morning to get the sets changed over.
So we had some really amazing, hardworking crew on the set.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
That's amazing. So how was this movie different from the series, Like,
what are the things that excites you this time around.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
I mean, I've just been describing it as like everything
you know and love from the original series, but bigger
and better. It's just it's elevated, you know, it's just
in scale. First of all, we got not only the
entire main cast back, but like almost every guest star
we've ever had. There's so many wonderful cameos throughout the
project from people from the original series. The set pieces
are much bigger, the stunts are way way bigger. We
(11:22):
have some really we got an amazing stunt coordinator on
this project who just really took what we had done
and just like took it above and beyond. Really fun
stunt choreography, really fun special effects. Just so many things,
Like it's a lot, it's jam packed, there's a lot
squeezed into. I think it's like a sixty seven minute
run time without commercials. So yeah, it's it's elevated for sure.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
And it's a movie that everybody can enjoy, right Like
it's I feel like different generations of people can enjoy.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
This, I hope. So, I mean, we definitely used to
pride ourselves on like being one of the kids shows
that adults didn't mind or even liked watching. Yeah, because
you know how it is like if you have kids,
they're in the living room playing something over and over,
you have to listen to that. And we used to
have parents be like, if my kids are gonna watch
a kids show, I want it to be yours, which
I always really appreciated. But yeah, I mean, you know,
it's for the legacy fans who are there from the
(12:17):
beginning from twenty thirteen. It's for the new fans who
found it in twenty twenty one. It's for the families
of those kids, the parents who are going to watch
with them, and you know, fans of anything superhero and
anything comedy. Like I don't think you have to have
watched The Thunderman's to enjoy this movie. I mean you
get a lot more out of it if you have, obviously,
But I think it'd be fun for everyone.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
And there's something about playing a superhero that I just
feel like any actor would jump at that opportunity. Has
that just been so fun to step back into totally.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
You know, it's funny. I used to get asked, you know,
in interviews and impress I used to get asked about
like superhero things all the time, like who's my favorite?
And I didn't know anything about superheroes. It was so
funny to be like playing a superhero and have absolutely
no context for anything superhero. I've done some research since then,
but yeah, it's great. I mean, you know, it resonates
(13:10):
with people. Obviously, people like superheroes. It like hits a
specific combination of aspirations and fantasy. That's really fun. It's great.
It's fun to feel. It's fun. You genuinely do feel
when you leave set like you have superpowers, Like if
you're on set all day going like this, and when
you do, things actually move in the real world, somebody's
like holding it on a fishing wire. Like you come
(13:32):
home after a long day at work and your door's
open and you go, oh, let me close that, and
you have to like remind yourself you don't have superpowers.
It really does like convince you, which is fun.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
That's incredible, and also give me a little fomo. I'd
be like, damn, I really wish I did have that power.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
I know. I'm like that movie Bolt where the dog
is like a superhero dog and then he leaves set
and he thinks he has real superpowers, like that's my life.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Oh my god, what a great life that would be.
I love that so much. So when you walked away
from the show all those years ago, over decade ago,
I guess, up to this point or close to it,
since you began filming day, yes started.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
We filmed the original pilot in twenty twelve. September of
twenty twelve, we went to series spring of twenty thirteen.
So it's been eleven years since we started and seven
years since we wrapped.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
So on that day one eleven years ago and you
stepped into this character shoes, right, Phoebe, and then you
eight years old at fourteen years old, and then you
step into them again eleven years later, was that a
really all the emotional experience for you?
Speaker 2 (14:31):
So emotional? I mean, you can see there's a video posted,
it's on my accounts, it's on Nickelodeon's accounts of us
seeing the set for the first time on the very
first day. It was the content piece. I was like
most adamant that we filmed because I had seen the
Friends Reunion and it was so emotional just watching that.
I was like, we need to do that. So we did.
And there's a shorter version that's like a little quicker,
(14:51):
and then there's a long version that just got posted
more recently. But yeah, you can see how incredibly emotional
it is for all of us. I mean I walk
in and start crying. Jack walks in and is like
in a daze. Addison walks in and is like, I'm shaking.
What is going on? Maya walks in and she goes
everything's so much smaller than I remember, because when she
(15:12):
wrapped she was five years old and now she's twelve
and she's like an adult now, which was very funny,
but yeah, it was. It was very emotional putting on
the super suit. Like not to mention, I mean, honestly,
the biggest thing is like the cast, we hadn't all
been in a room together since the day we wrapped.
