December 16, 2021 • 43 mins
In this very special episode, Sammy Jaye sits down with her close friend and actress/singer, Olivia Sanabia. They talk about their friendship, the journey of Olivia’s career, being an independent artist, mental health during Covid, and so much more!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hey guys, and welcome back to this week's episode of
lestin World podcast. I can't believe that it is mid December.
I was at lunch with friends today and then I realized,
oh my goodness, next month is two, which quite literally
freaked me out. So I don't know if you guys
have come to that realization yet, but there you go. Anyways, um,
(00:24):
this week is such a incredible and full circle episode
because one of my closest friends, Olivia so Naviia is
my guest. Now you may know her from Amazon's Just
Said Magic or Disney Channel's Cooping Cammy, but she is
genuinely one of the most talented, hardworking and driven people
I know. And I love this episode and I hope
(00:46):
you do too. Yeah, Olivia, this is super exciting. Okay,
everybody the Olivia Sonavia is this week's my podcast. Hi guys,
I'm so honored to be here. Okay, can I tell
you why this is so crazy? The first time we
(01:08):
met was not to let people know I met Olivia
and I was interviewing around a red carpet for Beauty
can in l a team and we found this video
a few months ago, and the first time we met
we shook hands when so, why did we shake hands?
It was awkward. It was awkward professionals. Yeah, but it's
(01:31):
just weird because I've never we Olivia and I have
become very close friends since we've developed a friendship, which
was kind of out of nowhere. It was, it was
out of nowhere, but I think it's so awesome and
now here we are. We're here. I'm so excited to
be here. You guys, I'm such a fan of Let's
be real, and I'm honored to be here today. Olivia
has been one of the only people in my life,
(01:53):
one of my friends besides like my family, that has
truly supported me through this. I remember when I was
working on the pitch deck for the podcast. I told
her when I got the pilot. I remember we were
walking around the growth and I was even one of
the people because you get it, you get how much
work goes into it, and I've just always really appreciated
that and just our friendship. It's we are. We are friendship.
(02:15):
I'd say we were friends, but I think the pandemic
a little bit. It brought us together. Did we faced
the FaceTime? Yeah, We've had a long distance friendship mainly
over FaceTime. Yeah, I mean we've lived on separate sides
of the country for as the majority of our friendship,
and m it's just crazy that it's become such a
close friendship because we've seen each other like not as
(02:39):
many times to equal how close we are Max ten
times if that? Oh yeah Max, Maybe I know. Isn't
that sad? That's weird and only thinking about that, But
we faced time more than I've ever FaceTime to anybody
else in my life. Really, yes, we faced them at
least if it goes two weeks, that's a lot. That's like,
that's true. You brought me out of my my shell
(03:01):
because like before our friendship, I didn't like FaceTime. I
like to have like photos and yes, totally. I was
always like, no, I don't like FaceTime. It's weird, it
feels awkward. Until you really brought me out of my
shell and I was like, you know what, I just
got an amazing friendship over FaceTime. I love that. I remember,
so I interviewed Beauty con l A. It was I
(03:22):
don't know, we need to find that interview that'd be
so funny to watch. But then I remember I was
doing a piece for Radio Disney and you were around
the Disney show Coop and Cammy UM, and I was
doing like a behind the scenes and it was a
few days later, and I remember you remembered me from
the interview and we exchange numbers and then I complimented
your camera and remember they did I remember that. And
then I remember a few months later I found out
(03:43):
you're in New York and I d M D randomly.
I was like, hey, like, I want to see a
Broadway show. You saw Mean Girls, and it was amazing.
You got dinner, I know, And that's how I think
it all started. And we barely knew each other. I
was out in New York and um, when Sammy reached out,
I was like, oh my gosh. I was really nervous
to reach out because it was when I was in
high school's right when I was going through all that
(04:05):
ship that was terrible, and I was like, Okay, let
me try and just put myself out there and meet
some new people. And I remember Damn and he was like, Okay,
we'll see what happens, right, And I at the time
like I needed some more friendships in my life. And
so when you reached out, honestly, I was so excited.
And you know, when you're on vacation somewhere you don't
like or I guess it was maybe more of a
work trip you don't expect to, like, I don't know,
(04:28):
hang out with people that you don't don't know there.
But we had so much fun. We hit it off
that night. I feel like weird. That was our first
Like I remember you coming in the restaurant because we
got dinner before, and it was just like we've known
each other for a really long time, and I remember
us both being like, wait, this is a little odd,
how comfortable this is. It was a little weird because,
like you said, we had only met each other in
(04:49):
a work setting two times before and they were very short. Yeah,
isn't that crazy. It's so weird. We kind of friendship
development story ever, and then we have what three years now. Yeah,
I think, so that's crazy. I remember when I saw you, um, because,
like I said, I was on set. It was so
(05:09):
interesting to see your work ethic and see how set's going.
What people don't realize like Disney especially, it's very glamorized,
but it's a set is a lot of hurry up
and wait, which is yes, people don't talk about right,
And I think when you're it's more waiting when you're
an adult, but when you're a kid, it's a lot
of um school work. You know, I was still um
(05:32):
in school. I mean I'm eighteen now, but I was
still in school when when I was filming Coop and CAMMI.
So you're not working, you're doing school in the classroom.
So I know it's crazy, but um, I think that's
like the question people always have is like, how do
you balance school and work life? You have to, like
you have completely, So what would you say a average
(05:54):
day on set was like for you? Well, we kind
of had a weekly schedule because it was a multi
cam show, so that is kind of like a set
schedule every week. So Monday we had a table read
in school, and then Tuesday we rehearsed all day and
did school, and then Wednesday we rehearsed again, and we
had what's called the network run through, where we would
(06:14):
do the whole show as like a play for the network,
and they would come and do notes and make revisions,
and then Thursday and Friday we would film and we
didn't get much school work done on Thursday and Friday,
we banked it all on the three days beforehand, so
that's crazy to think of your schedule. What was that like?
Do you feel like, because I know we've talked about this,
(06:36):
I've always felt older than my actual age and I
know you have to, but what have you ever felt
any resentment from not being able to have that whatever
the normal experience is or is it you just you
just kind of like me where it's like I've always
kind of not really jived with that. Oh my gosh, exactly.
I think that's why we get along so well, is
because we have that in common. I've always felt a
(06:58):
lot older than I am. I've a aways felt like
an adult trapped inside a kid's body. Um. I think
I never had any resentment towards not having like a
typical childhood or going to regular school. I, to be honest,
never really desired it. Yeah, I didn't love it. I
went to public school and I didn't love it. That's
(07:19):
being so honest, And UM, I think certain things. I
just I was never sad about not having a problem
or not having a regular graduation or those things. I
in my own head, I was. I realized that I
was having just different experiences. I didn't feel like I
was losing out on anything. I was just having a
different experience. You're having so many life experience to right,
(07:45):
and it is an adult world, an adult business. So
I'm glad that I've kind of felt like an old
soul on my life because it kind of prepared me
for being in an adult business. But no, I honestly
I'm so happy with like not having that true additional childhood.
I don't feel like I missed out. And you know,
it's really interesting because in our friendship, we don't really
(08:06):
talk about work really. We just talk about whatever. We
talk about everything. Um, but how long have you been
working for I became an actress when I was seven
years old, so I've been in this business for eleven years. Okay,
so from seven to eleven, what were you working on?
Wizardes Show appearances, commercials, auditions, that kind of stuff. Yeah,
(08:26):
I just kind of when I was seven, which is
like such a little little age. Um, I just hit
the ground running with like commercials, and I trained. I
was really adamant about training. I still am. I think
like the best thing anybody can do as an actor
is trained, like know your stuff, no your craft, fall
in love with your craft. You know, you gotta love it,
(08:46):
you don't want to just and we're in such an
time where so many people are going into acting without
the love of it, but just as a money grab
in a way that it's very refreshing to see you.
You hustle, you really do because you love your craft.
Thank you. I love my craft. I love acting, and
I think I fell in love with it through studying
and working with different acting coaches and and being in
(09:09):
class consistently. That's how I fell in love with it.