It was six years that we hadn't all been in
a room together, and then there we were on the
(15:32):
first day, not just in our room, in our Hiddenville
living room set. It was very emotional.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Is it better playing the same character the second time
around or really no different?
Speaker 2 (15:44):
It's scary in a way because I didn't want to
betray what I had established Phoebe to be, but I
had grown up so much in those six years, and
I also wanted Phoebe to have grown up. And it
was a really mindful task figuring out what I wanted
(16:05):
to bring of my newer self to the new Phoebe
versus what I wanted to play as original Phoebe. There
were some moments on set that were really funny, where
like I had come up with like a new funny
line reading that was maybe not something I would have
thought of when I was younger as the original Phoebe,
and Jed Spingarn, our show's creator, would come up to
me and he'd be like, Kia, that was really funny.
(16:26):
I need you to do this one like fifteen year
old Phoebe. And I'd be like, oh really, and then
I would do it, and then I would go, damn,
you were right. And those are my favorite parts of
the movie, the ones where I'm just like Max, just
like being fifteen again.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Yeah, my little moments of like, oh, you gotta be
kidding me, you know, it's just like there's Boebe there
she is.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
I imagine that could come with a lot of self induced
pressure or anxiety, right because you, like you said, you
don't want to let any of the og fans down.
You want to honor what you created, but you've evolved
as a person. So was that something you kind of
had to grapple with like you have I guess a
little bit of fear stepping into this totally.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Yeah. Absolutely. I remember the night before the table read,
I read through the whole script with my dad, who
used to be my coach back in the days when
I was like first auditioning and doing comedy. You know,
he's so funny and he really understands that style of sitcom.
And he coached me for my audition for the original Thundermans,
and like he used to help me come up with
line readings before I went in. You know, he never
(17:25):
like overstepped on set or like gotten anyone's wired. Like
he was never a stage parent, but like he would
help me a lot backstate, like behind the scenes at
home when I was preparing and I was like, okay, Dad,
like let's pretend I'm sixteen again. I want to read
the script for you. Just tell me if I'm even
anywhere close, because I just I'm so scared that I'm
not doing good enough job. And I did the script
and he was like, you're so stupid. That was perfect.
(17:47):
That was perfect, Like you're Phoebe, like you got you
know what you're doing, Like stop worrying. That was hilarious
and he was laughing and I was like, Okay, I've
got Dad's stamp of approval. I know what I'm doing.
Now I can like be confident on set. But yeah,
it's scared, you know. It's also we used to do
a lot of live audiences, which are my favorite thing
in the world, because after you've been rehearsing an episode
all week, all the writers, all of the people and
(18:08):
said they've heard those jokes a million times and they
change a little bit throughout the week, but like they're
not actually funny to anyone watching in person by the
time you're filming, and so people aren't really laughing, and
you can get really insecure and you start to like
overact and overpush because you're like, why aren't people laughing?
Am I not funny anymore? And it's not. It's just
because people have heard it already. And on the movie,
we didn't have a live audience because of COVID. We
(18:29):
were in deep, deep COVID protocols, and so there were
definitely moments on set where I was like, is this
still funny? Like no one's laughing, And luckily I really
trust her our director Trevor, and I was able to
be like Trevor, like is this not funny or is
it just that people have heard it a million times?
It's like, nope, You're exactly as funny as you were
on day one. Just trust it.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
And I was like, Okay, so interesting with what you
do because in a lot of other jobs you don't
have to seek the approval of a million people, right,
So true and for this a for acting, it's like, yeah,
you do you want people to find it funny and
charming and exhilarating, and it's like, how you don't let
that get in the way is just so impressive?
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Think well, I mean I do. I It's something that
I constantly have to work against, is like worrying about
if people are going to like it as much as
I want them to. Like I said, it's one of
the reasons that I like comedy so much, because you know,
if someone thinks something's funny, it's right there in front.
And that's a really really great feeling one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
And I know so many people are looking forward to
seeing you and Jack together again. How was reuniting? I mean,
your chemistry has always been so right on throughout all
the years.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Jack and I have a very storied relationship where, you know,
we knew each other before the show. We were just
kind of friends and acquaintances. We went to school together,
we were in acting school together. We were close, but
we knew each other. And then we booked the show,
and you know, we were each other's like kind of
only peer, our own age all day every day for
(19:58):
six years. Like we were on top of each other,
not like that, like we were like you know, in
a room together, having to work together all day every
day for many many years. And it wasn't always easy.
It was fraught at certain points throughout our adolescence, and
we were very different people and we didn't Sometimes we
had really great times together, and sometimes we had some
really hard times. And when the show ended, we just
(20:21):
really needed to like go our separate ways and become
adult people away from each other. And so we hadn't
spoken or seen each other in a really long time.
When the show came around and we got lunch, like
not too far out before, we kind of agreed to
like do the project. And once we had go to
set and kind of talked everything out and like got
(20:43):
back on the same page, and it took us a
minute to like kind of find each other again, and
then once we did, it was like, oh, that's my brother,
that's my sister, Like we're family. We will always be family.
Like we needed a minute to grow up and become
people before coming back together. So like, that's my brother
forever and ever. Literally, like I'm an only child except
(21:04):
for Jack is my brother, and he's the youngest of
all of his siblings by a lot, but like I
am his sister, like and it was really special, like
once we started acting together again, just remembering like what
a rapport we have, Like we really can reach other's
minds when it comes to like timing of jokes and
like I know how he's gonna throw something to me,
and how I'm gonna throw something at him, and like
(21:24):
we've just we did it for so long and we're
a good team when it comes to that stuff. So
it was really fun to get to do that again.
And now you know, we've been on a press tour
for the last couple of weeks, traveling the world together
again just like when we were kids, but this time,
instead of being kids with our parents, were traveling around
with my fiance, who he also loves, and we're all
like being adults and having a nice time. And it's
(21:46):
different but exactly the same. It's been.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Yeah, you have like one big family again.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Yeah, it's been really special. It's been a chance to
like kind of heal a really important relationship too, which
is nice.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
And I think it's so cool that you are openly
speaking about that because many people went in they were
kind of high or tend like everything's always been okay
from day one, But that's just not the reality of
real human relationships. You go through things.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah, I hit it for a while, but now that
things feel kind of resolved, I feel a little bit
safer talking about it. You know, he knows how I
feel about it, and I know how he feels about it,
and we've come to this really great place where we're
able to kind of go. You know, it wasn't always
smooth sailing, but now we're teammates again and we're really
happy and proud of that, and you know it's we're
like real brother and sister. I mean, that's what siblings do, right.
(22:27):
You go to phases where you're just not each other's
you don't fit, shouldn't be friends, and now we're at
a place in our life where I think we can
be again. So it's great.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
What are you the absolute most excited about with this film?
Did you have a scene that you were like, I
freaking nailed that. I can't wait for people to see
it is at the ending, like, what are you most
thrilled about?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Great question. There was a scene on set that I
really loved filming funny enough, I talk all of this
big talk about love and comedy, and it was actually
the one kind of real dramatic moment, A couple dramatic moments.
They really gave us some a slightly freer rain to
have more grounded dramatic moments in this movie than we
used to on the original series, which was really nice
(23:09):
to have that freedom to like kind of sit into things.
But there's a scene where Max and Phoebe have kind
of a come to Jesus, for lack of a better term,
of like, this is why we've been behaving the way
we've been behaving. And it's something that they've done throughout
the series a few times, like they come together and
they have that It's very similar to that moment when
when Max is like, why do I want to be
(23:30):
a villain because you're the greatest hero? And I knew
I couldn't be the best hero, so if I couldn't
be the best hero, I might as well be a villain.
But they always made us play it with a little
bit of comedy, and this time around we got to
really sit into it. So I remember feeling really proud
of the way we did that scene on set. I
remember getting off set and Jed spin garn Our creator,
going there were some good acting on that screen just now,
and I was like, thank you.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
I don't know, might there be room for more of
the Thunderman's.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
You know, everyone's asking for it. All of the comments
that I see are like, cool, thanks for the movie.
Can we get three more seasons? And I would love to.
I know Jack would love to. I know that the
fans want it, so I would love that. I mean,
if this movie does well that it really all hindes
on whether or not this movie does well. So if
you want more Thunderman's, the way you can make that
(24:21):
happen is to watch this movie and tell all of
your friends and make a lot of noise about it,
because yeah, we would love to fingers crossed.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Well, I have a feeling there might just be some
more coming because I already see people going crazy over
this and wanting it and so exciting. And that's what
I love about this. It's it gives people a glimmer
of hope and excitement during tricky times in our world.
And I just think when movies and art like this
can do that and bring people together, why not make more?
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Yeah? No, totally. Anything we can do to make people
smile is always worthwhile. I mean not to rhyme, damn bar,
I know.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
I was like, wait a minute, that's very okay, songwriter.
I see what you're doing, right, I see what you're doing.
How do you You've been working pretty much your whole
lif I mean since you were a kid, right, and
it's a very yeah. I mean, it's a very tough industry.