And that's what gave me the ability to be resilient
through the rejection of this business. Um, because I love
it so much. I love it. It's I mean, it's
my passion. I couldn't do life without it, So I
think you really have to love it. And um, I
was grateful for that time of doing commercials and auditioning
a ton when I was like, like you said, seven
(09:31):
to eleven, and making coast our guests, our appearances and
training and that that's what I was doing. And then
when just that magic happened, life was completely different. Just
how magic happened. I started filming it when I was eleven, okay,
eleven fift I think, Yeah, what about acting? Do you love?
I always think about this, and I think it's living
(09:52):
through other people. Like, as humans, we get one life
and we only get to live through our eyes. And
I think in acting, I get to live through the
len of so many different people and have I feel
like I have different life experiences through the characters I've
lived through. Honestly, Wow, that's awesome. Thanks. And to affect people.
I used to go into the movie theater and just
be so deeply affected by movies. I mean I still am,
(10:14):
but even as a kid. Like the reason I became
an actress is because I went to the movie theater
and I saw a movie called Ramona, and I talked
about remember when she ran away? Oh my gosh, of
course I did. I cried traumatizing that song, the Taylor
Swift song that adn't Nolla. When she's walking up the
hill by herself. It's hard, I know, and she brings
(10:36):
her mom puts the bowling ball in her backpack because
she doesn't want her to leave, and she knows it's
going to get too heavy for her to carry. Yeah,
I know this movie back my head. Yeah, And I
think I was so deeply affected by everything I watched
and I was just I just wanted to make people
feel And that's those are the two things about acting
(10:56):
that I love so much. And then you later when
you in your acting career, you fall in love with
a set environment and working with the crew, But first
you have to love acting because it's the bones of
the career, you know. Yeah, would you say we are
in such a divisive world right now where it feels
like there's more hate than love. Do you think by
(11:17):
being an actor and getting to go into different characters
has made you more of an empathetic person? Oh? Absolutely, absolutely.
I think it teaches you um to be a lot
less judgmental, you know what I mean. I think when
you do so much research about a character like I've
I've done, you know a lot of research, whether it's
for auditions or for roles on you know, different subjects,
(11:41):
um like different diseases and things like that that the
character might have. And I think it just teaches you
that everybody has a different story to tell and that
everybody struggles. And yeah, absolutely, it makes me more empathetic.
I think you kind of have to be if you're
going to be an actor. But that's also great tool
that you have just in life now, to be able
(12:03):
to see something on the surface and then kind of
real evaluate like, is this all there is to it?
Or is it a deeper issue? Oh yeah, totally. Because
we only see people we know, We only see the
life that they choose to show us. So I think
when you get to dive deep into a character, you
get to see all the stuff that you only know
of yourself. You know, all the private moments and all
the things they say to themselves, And when you dive
(12:25):
into a character, you have to see all of that.
What how they interact with other people, how they interact
with when they're by themselves, you know what I mean? Yeah,
what would you say? I think we've talked about on
the podcast a lot, the highlight reel of social media, Yes, um,
and I know you know how it's affected me a
lot and how I've had to just delete the app
Oh yeah, quite so many times. What would you say
(12:47):
The biggest misconception about you is, oh, my gosh, Sammy
with the hard hitting flue. Okay, I think, on a
lighter note, I think I'm a lot goofier then people see.
I mean, I think I'm funnier than people see. I
agree with that. I really didn't. I don't know. No,
(13:07):
I agree with that. I absolutely like, Oh I'm funny,
but no, I just mean that. I think I'm a
little more relaxed. I'm super chill, you know what I mean.
I'm very reserved. I'm not. I feel like I know
a misconception about you that people go for it, and
I want to know. So. I did not realize how
big of a Twilight fan Olivia was. Um, I haven't
(13:30):
seen the Twilight yet. I know we need to make
that happen. We've been talking about it. I am honored
that you've just given me a platform to discuss my
Twilight addiction. I you're right, I do what people know
about this. Um, I mean like I do post like
on the anniversary of Winter. I can't say I do post. Um,
(13:50):
you know, the anniversary of when Twilight came out. Um,
if anybody wants to know, I'm obviously team Edward. I've
posted a couple of TikTok's. I do have Bella's engagement ring.
Um that's like me, I that was. I think your
obsession of Twilight is like similar to my obsession with
high school musical like I see the Team Troy necklace.
(14:11):
Of course. Oh I always wanted that, right, Oh my goodness,
if Zach put it on me, yeah, that was that
was what I really wanted. But I mean, when't the necklace?
Was there some because I haven't seen the movies, was
there some equivalent that Edward did that you would want
Patterson to do? Um? I, oh gosh, I mean there's
so much I I know, you know what I mean,
(14:34):
Like vampires. Well, no, I see, this is when I
wish that you've seen the movies with me, Sammy, because
the whole premis is that he's reluctant to bite her.
He doesn't want to change her into a vampire. And yeah,
so I think I love all the quotes from I
love all the quotes from the movies. Um like and
(14:54):
so the line fell in love with the lamb, like yeah,
all all, there's how much good stuff? And then there's
like this thing about Spider Monkey and there's a lot
of good things. Are all foreign things. We really need
to make it happen, like wee like a movie marathon. Yeah,
I'll tell you now what My favorite. I bet people
are going to agree my favorite is Breaking Dawn Part one. Okay,
(15:19):
so that's the fourth movie you're in for the first
one we're going to watch or we must go chronologically. Okay,
how many movies are there? There's five? Five? Yeah. I'm
trying to think of like something I can share with
you from the movies that I don't want to know.
I want to be a surprise if they did, like
(15:42):
a Twilight reboot. Oh, would you be into that? Or
you're kind of sick of reboots? Because I feel like
I'm a little sick of reboots. But if they asked
you to be like Olivia, what do you want to
be in a Twilight? I mean, I get where you're
coming from with the reboot thing, but no, I am.
I would be in to do a Twilight all the way.
Would you say that's your dream character? Yeah, that's like
(16:05):
my funny dream one. Okay, what about like actual dream
real dream ones? I guess. I mean I would love
to play Juliette in some adaptation of Romeo and Juliette.
You're obsessed with Shakespeare too, I forgot about that. I am.
The obsession is real. Yeah, you have a song called
stars Cross I do very much so inspired by Romeo
and Juliette. Yeah, I've seen basically every movie adaptation there is, really, Yes,
(16:30):
you want to know. My favorite is of course, have
you seen the Basil Arman one with Leonardo DiCaprio and
Clare Dain's I might have? I might have in school? Actually, yeah,
people make you watch in school. But I saw that
movie for school. Actually I was supposed to watch one
of the versions, and I fell in love with it.
Leonardo DiCaprio, he is my favorite actor. I think he's
(16:51):
a genius. Yeah, I think he's a genius. I love him.
Of course, Young Leo has my heart. I mean Young
Leo's Young Leo, but like as an actor, he to
me is a genius. Are you more of a visual person? Yes?
I think so. Yeah, because when I like study for
tests before I take the test, and I'm studying and
I look in a book, like in the textbook, I'll
(17:13):
remember like the location of the paragraph of the word,
but I won't remember every detail. I'll just remember that
whatever information I'm looking for was near that location that
sometimes like close you in. Do you have a photographic
photographic memory? I think maybe, like a little little Your
(17:33):
testo last night went well. It went well, guys. Olivia
is a sophomore in college, which I was not. She's
just cranking through the classes. Thank you. Yeah, it was
my um last psychology tests, so that was really a
great feeling. I'm done with that. Okay, let's transition from
psychology to mental health. But first we have to take
(17:56):
a quick break, and when we come back, we'll talk
more about that. I want to hear more of out
your music, and I know you have some crazy right
carpet stories, so let's get into those and so much more.
We'll be right back and we're back. Mental health can
(18:16):
be especially tough for so many this time of year.
How is your mental health? It's pretty good. Good, it's
pretty good. This time of year is really good for me.
You love this time of year, so I do. I do, honestly,
Like there's just something inside me that like gets an
immense amount of joy from it just being the holiday
to remember in August. You're like, I'm so exciting. Slow down.
(18:40):
I know, yeah, I know. Basically, I just try and
get through Thanksgiving and Halloween. I'm just kidding. I love
those two, but the goal of the year is to
get to Christmas. Okay, what about after Christmas? After Christmas.