It's very demanding. You thought you would quit it one day,
You've pivoted to other areas of the business. You've done
quite a lot. So how do you protect your peace
(25:14):
during all of that going on?
Speaker 2 (25:17):
The biggest thing is the people on my home team,
you know, my partner, my family, my best friends. Like
they are I don't mean this in like a narcissistic way,
but they are team Kira, Like they keep the real
Kira afloat, and they're wonderful and hobbies. Not that I
have a lot of time to use to do them
one and as busy as I am right now, but
(25:38):
like you know, when I get home from filming all
day and I can run home, rip off my fake eyelashes,
throw my hair up in a bun, and put on
some clay covered clothes and run to the studio and
like do some pottery for a couple of hours and
just like get my hands in the mud. Or I
can like come home and like crochet a sweater and
(25:58):
watch TV, or like play a video game or like
you know, any of my hobbies, like read a cookbook.
Like it just immediately takes everything that I did in
the day and puts in a different part of my brain.
And now I get to be just like real person Kira.
And that's really valuable, And that's that's one of those
things that I really didn't have when the show ended.
I didn't even really have until fairly recently. But you know,
(26:20):
all of those like real life human things are really
important to have to bolster against all of the like
weirdness that is Hollywood.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
Yeah, for sure. And it's very grounding and you seem
like you're in a very grounded place.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
And I'm literally sitting on the ground, So you're not wrong.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Are you barefoot too? Like feet on the ground too.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Oh yeah, I'm sitting on a pillow from my couch
that you just saw me take a second ago. My
stuffed animal is watching me like I'm having a great time.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
That's incredible. No, I love that. I love that about
you is you do seem like you're in a really
self assured place. And I know that takes work and
it takes time and it takes years, and it's not
just like oooh fun there. It really does take work.
But I like being artists and humans in that space
because so many aren't. Is there something through doing this
movie that you learned about yourself and a new lesson
(27:11):
maybe about who you are or where you want to
go or what you want to do anything.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Yeah? Well, I mean, like I said, I had a
really fragmented sense of self for a long time because
you know, I was trying to be a musician and
I was trying to make people forget about Thunderman's and
kind of always feeling like it was like a roadblock
to my success in a weird way. I had a
complicated relationship with the music industry too. I love music,
I love singing, I love making music, but the music
business is, like it sucks, let's be real. But I
(27:39):
had kind of not let myself let Thundermans feel like
a part of me, and I felt a little bit
like a fraud. I always felt like an outsider. I
alway felt like an outsider in music. I always felt
like an outsider in the acting business because I had
been on a sitcom and wasn't acting anymore. I felt
like an outsider as a digital creator because I felt
like my success was not because of the hard work
I put in, but because of the show that I
(27:59):
used to be like. I just always felt like I
just didn't let myself take credit for anything. And I
think doing this show allowed me to like reintegrate that
whole part of my personality and be like, oh no,
I was on television on a show that people liked
for eleven years, Like I'm allowed to be proud of
that I've done something in my life at at twenty
six years old, Like, just because my music career didn't
(28:21):
go where I thought it was going to go doesn't
mean that, like I'm not a successful person. And I
got a lot of to like blean a lot of
confidence from that, And in terms of where I want
to go next, I was reminded how much I love
this art form and how much I love like multiicam
sitcom that's kind of a dying genre outside of children's television,
and remind me like how much I really like behind
(28:41):
the scenes. I love working as an executive producer. I
really want to direct in the next like several months.
That's like really big on my list. And doing all
of the marketing and the behind the scenes stuff for
the movie has reminded me the passion and skill that
I have as a digital creator, which is really fun
and I'm like leaning into that more and I'm developing
a digital series that go into production in a couple
of months. Like It's been great. The show really kind
(29:03):
of changed my life. It tied up a lot of
loose ends and it brought a lot of things full
circle and I feel like myself again for the first
time in many, many many years, and like a confident
person again for the first time in many, many, many years.
So I'm excited to see, like what this next year brings.
If it's more Thunderman's than great. If this is a
one off and it's just this movie, then I'll take
(29:24):
those things that I learned and bring them into another avenue.
But I'm definitely in a very different place than I
was before this movie happened, and a lot of it
is definitely because of this movie.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
That's what I love about life in general. It's so
fascinating that the one thing you were trying to push
away and not be affiliated with because of what you
thought maybe society or others perceived. Being tied to that
project means is now the one thing that has brought
you so much joy and is opening other doors because
you're executive producing and you want to direct, and it's
(29:54):
just this beautiful, full circle moment where you never know
where life's going to take you, and if you allow
your to listen to the voice in your head, that
little voice that was saying, you know what, let me
get back into it, let me try it, let me
do the movie. Look where you can end up.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Yeah, if I have one piece of sort of advice
to give, it's that you know, we all have a
lot of inner voices speaking to us. It can be
really hard to know what's your voice and what's a
voice that was planted by somebody else. And so anytime
you have kind of an intense, like gut feeling or thought,
it can be really helpful to try to trace back,
like is that my voice or is that the voice
(30:30):
of someone who was mean to me or someone who
made me insecure? And the other thing is that a
lot of times the voice in your head saying no, no,
no is or this needs to happen is fear based,
and that's anxiety. And that's the voice that you need
to shut up, which is something we hear a lot,
like you know your fear is wrong, don't listen. But
sometimes that voice yelling at you is your intuition. And
(30:54):
I think if you can learn the difference between your
anxiety and your intuition, you can be a superhero. Hundred
percent there yet, But it feels like the biggest thing
that I'm trying to achieve this year is to be
able to learn the difference between those voices.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Yes, yes, yes, this is why I love this show
so much because I'm sitting here thinking I personally have
leaned into things or not leaned into things because of
how I thought others may or may not perceive it.
And that's something that I've worked really hard on over
the last couple of years, and it's it's easier so
than done. But thank you for that reminder because it's
(31:28):
so important. It is so important. I need a minute.
That was like, that's just like I can't even because
you need to hear it every once in a while,
you honestly do, and and I'm so happy you just
said that. I don't know why I'm getting kind of
emotional because I feel like we all go through that
and it's just important thing to hear again.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Yeah, I mean life is just like a series of
scary decisions. Yeah that nobody else can really tell you
what's right for you except for you, and sometimes that's
the hardest thing in the world. And so anything that
can make that decision make cross a little easier inside
your own head as a lifesaver, I.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
Think your character Phoebe is rubbing off on you because
you're giving some superhero advice up in here today.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
You're sweet.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
Thank you, and Kierra to wrap things up. The show
is called I've never said this before, and you've been
so gracious and open all throughout this interview, but I'm wondering,
is there anything else that comes to mind for something
you haven't necessarily said before.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
You know, it's a really hard question. I really have
made a conscious effort in the last several years to
say the things that are important to me and that
I feel strongly that I want people to hear. So
there's really not a lot of things that I have
never said. There's things that I've said that I think
bear repeating, Like I think the best thing you can
(32:46):
be in this life is to be curious and be
inquisitive and follow your curiosity and enjoy learning, because it's
like the best thing about being a human being in
this world. I've said it before, but maybe I've never
said it this publicly. Pineapple on pizza is good and
you're all.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Just cowards fighting words, fighting words.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
It's a very If you really want a hot click
baity title for this interview, there you go. You don't
actually use that as the title. I will get death.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
People are no. It's a very passionate debate.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Yeah, it's very intense listen. Pineapple is sweet and acidic,
just like tomatoes. What could be wrong? You get them
on a grill, you get a little caramelized texture. It's
just like having caramelized onions. You get a little brightness
to offset anything needy. A little hot honey suppersada with
some bits of pineapple on there. What could be bad?
Speaker 1 (33:36):
You've thought about this one before.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
We eat a lot of pizza.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Amazing. Well, I think you've just swayed a lot of
people who are on the fence. So there you go.
If anything comes from this whole interview, you are changing
the way people view pizza.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
Ignore everything else about how to become a fulfilled human being?
Speaker 1 (33:52):
All I love every time we get to chat. Thank
you for joining the show. Remind everybody what the movie is.
Where to watch all the things.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
The movie is The Thunderman's Return. It is on Paramount
Plus for streaming. It also aired as premiere on Nickelodeon.
And I'm sure we'll be continuing in repeats there. I
am on the internet everywhere at Curacosser, in Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok,
all the fun quarters of the internet you can find
me in and yeah, I'll have some more things to announce,
(34:21):
hopefully soon that I can't talk about yet, but it's
exciting times.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Well, we look forward to all the things that Thank you,
as always for everything. This was such a fun conversation.
I really really enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Thanks Tommy.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
I've Never Said This Before is hosted by Me, Tommy Diderio.
This podcast is executive produced by Andrew Puglisi at iHeartRadio
and by me Tommy, with editing by Joshua Colaudney. I've
Never Said This Before is part of the Elvis Duram
podcast Network on iHeart Podcasts. For more, rate review and
subscribe to our show and if you liked this episode,
(34:58):
tell your friends. Until next time, I'm Tommy di Dario,
Hm
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