I love a new year. I love a fresh start,
and your Valentine's Day always makes me a little depressed
(19:00):
because every year I'm like, oh, maybe next year, and
then it just comes around. We're young, we're young. We
can be each other's exactly exactly we need to do
our holiday. Um, I know, every stop it Okay, min
hasn't come yet. It's ordered though, so I will ship
into your house. But every like, for the past two years,
(19:20):
Olivia and I have been doing this gift swap where
we send each other like holiday presents, and it's so
much fun. I love getting creative with it. I know
last year because I mean we obviously weren't together, so
we send each other these like boxes. You decorated it.
It was so fun. I had so much fun putting
(19:42):
it together. I know. I have written notes when every
I haven't told you Va Silvia over face time for
like the past eight months. Anytime you say something, I
write it down on my notes section. I do this
for like people close in my life, so I like
remember these things so that for the gift I can
kind of put it together these like well things you've
said in the path. That's genius. Yes, I think I
(20:02):
remember you did that because Sammy is an excellent gift giver.
That's like a little fun fact people don't really know. Excellent,
like so good. Last year you were telling me everything
you were getting for your family, and I was amazed.
Didn't I tell you to get your sibling um to
adopt the yes or to get the star yes or no?
(20:23):
You told me to get them um to adopt like
an animal online to Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, man. That
was like that was a good idea on my part.
It was a great idea and I totally ended up
using it. I mean, guys, Sammy for your gift giving needs.
You know what I say, Olivia should make a cookbook
(20:44):
and I do a gift guy gift book and then
we can bundle it. That sounds great. Yeah, okay, a
cookbook slash gift giving guide, like all in one book.
Is this like a perfect idea? I think it is.
You can self published on Amazon. Let's do it. I mean,
I'm something that has It's so weird to me that
(21:04):
it's almost two. It's like we're coming to the end
of season three. I know, guys, I'm such a fan.
It hasn't been an amazing season. Oh, honestly, this has
been my favorite season. I loved him all, but this
has been my favorite. Really. Yes, Olivia has been one
of the o G listeners o G, but like I
(21:25):
have been sometimes it can be very overwhelming to do
the podcast while being in school, and um, Olivia has
just always like whenever I get stressed, she's just like
she says, no, like you're doing it, like you're doing
a great job. And your support has just always literally
meant so much. Same. Thank you, Sammy. I mean, Sammy
(21:45):
is maybe the most supportive person that I've ever met,
Like she's always cheering me on and the definitely I
always say that Sammy is the definition of a true friend.
So I'm like, I love our friendship. Came one of
the most random place too, it did. Is this your
first podcast? Um, I think it might be podcastsh my
(22:08):
der debut. What's the question you've never been asked before
that you're like, Oh, I wish someone would ask me this. Um,
oh my gosh, I don't know, because I was I
was doing By the way, it's very weird to do
research on your friend. I like, I was like, I
was like, I was trying to be prepared but then
I was like, you know what, I don't really know
if I can how much I can do this, because
(22:30):
it's weird because I know you personally, and it's very
interesting to see the way like the media, like I
see you've done these interviews, it's very much these surface
level like how's it going, and you know, talk about this,
and very much surface level stuff. Do you ever wish
you when during those conversations people would I don't want
(22:52):
to say, treat you more human, but ask more questions
that weren't just about promoting a project. Yes, I mean
I totally understand to where people are coming. Of course,
it's a business right, of course, but as a human Yes,
I think when I listened to your podcast, it does
feel so human and so authentic that it makes me,
um more aware of the way I answer questions, more
(23:16):
aware of less media trained. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, I mean
there is a time and of place for that, of course,
but um, I think your approach to your podcast is
so real and um, true to yourself and honest and
um honestly, it's given me a new perspective on the
way you interview people, the way people respond to you
(23:38):
when you interview them, Like I feel like you have
this way of opening people up just naturally. It's true,
like it's also conversational. And that's why I always tell
Samy is she has such a gift for it, and
it's just you feel relaxed when you're with her, because
interviews are scary sometimes when I'm on the few times
I've been on the other side, I feel weird, just
(24:00):
like you don't have control over what people are saying. Totally.
I've been asked some weird questions before. That's the weirdest
question you've been asked. I think I may have told
you this once before. I was on a red carpet
and like it made sense kind of. But I was asked,
if you were to have a Dina dinosaur rock star,
(24:23):
what would be its name? M hmm, it was. It
was at a premiere. Was it like a dinosaur move?
It was? It was. But and I honestly I came
up with the worst spot was I think everybody my
brain just I could I couldn't think at all. I
was like, well, what would be a dinosaur rock star name?
(24:43):
And I think I said like t Rex Sauna or
something like to do a play on Riona. I have
no idea. I was also like or Nirvana. It could
have been Nirvana. Yeah right, I could have gone either way, right,
So true? Interesting? Yeah, isn't that a weird question? What
is it like being on a carpet? Because I used
to cover them for Radio Disney and they were so
overwhelming just being there. And I can't imagine on the
(25:07):
other side, because it looks very glamorous when you see
the Instagram photos, but it's kind of chaos, and I
don't think people A lot of people realize that, Oh
it's so chaotic. I think, is it not stressful? It
is stressful sometimes. I think if you're feeling great and
you feel your best, and you feel it, you look
your best, it's fun. I think if you can get
(25:28):
out there and just like have a good time with it,
then it's fun. But other times it gets super chaotic
and people yelling your name why and weird interview questions
like that one that makes you think I have to
think really hard. But for the most for the most part,
I really enjoy it. I think if you do too
many in a row, it gets exhausting. But I don't
(25:48):
want to take it for granted because it's so fun.
There's one dress she wore one specific time that I
always tell her it was, I think it's the dumb broke,
the dumbbo premiere dress. Thank you. I remember when I
saw that. I was that one I love you popped off.
Thank you, No, I do. I did love that. For
those who know, it was like a it was like
a ballgown. It was. It was a bawn ballgown that
(26:10):
like went to like a little below my knee, so
it went out far, but it didn't go to like
the floor. It was very poofy. It was very very poofy.
But that was the coolest premiere ever. I saw Angelina Jolie,
yes she was movie fan girled over. Oh her for
sure because she she pulled over. Um, she pulled aside
(26:31):
one of my cast mates from Cooping Cammy and told
him that their family watches our show. Isn't that the
craziest thing ever? I freaked out. I freaked out, and um,
that was a fan girl moment. I met Tory Kelly
on the red carpet and started crying, and I don't
do that. And I think it's just overwhelmed because she's
(26:53):
been such a light in my life and her music
really speaks to me that feeling all too right. It
just I was like, are these tears coming from It's
it's like you can't help it. And you know, like
when you're in the industry, like I don't get fan
grilled over often because like everyone's human, you know, right,
But like there's i'd say three people that I would
actually possibly lose my ship over Lynn Well of course
(27:17):
talked about multiple timesting and Oprah Oh great, Like I
know they're so, I know they're human, but they're so
those are like answers to who would you want to
have lunch with? Um? Like dead or alive? That kind
of that's good. Those are good names. It's just I
think I don't think. I don't know if I fan
(27:37):
girl over them, but more so over their brilliance of course,
of course, and what they've done exactly. Yeah, I get that.
Something that I really want to talk about it is
if you has the most beautiful voice, Oh my gosh,
covers on TikTok and a'll texts will be like supportive friends,
Sammy always cheering me on no, but every time my
(27:58):
mind is just blown. Like I know you a beautiful voice,
but it's just like you said you did eleanor Rigby,
and I was like, oh my goodness, thank you. She
popped off. Thank you so much. What are your thoughts
on TikTok, because I do you want some really interesting Yes.
So I haven't been on TikTok much and I know
that you thank you. It's I know I shouldn't be
(28:18):
proud of that, but I thinks something to be proud of.
My time span has gotten time attention span has increased
so much. Watching YouTube videos when I was on TikTok
felt too long. Yes, and ever since I've been off,
I can like, my attention span is so much longer.
Ever since you've been off average, I've been off TikTok. Yeah,
it's really bad. It's really bad for the attention span.
(28:41):
I know, I find myself like not being able to
sit through certain things. Now I'm like, oh, I need
to retrain my mind. It's really rough. I saw this.
Olivia knows I'm obsessed with the news, um, but I
saw this thing where the CEO of Instagram was asked
questions because you know, studies came out about how Instagram
can be like negative effect at teen girls mental health
and body image, and there definitely should be legislation. I
(29:03):
don't know if you saw the social dilemma, um, but
it's very interesting, especially like on a large scale because
you have a pretty substantial amount of followers. How have
you navigated that with also staying present, insane and not
compare yourself because it's so easy to like we said,
people just post to highlight reeo. Oh my gosh. It's
(29:25):
really tough. I definitely struggle through that of trying not
to compare, and I think, um, gratitude is the best
way to combat comparison. But I mean that doesn't always happen.
But yeah, it's hard. It's hard. Yeah, it's a daily
thing that you constantly have to remind yourself. You have
to consistently say, hey, you know what I'm gonna try
and um just be grateful for what I have and
(29:47):
try not to compare. But like I said, like that
doesn't always. Um. Sometimes, no, when it's hard, and you
have to consistently try and do that. But I think
also a great way to um not deal with those
things or to kind of lessen the pain is to
try and get off of it. I know it's hard
to believe me, I'm on it all the time more
(30:09):
than I should be. But um, I think that's one
guaranteed way to kind of get rid of those pressures, UM,
is to try and do other things. And I when
I found other hobbies and dove further into my work,
I feel better, you know what I mean, more assured
within yourself for sure. Yeah. And I think gratitude also
(30:30):
means reminding yourself of like positive affirmations about yourself, like hey,
I'm grateful that I do this, and I'm kind to
people or whatever, you know, those kind of things. Yeah,
I've been trying to work on that. I mean, I
was showing her, I know what you're about to say.
Last night. We were phase timing and I showed her
UM the final project I did for my class that
I directed. UM and Olivia gave me a very nice
(30:52):
compliment and I immediately rejected it. She shut me down.
And you're like, we mean to go this well, but like,
I feel like it's not just you. Everybody struggles with
trying to be proud of their own work. And you
work so hard and I can clearly see that you
should be proud, But of course when it comes to
(31:13):
talking about yourself, I think we're all our own worst critic. Yes, like,
I can be so mean to myself. It's so bad,
and I've been trying so hard to not um and
I feel like, I don't know, I feel like that's
not talked about because I go through these things of
I was talking to my cousin about this a few
months back, and I was saying, how like I am
my biggest obstacle, and he said something that kind of
(31:37):
really intrigued me. He said, well, that's kind of nice
that you know how to overcome you and if that's
your biggest obstacle, then you can do that. And I
was like, you're right, because I have the power to
change that totally takes work. It takes a lot of
daily work. Yeah yeah, but you know it's when even
if you're mean to yourself, it's letting that go and
(31:57):
just being easier with yourself because at the end of
the day where all we have absolutely I'm definitely my
own worst critic, and and there's almost like some kind
of relief in that sometimes where if I'm if I'm
happy with something I've done, then I know that I
should be proud of that because I think when you
put yourself um, you give yourself such such high expectations
(32:19):
and standards. When I finally am happy with something I've
done or worked on, I'm like, dang, that took a
lot of work to get there, right, even I'm proud
of myself, Dang, that's kind of like my barometer of
of that I worked really hard for that. Does that
make sense? Like, Okay, do you know what's really interesting?
I'm just like kind of analyzing our friendship right now.
(32:40):
And any time we try and like talk about the
other person, we both try and like no, no, you
like no, no, You're like I'm like telling about this,
You're like no, but let me hear about you first.
I mean, like, don't want to talk about ourselves. So
we really do that quite a lot. We need to
work on that, we do. We do. I feel like
we've gotten better since the beginning of Yeah, got to
(33:00):
the point guys where it was like we like I
couldn't even start the conversation because let's talk about you.
Like that still happens, it does, but not nearly as much.
I feel like we're more comfortable just talking to each
other ourselves more. Yeah, and what's and because we talk often,
it's like it's not even that much to update each
other because it's not superficial stuff exactly exactly, mostly just kidding. Okay,
(33:26):
we have to take one more quick break, but when
we come back, I want to talk about your new song, Evergreen,
and your song from last year, The Train, one of
my favorites. I also want to talk more about you
growing up in the business, our friendship, social media, and
much more. Will be right back and we're back. I
(33:49):
know it's how we to accept compliments, but I don't know,
but you are truly such a hard worker and you
inspire me and for people that I don't that don't know.
Olivia released a beautiful song that she wrote herself called Evergreen,
and last year short and release a beautiful song called
The Train, which I am obsessed with. And something that
(34:12):
a lot of people don't know is not only did
you write it, but you also made and edited the
lyric video yourself. You have edited multiple things. You are
people a lot for a lot of people. It's a
big team that does things. Olivia does it herself. Um,
and it is so inspiring because sometimes we can all
(34:34):
get trapped in our own head thinking, well, I don't
have this, so I can't do it. But you are
also a true definition of if you want to do something,
just do it yourself. And that's really hard to do,
to start something and put yourself out there. But I
just want to say that, And I think your song
Evergreen is so beautiful and I'm so proud of you
for you did. You did the cover art, um, you
(34:57):
did the lyric music video, and I just want to
acknowledge that because you work so hard. Thank you. Oh
my god, you're saying thank you. No, I I really,
I really do appreciate that. Like if I want to be,
you know, one thing as an actor, aside from hopefully
being a good actor, I want to be just hard working.
So I really appreciate that. Um. Yeah, I think that's
(35:22):
maybe a misconception as well. Like, yes, I'm an independent
artist and I do most of it myself. I wrote
the song, Um, I had an amazing producer who did
who produced it for me Isaac, And yeah, you're right,
it was a lot of work, but it's a lot
of work that means a lot. Thank you. Sammy has
always been so supportive of my music. I sent her
my new song Evergreen before it came out because she
(35:45):
wanted to hear. It was like I was having a
bad day and I was telling you about and You're like,
you know what, I'm gonna send you this. You can't
show anyone. Yeah, and Sammy knows. I'm like, super, she
won't send anything, and yeah, she won't until like you're like,
we were bold perfectionists. So unless it's like to our
standards correct, Yeah, yeah. If if I'm like, I don't know,
(36:07):
I think a couple of things need to be changed,
then I won't show it. But Sammy was in need
of a little bit of distraction that day, so I
was like, you know what, here we go. Here you go,
take it, take it, take it. But um, that's really kind.
Thank you, Sammy. I mean, this girl right here, Can
I brag on you for a second? Okay, yes, I'm
not going to get your permission. Um, I mean you
(36:29):
guys listen. You guys know what an incredible podcast this is.
And I always say that Sammy is a visionary. I
think she has such a view of how she can
contribute to the world and how she can contribute to
um people our age and helping them have a voice
and helping stand up for people. I think she has
such a clear vision of how to be an authentic person. Um,
(36:54):
I just think she's incredible. She's an amazing friend. Anybody
that is lucky enough to be her friend knows that.
And I'm just very grateful for you. She's incredible. Meanwhile,
she's also a student and so okay, but like, you're incredible.
I'm just I just this is what facetimes are. Like
(37:15):
time we'll try and complim each other and just like stop,
you know I'm complimenting you now. Yeah, that's basically the
conversations we've talked about this. But just like being in
a young person in the industry especially that's so male dominated,
it's so hard to find like minded people. And I'm
so beyond grateful because our friendship formed so naturally, it
(37:38):
wasn't forced. Um and I feel like we've also just
been there for each other in a weird way, even
if it's just over FaceTime and we have like not
the same career, but we understand what the other person
is doing and going through, and because they are so similar,
that's been super helpful, I will say, because not a
lot of people know the process of pitching a show,
(38:02):
of hoping to get renewed, to do you know, to
do all of that, waiting to here on the next season,
waiting to here in the next season, for each episode.
And I think you've been a very good person for
me to talk to because you've always it's very easy
to lose sight of how hard it is, um, and
I just very much appreciate how much you've just been like,
this is an accomplishment you need to recognize. Yeah, and celebrating.
(38:22):
I think we always remind each other, like, hey, this
is actually an incredible thing. I think you're caught up
in the moment. You don't realize that this is awesome. Yeah, definitely,
like celebrate yourself. I think we both do good at
reminding each other of that, Like this is actually a
big deal. I know you're caught up in the moment
and it all might be stressful, but like celebrate this. Yeah, right,
and we got each other, We got each other. Just
(38:44):
love fest right here. I know, Olivia, I okay, First
of all, make sure you follow Olivia on social media.
Make sure you follow Sammy as well. She has great content,
gorgeous gorgeous content. That's the thing I've been trying. I
go back and forth. I'm sometimes I'm like I should post,
and othertimes I'm like, I can't. It's the struggle. It's
(39:05):
so an ongoing struggle, I know, because you're thinking it
as a business. Of course, at the same time we're
called teenage girls. Yeah, and it's also like interacting with
um friends and fans is so cool. So I think
when I think about it through that lens, I'm like, oh, yeah,
I do want to post. I do want to share
things because um, I don't know, I just want to
(39:25):
I want to use my platform. So it is that
mix of like I don't want to post on social media,
but which I totally get because social media is it
you're start because you're not on Snapchat, I'm not. No,
I think that is when you are so mentally clear.
I genuinely think. So I've only heard, you know, stories
about snap scores and all that good stuff, and when
(39:48):
people ask for my snapchat, Like, so, I remember I
did like when we want some girls like I don't
have a Snapchat. I was like, you thought it was
so weird. No I didn't. I was like, this is
kind of nice. I d like it cool. Yeah. Remember,
I think like borrowed your phone to use the filters
because back in the day when Snapchat filters were good, right,
didn't I remember the dog filter? Oh my gosh, yes,
(40:10):
I just liked the Like, I feel like Snapchat is
one of those, like the most unnecessary social media platforms,
Like it just does more harm than good. I agree.
Do you remember the flower crown filter? Remember the unicorn
and when like you open your mouth like a rainbow
tongue would come out. Yes, yes, that was this was
like when it was actually like good, Yeah, we don't
(40:36):
need Snapchat get often. You know, it's so true. There's
plenty of other social media platforms. Exactly. Sometimes I wish
we lived in a world where there was no social media.
Oh my gosh too, I feel like all the time, right,
all the time, things were based on your talent instead
of followers. Absolutely, OLIVI and I've talked about this, but
(40:56):
I can't imagine how frustrating it is to not get
role or should be considered because of a lack of followers.
And it's not about talent when it should be about talent. Yeah, yeah,
that's tough. It is. It is. I know you know this,
but like I understand it. I understand that this is
a side, but um, you know, I think actors were
(41:17):
just such fragile people. We can't deal with that. We're
so sensitive as an artist, yes, the artist, Yes I
can't do with that. No, I'm just kidding, but no,
I think that Again, that's back to the craft thing,
like you gotta love the craft enough for all that
to be worth it. Yeah, I feel that right. Um,
if you're ever wondering what our conversations are, like, Um,
(41:40):
this is it, this is it, this is it, this
is our friendship in a nutshell. Um, go listen to Evergreen.
I'm so proud of you. Thank you. And this year
finally on the podcast, it's it's a time on my
favorite season and now I'm a part of it. So
I love that? Is it? Do I say, like I
want to say, subscribe to your pod? Is that what
(42:01):
I say? Is that how you subscribe to a podcast? Yeah? Okay, everybody,
subscribe to this podcast. Please you made it this far
and leave a comment a green emoji for Evergreen. That's
how we'll know you've made it through. Yeah, let's pick
a specific one, like a green, like the green tree.
How about a green tree and a green heart? Love it?
(42:22):
Love it perfect. We're gonna know we're gonna know. Also
if you do that, comment that both on our Instagram post,
and that's how we will also know. Yeah, I'd love
to see that. We're kind of having a little secret code.
Yeah yeah, I would apply to whatever comments. Yeah, me too,
do it. We love this. Thank you for coming. Thank
(42:44):
you so much, Sammy. It's such a pleasure. This was
a long time in making. It was I'm glad I do.
Thank you guys so much for listening to this week's
episode of the Let's Be Real Podcast. I hope you
enjoyed it. Olivia, I love you so dearly, and thank
you so much for coming on stream Evergreen. She's worked
so hard on it, um and it's such an incredible song,
(43:07):
and also listen to the train. Follow her on all
her social media Instagram Olivia's Nabia TikTok, Olivia's nabia Um.
Make sure you subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already,
and follow me on Instagram at it Sammy J. That's
I T S S A M M Y j A
y E. And I will see you guys next week.
Hey guys, and welcome back to this week's episode of
lestin World podcast. I can't believe that it is mid December.
I was at lunch with friends today and then I realized,
oh my goodness, next month is two, which quite literally
freaked me out. So I don't know if you guys
have come to that realization yet, but there you go. Anyways, um,
(00:24):
this week is such a incredible and full circle episode
because one of my closest friends, Olivia so Naviia is
my guest. Now you may know her from Amazon's Just
Said Magic or Disney Channel's Cooping Cammy, but she is
genuinely one of the most talented, hardworking and driven people
I know. And I love this episode and I hope
(00:46):
you do too. Yeah, Olivia, this is super exciting. Okay,
everybody the Olivia Sonavia is this week's my podcast. Hi guys,
I'm so honored to be here. Okay, can I tell
you why this is so crazy? The first time we
(01:08):
met was not to let people know I met Olivia
and I was interviewing around a red carpet for Beauty
can in l a team and we found this video
a few months ago, and the first time we met
we shook hands when so, why did we shake hands?
It was awkward. It was awkward professionals. Yeah, but it's
(01:31):
just weird because I've never we Olivia and I have
become very close friends since we've developed a friendship, which
was kind of out of nowhere. It was, it was
out of nowhere, but I think it's so awesome and
now here we are. We're here. I'm so excited to
be here. You guys, I'm such a fan of Let's
be real, and I'm honored to be here today. Olivia
has been one of the only people in my life,
(01:53):
one of my friends besides like my family, that has
truly supported me through this. I remember when I was
working on the pitch deck for the podcast. I told
her when I got the pilot. I remember we were
walking around the growth and I was even one of
the people because you get it, you get how much
work goes into it, and I've just always really appreciated
that and just our friendship. It's we are. We are friendship.
(02:15):
I'd say we were friends, but I think the pandemic
a little bit. It brought us together. Did we faced
the FaceTime? Yeah, We've had a long distance friendship mainly
over FaceTime. Yeah, I mean we've lived on separate sides
of the country for as the majority of our friendship,
and m it's just crazy that it's become such a
close friendship because we've seen each other like not as
(02:39):
many times to equal how close we are Max ten
times if that? Oh yeah Max, Maybe I know. Isn't
that sad? That's weird and only thinking about that, But
we faced time more than I've ever FaceTime to anybody
else in my life. Really, yes, we faced them at
least if it goes two weeks, that's a lot. That's like,
that's true. You brought me out of my my shell
(03:01):
because like before our friendship, I didn't like FaceTime. I
like to have like photos and yes, totally. I was
always like, no, I don't like FaceTime. It's weird, it
feels awkward. Until you really brought me out of my
shell and I was like, you know what, I just
got an amazing friendship over FaceTime. I love that. I remember,
so I interviewed Beauty con l A. It was I
(03:22):
don't know, we need to find that interview that'd be
so funny to watch. But then I remember I was
doing a piece for Radio Disney and you were around
the Disney show Coop and Cammy UM, and I was
doing like a behind the scenes and it was a
few days later, and I remember you remembered me from
the interview and we exchange numbers and then I complimented
your camera and remember they did I remember that. And
then I remember a few months later I found out
(03:43):
you're in New York and I d M D randomly.
I was like, hey, like, I want to see a
Broadway show. You saw Mean Girls, and it was amazing.
You got dinner, I know, And that's how I think
it all started. And we barely knew each other. I
was out in New York and um, when Sammy reached out,
I was like, oh my gosh. I was really nervous
to reach out because it was when I was in
high school's right when I was going through all that
(04:05):
ship that was terrible, and I was like, Okay, let
me try and just put myself out there and meet
some new people. And I remember Damn and he was like, Okay,
we'll see what happens, right, And I at the time
like I needed some more friendships in my life. And
so when you reached out, honestly, I was so excited.
And you know, when you're on vacation somewhere you don't
like or I guess it was maybe more of a
work trip you don't expect to, like, I don't know,
(04:28):
hang out with people that you don't don't know there.
But we had so much fun. We hit it off
that night. I feel like weird. That was our first
Like I remember you coming in the restaurant because we
got dinner before, and it was just like we've known
each other for a really long time, and I remember
us both being like, wait, this is a little odd,
how comfortable this is. It was a little weird because,
like you said, we had only met each other in
(04:49):
a work setting two times before and they were very short. Yeah,
isn't that crazy. It's so weird. We kind of friendship
development story ever, and then we have what three years now. Yeah,
I think, so that's crazy. I remember when I saw you, um, because,
like I said, I was on set. It was so
(05:09):
interesting to see your work ethic and see how set's going.
What people don't realize like Disney especially, it's very glamorized,
but it's a set is a lot of hurry up
and wait, which is yes, people don't talk about right,
And I think when you're it's more waiting when you're
an adult, but when you're a kid, it's a lot
of um school work. You know, I was still um
(05:32):
in school. I mean I'm eighteen now, but I was
still in school when when I was filming Coop and CAMMI.
So you're not working, you're doing school in the classroom.
So I know it's crazy, but um, I think that's
like the question people always have is like, how do
you balance school and work life? You have to, like
you have completely, So what would you say a average
(05:54):
day on set was like for you? Well, we kind
of had a weekly schedule because it was a multi
cam show, so that is kind of like a set
schedule every week. So Monday we had a table read
in school, and then Tuesday we rehearsed all day and
did school, and then Wednesday we rehearsed again, and we
had what's called the network run through, where we would
(06:14):
do the whole show as like a play for the network,
and they would come and do notes and make revisions,
and then Thursday and Friday we would film and we
didn't get much school work done on Thursday and Friday,
we banked it all on the three days beforehand, so
that's crazy to think of your schedule. What was that like?
Do you feel like, because I know we've talked about this,
(06:36):
I've always felt older than my actual age and I
know you have to, but what have you ever felt
any resentment from not being able to have that whatever
the normal experience is or is it you just you
just kind of like me where it's like I've always
kind of not really jived with that. Oh my gosh, exactly.
I think that's why we get along so well, is
because we have that in common. I've always felt a
(06:58):
lot older than I am. I've a aways felt like
an adult trapped inside a kid's body. Um. I think
I never had any resentment towards not having like a
typical childhood or going to regular school. I, to be honest,
never really desired it. Yeah, I didn't love it. I
went to public school and I didn't love it. That's
(07:19):
being so honest, And UM, I think certain things. I
just I was never sad about not having a problem
or not having a regular graduation or those things. I
in my own head, I was. I realized that I
was having just different experiences. I didn't feel like I
was losing out on anything. I was just having a
different experience. You're having so many life experience to right,
(07:45):
and it is an adult world, an adult business. So
I'm glad that I've kind of felt like an old
soul on my life because it kind of prepared me
for being in an adult business. But no, I honestly
I'm so happy with like not having that true additional childhood.
I don't feel like I missed out. And you know,
it's really interesting because in our friendship, we don't really
(08:06):
talk about work really. We just talk about whatever. We
talk about everything. Um, but how long have you been
working for I became an actress when I was seven
years old, so I've been in this business for eleven years. Okay,
so from seven to eleven, what were you working on?
Wizardes Show appearances, commercials, auditions, that kind of stuff. Yeah,
(08:26):
I just kind of when I was seven, which is
like such a little little age. Um, I just hit
the ground running with like commercials, and I trained. I
was really adamant about training. I still am. I think
like the best thing anybody can do as an actor
is trained, like know your stuff, no your craft, fall
in love with your craft. You know, you gotta love it,
(08:46):
you don't want to just and we're in such an
time where so many people are going into acting without
the love of it, but just as a money grab
in a way that it's very refreshing to see you.
You hustle, you really do because you love your craft.
Thank you. I love my craft. I love acting, and
I think I fell in love with it through studying
and working with different acting coaches and and being in
(09:09):
class consistently. That's how I fell in love with it.
And that's what gave me the ability to be resilient
through the rejection of this business. Um, because I love
it so much. I love it. It's I mean, it's
my passion. I couldn't do life without it, So I
think you really have to love it. And um, I
was grateful for that time of doing commercials and auditioning
a ton when I was like, like you said, seven
(09:31):
to eleven, and making coast our guests, our appearances and
training and that that's what I was doing. And then
when just that magic happened, life was completely different. Just
how magic happened. I started filming it when I was eleven, okay,
eleven fift I think, Yeah, what about acting? Do you love?
I always think about this, and I think it's living
(09:52):
through other people. Like, as humans, we get one life
and we only get to live through our eyes. And
I think in acting, I get to live through the
len of so many different people and have I feel
like I have different life experiences through the characters I've
lived through. Honestly, Wow, that's awesome. Thanks. And to affect people.
I used to go into the movie theater and just
be so deeply affected by movies. I mean I still am,
(10:14):
but even as a kid. Like the reason I became
an actress is because I went to the movie theater
and I saw a movie called Ramona, and I talked
about remember when she ran away? Oh my gosh, of
course I did. I cried traumatizing that song, the Taylor
Swift song that adn't Nolla. When she's walking up the
hill by herself. It's hard, I know, and she brings
(10:36):
her mom puts the bowling ball in her backpack because
she doesn't want her to leave, and she knows it's
going to get too heavy for her to carry. Yeah,
I know this movie back my head. Yeah, And I
think I was so deeply affected by everything I watched
and I was just I just wanted to make people
feel And that's those are the two things about acting
(10:56):
that I love so much. And then you later when
you in your acting career, you fall in love with
a set environment and working with the crew, But first
you have to love acting because it's the bones of
the career, you know. Yeah, would you say we are
in such a divisive world right now where it feels
like there's more hate than love. Do you think by
(11:17):
being an actor and getting to go into different characters
has made you more of an empathetic person? Oh? Absolutely, absolutely.
I think it teaches you um to be a lot
less judgmental, you know what I mean. I think when
you do so much research about a character like I've
I've done, you know a lot of research, whether it's
for auditions or for roles on you know, different subjects,
(11:41):
um like different diseases and things like that that the
character might have. And I think it just teaches you
that everybody has a different story to tell and that
everybody struggles. And yeah, absolutely, it makes me more empathetic.
I think you kind of have to be if you're
going to be an actor. But that's also great tool
that you have just in life now, to be able
(12:03):
to see something on the surface and then kind of
real evaluate like, is this all there is to it?
Or is it a deeper issue? Oh yeah, totally. Because
we only see people we know, We only see the
life that they choose to show us. So I think
when you get to dive deep into a character, you
get to see all the stuff that you only know
of yourself. You know, all the private moments and all
the things they say to themselves, And when you dive
(12:25):
into a character, you have to see all of that.
What how they interact with other people, how they interact
with when they're by themselves, you know what I mean? Yeah,
what would you say? I think we've talked about on
the podcast a lot, the highlight reel of social media, Yes, um,
and I know you know how it's affected me a
lot and how I've had to just delete the app
Oh yeah, quite so many times. What would you say
(12:47):
The biggest misconception about you is, oh, my gosh, Sammy
with the hard hitting flue. Okay, I think, on a
lighter note, I think I'm a lot goofier then people see.
I mean, I think I'm funnier than people see. I
agree with that. I really didn't. I don't know. No,
(13:07):
I agree with that. I absolutely like, Oh I'm funny,
but no, I just mean that. I think I'm a
little more relaxed. I'm super chill, you know what I mean.
I'm very reserved. I'm not. I feel like I know
a misconception about you that people go for it, and
I want to know. So. I did not realize how
big of a Twilight fan Olivia was. Um, I haven't
(13:30):
seen the Twilight yet. I know we need to make
that happen. We've been talking about it. I am honored
that you've just given me a platform to discuss my
Twilight addiction. I you're right, I do what people know
about this. Um, I mean like I do post like
on the anniversary of Winter. I can't say I do post. Um,
(13:50):
you know, the anniversary of when Twilight came out. Um,
if anybody wants to know, I'm obviously team Edward. I've
posted a couple of TikTok's. I do have Bella's engagement ring.
Um that's like me, I that was. I think your
obsession of Twilight is like similar to my obsession with
high school musical like I see the Team Troy necklace.
(14:11):
Of course. Oh I always wanted that, right, Oh my goodness,
if Zach put it on me, yeah, that was that
was what I really wanted. But I mean, when't the necklace?
Was there some because I haven't seen the movies, was
there some equivalent that Edward did that you would want
Patterson to do? Um? I, oh gosh, I mean there's
so much I I know, you know what I mean,
(14:34):
Like vampires. Well, no, I see, this is when I
wish that you've seen the movies with me, Sammy, because
the whole premis is that he's reluctant to bite her.
He doesn't want to change her into a vampire. And yeah,
so I think I love all the quotes from I
love all the quotes from the movies. Um like and
(14:54):
so the line fell in love with the lamb, like yeah,
all all, there's how much good stuff? And then there's
like this thing about Spider Monkey and there's a lot
of good things. Are all foreign things. We really need
to make it happen, like wee like a movie marathon. Yeah,
I'll tell you now what My favorite. I bet people
are going to agree my favorite is Breaking Dawn Part one. Okay,
(15:19):
so that's the fourth movie you're in for the first
one we're going to watch or we must go chronologically. Okay,
how many movies are there? There's five? Five? Yeah. I'm
trying to think of like something I can share with
you from the movies that I don't want to know.
I want to be a surprise if they did, like
(15:42):
a Twilight reboot. Oh, would you be into that? Or
you're kind of sick of reboots? Because I feel like
I'm a little sick of reboots. But if they asked
you to be like Olivia, what do you want to
be in a Twilight? I mean, I get where you're
coming from with the reboot thing, but no, I am.
I would be in to do a Twilight all the way.
Would you say that's your dream character? Yeah, that's like
(16:05):
my funny dream one. Okay, what about like actual dream
real dream ones? I guess. I mean I would love
to play Juliette in some adaptation of Romeo and Juliette.
You're obsessed with Shakespeare too, I forgot about that. I am.
The obsession is real. Yeah, you have a song called
stars Cross I do very much so inspired by Romeo
and Juliette. Yeah, I've seen basically every movie adaptation there is, really, Yes,
(16:30):
you want to know. My favorite is of course, have
you seen the Basil Arman one with Leonardo DiCaprio and
Clare Dain's I might have? I might have in school? Actually, yeah,
people make you watch in school. But I saw that
movie for school. Actually I was supposed to watch one
of the versions, and I fell in love with it.
Leonardo DiCaprio, he is my favorite actor. I think he's
(16:51):
a genius. Yeah, I think he's a genius. I love him.
Of course, Young Leo has my heart. I mean Young
Leo's Young Leo, but like as an actor, he to
me is a genius. Are you more of a visual person? Yes?
I think so. Yeah, because when I like study for
tests before I take the test, and I'm studying and
I look in a book, like in the textbook, I'll
(17:13):
remember like the location of the paragraph of the word,
but I won't remember every detail. I'll just remember that
whatever information I'm looking for was near that location that
sometimes like close you in. Do you have a photographic
photographic memory? I think maybe, like a little little Your
(17:33):
testo last night went well. It went well, guys. Olivia
is a sophomore in college, which I was not. She's
just cranking through the classes. Thank you. Yeah, it was
my um last psychology tests, so that was really a
great feeling. I'm done with that. Okay, let's transition from
psychology to mental health. But first we have to take
(17:56):
a quick break, and when we come back, we'll talk
more about that. I want to hear more of out
your music, and I know you have some crazy right
carpet stories, so let's get into those and so much more.
We'll be right back and we're back. Mental health can
(18:16):
be especially tough for so many this time of year.
How is your mental health? It's pretty good. Good, it's
pretty good. This time of year is really good for me.
You love this time of year, so I do. I do, honestly,
Like there's just something inside me that like gets an
immense amount of joy from it just being the holiday
to remember in August. You're like, I'm so exciting. Slow down.
(18:40):
I know, yeah, I know. Basically, I just try and
get through Thanksgiving and Halloween. I'm just kidding. I love
those two, but the goal of the year is to
get to Christmas. Okay, what about after Christmas? After Christmas.
I love a new year. I love a fresh start,
and your Valentine's Day always makes me a little depressed
(19:00):
because every year I'm like, oh, maybe next year, and
then it just comes around. We're young, we're young. We
can be each other's exactly exactly we need to do
our holiday. Um, I know, every stop it Okay, min
hasn't come yet. It's ordered though, so I will ship
into your house. But every like, for the past two years,
(19:20):
Olivia and I have been doing this gift swap where
we send each other like holiday presents, and it's so
much fun. I love getting creative with it. I know
last year because I mean we obviously weren't together, so
we send each other these like boxes. You decorated it.
It was so fun. I had so much fun putting
(19:42):
it together. I know. I have written notes when every
I haven't told you Va Silvia over face time for
like the past eight months. Anytime you say something, I
write it down on my notes section. I do this
for like people close in my life, so I like
remember these things so that for the gift I can
kind of put it together these like well things you've
said in the path. That's genius. Yes, I think I
(20:02):
remember you did that because Sammy is an excellent gift giver.
That's like a little fun fact people don't really know. Excellent,
like so good. Last year you were telling me everything
you were getting for your family, and I was amazed.
Didn't I tell you to get your sibling um to
adopt the yes or to get the star yes or no?
(20:23):
You told me to get them um to adopt like
an animal online to Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, man. That
was like that was a good idea on my part.
It was a great idea and I totally ended up
using it. I mean, guys, Sammy for your gift giving needs.
You know what I say, Olivia should make a cookbook
(20:44):
and I do a gift guy gift book and then
we can bundle it. That sounds great. Yeah, okay, a
cookbook slash gift giving guide, like all in one book.
Is this like a perfect idea? I think it is.
You can self published on Amazon. Let's do it. I mean,
I'm something that has It's so weird to me that
(21:04):
it's almost two. It's like we're coming to the end
of season three. I know, guys, I'm such a fan.
It hasn't been an amazing season. Oh, honestly, this has
been my favorite season. I loved him all, but this
has been my favorite. Really. Yes, Olivia has been one
of the o G listeners o G, but like I
(21:25):
have been sometimes it can be very overwhelming to do
the podcast while being in school, and um, Olivia has
just always like whenever I get stressed, she's just like
she says, no, like you're doing it, like you're doing
a great job. And your support has just always literally
meant so much. Same. Thank you, Sammy. I mean, Sammy
(21:45):
is maybe the most supportive person that I've ever met,
Like she's always cheering me on and the definitely I
always say that Sammy is the definition of a true friend.
So I'm like, I love our friendship. Came one of
the most random place too, it did. Is this your
first podcast? Um, I think it might be podcastsh my
(22:08):
der debut. What's the question you've never been asked before
that you're like, Oh, I wish someone would ask me this. Um,
oh my gosh, I don't know, because I was I
was doing By the way, it's very weird to do
research on your friend. I like, I was like, I
was like, I was trying to be prepared but then
I was like, you know what, I don't really know
if I can how much I can do this, because
(22:30):
it's weird because I know you personally, and it's very
interesting to see the way like the media, like I
see you've done these interviews, it's very much these surface
level like how's it going, and you know, talk about this,
and very much surface level stuff. Do you ever wish
you when during those conversations people would I don't want
(22:52):
to say, treat you more human, but ask more questions
that weren't just about promoting a project. Yes, I mean
I totally understand to where people are coming. Of course,
it's a business right, of course, but as a human Yes,
I think when I listened to your podcast, it does
feel so human and so authentic that it makes me,
um more aware of the way I answer questions, more
(23:16):
aware of less media trained. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, I mean
there is a time and of place for that, of course,
but um, I think your approach to your podcast is
so real and um, true to yourself and honest and
um honestly, it's given me a new perspective on the
way you interview people, the way people respond to you
(23:38):
when you interview them, Like I feel like you have
this way of opening people up just naturally. It's true,
like it's also conversational. And that's why I always tell
Samy is she has such a gift for it, and
it's just you feel relaxed when you're with her, because
interviews are scary sometimes when I'm on the few times
I've been on the other side, I feel weird, just
(24:00):
like you don't have control over what people are saying. Totally.
I've been asked some weird questions before. That's the weirdest
question you've been asked. I think I may have told
you this once before. I was on a red carpet
and like it made sense kind of. But I was asked,
if you were to have a Dina dinosaur rock star,
(24:23):
what would be its name? M hmm, it was. It
was at a premiere. Was it like a dinosaur move?
It was? It was. But and I honestly I came
up with the worst spot was I think everybody my
brain just I could I couldn't think at all. I
was like, well, what would be a dinosaur rock star name?
(24:43):
And I think I said like t Rex Sauna or
something like to do a play on Riona. I have
no idea. I was also like or Nirvana. It could
have been Nirvana. Yeah right, I could have gone either way, right,
So true? Interesting? Yeah, isn't that a weird question? What
is it like being on a carpet? Because I used
to cover them for Radio Disney and they were so
overwhelming just being there. And I can't imagine on the
(25:07):
other side, because it looks very glamorous when you see
the Instagram photos, but it's kind of chaos, and I
don't think people A lot of people realize that, Oh
it's so chaotic. I think, is it not stressful? It
is stressful sometimes. I think if you're feeling great and
you feel your best, and you feel it, you look
your best, it's fun. I think if you can get
(25:28):
out there and just like have a good time with it,
then it's fun. But other times it gets super chaotic
and people yelling your name why and weird interview questions
like that one that makes you think I have to
think really hard. But for the most for the most part,
I really enjoy it. I think if you do too
many in a row, it gets exhausting. But I don't
(25:48):
want to take it for granted because it's so fun.
There's one dress she wore one specific time that I
always tell her it was, I think it's the dumb broke,
the dumbbo premiere dress. Thank you. I remember when I
saw that. I was that one I love you popped off.
Thank you, No, I do. I did love that. For
those who know, it was like a it was like
a ballgown. It was. It was a bawn ballgown that
(26:10):
like went to like a little below my knee, so
it went out far, but it didn't go to like
the floor. It was very poofy. It was very very poofy.
But that was the coolest premiere ever. I saw Angelina Jolie,
yes she was movie fan girled over. Oh her for
sure because she she pulled over. Um, she pulled aside
(26:31):
one of my cast mates from Cooping Cammy and told
him that their family watches our show. Isn't that the
craziest thing ever? I freaked out. I freaked out, and um,
that was a fan girl moment. I met Tory Kelly
on the red carpet and started crying, and I don't
do that. And I think it's just overwhelmed because she's
(26:53):
been such a light in my life and her music
really speaks to me that feeling all too right. It
just I was like, are these tears coming from It's
it's like you can't help it. And you know, like
when you're in the industry, like I don't get fan
grilled over often because like everyone's human, you know, right,
But like there's i'd say three people that I would
actually possibly lose my ship over Lynn Well of course
(27:17):
talked about multiple timesting and Oprah Oh great, Like I
know they're so, I know they're human, but they're so
those are like answers to who would you want to
have lunch with? Um? Like dead or alive? That kind
of that's good. Those are good names. It's just I
think I don't think. I don't know if I fan
(27:37):
girl over them, but more so over their brilliance of course,
of course, and what they've done exactly. Yeah, I get that.
Something that I really want to talk about it is
if you has the most beautiful voice, Oh my gosh,
covers on TikTok and a'll texts will be like supportive friends,
Sammy always cheering me on no, but every time my
(27:58):
mind is just blown. Like I know you a beautiful voice,
but it's just like you said you did eleanor Rigby,
and I was like, oh my goodness, thank you. She
popped off. Thank you so much. What are your thoughts
on TikTok, because I do you want some really interesting Yes.
So I haven't been on TikTok much and I know
that you thank you. It's I know I shouldn't be
(28:18):
proud of that, but I thinks something to be proud of.
My time span has gotten time attention span has increased
so much. Watching YouTube videos when I was on TikTok
felt too long. Yes, and ever since I've been off,
I can like, my attention span is so much longer.
Ever since you've been off average, I've been off TikTok. Yeah,
it's really bad. It's really bad for the attention span.
(28:41):
I know, I find myself like not being able to
sit through certain things. Now I'm like, oh, I need
to retrain my mind. It's really rough. I saw this.
Olivia knows I'm obsessed with the news, um, but I
saw this thing where the CEO of Instagram was asked
questions because you know, studies came out about how Instagram
can be like negative effect at teen girls mental health
and body image, and there definitely should be legislation. I
(29:03):
don't know if you saw the social dilemma, um, but
it's very interesting, especially like on a large scale because
you have a pretty substantial amount of followers. How have
you navigated that with also staying present, insane and not
compare yourself because it's so easy to like we said,
people just post to highlight reeo. Oh my gosh. It's
(29:25):
really tough. I definitely struggle through that of trying not
to compare, and I think, um, gratitude is the best
way to combat comparison. But I mean that doesn't always happen.
But yeah, it's hard. It's hard. Yeah, it's a daily
thing that you constantly have to remind yourself. You have
to consistently say, hey, you know what I'm gonna try
and um just be grateful for what I have and
(29:47):
try not to compare. But like I said, like that
doesn't always. Um. Sometimes, no, when it's hard, and you
have to consistently try and do that. But I think
also a great way to um not deal with those
things or to kind of lessen the pain is to
try and get off of it. I know it's hard
to believe me, I'm on it all the time more
(30:09):
than I should be. But um, I think that's one
guaranteed way to kind of get rid of those pressures, UM,
is to try and do other things. And I when
I found other hobbies and dove further into my work,
I feel better, you know what I mean, more assured
within yourself for sure. Yeah. And I think gratitude also
(30:30):
means reminding yourself of like positive affirmations about yourself, like hey,
I'm grateful that I do this, and I'm kind to
people or whatever, you know, those kind of things. Yeah,
I've been trying to work on that. I mean, I
was showing her, I know what you're about to say.
Last night. We were phase timing and I showed her
UM the final project I did for my class that
I directed. UM and Olivia gave me a very nice
(30:52):
compliment and I immediately rejected it. She shut me down.
And you're like, we mean to go this well, but like,
I feel like it's not just you. Everybody struggles with
trying to be proud of their own work. And you
work so hard and I can clearly see that you
should be proud, But of course when it comes to
(31:13):
talking about yourself, I think we're all our own worst critic. Yes, like,
I can be so mean to myself. It's so bad,
and I've been trying so hard to not um and
I feel like, I don't know, I feel like that's
not talked about because I go through these things of
I was talking to my cousin about this a few
months back, and I was saying, how like I am
my biggest obstacle, and he said something that kind of
(31:37):
really intrigued me. He said, well, that's kind of nice
that you know how to overcome you and if that's
your biggest obstacle, then you can do that. And I
was like, you're right, because I have the power to
change that totally takes work. It takes a lot of
daily work. Yeah yeah, but you know it's when even
if you're mean to yourself, it's letting that go and
(31:57):
just being easier with yourself because at the end of
the day where all we have absolutely I'm definitely my
own worst critic, and and there's almost like some kind
of relief in that sometimes where if I'm if I'm
happy with something I've done, then I know that I
should be proud of that because I think when you
put yourself um, you give yourself such such high expectations
(32:19):
and standards. When I finally am happy with something I've
done or worked on, I'm like, dang, that took a
lot of work to get there, right, even I'm proud
of myself, Dang, that's kind of like my barometer of
of that I worked really hard for that. Does that
make sense? Like, Okay, do you know what's really interesting?
I'm just like kind of analyzing our friendship right now.
(32:40):
And any time we try and like talk about the
other person, we both try and like no, no, you
like no, no, You're like I'm like telling about this,
You're like no, but let me hear about you first.
I mean, like, don't want to talk about ourselves. So
we really do that quite a lot. We need to
work on that, we do. We do. I feel like
we've gotten better since the beginning of Yeah, got to
(33:00):
the point guys where it was like we like I
couldn't even start the conversation because let's talk about you.
Like that still happens, it does, but not nearly as much.
I feel like we're more comfortable just talking to each
other ourselves more. Yeah, and what's and because we talk often,
it's like it's not even that much to update each
other because it's not superficial stuff exactly exactly, mostly just kidding. Okay,
(33:26):
we have to take one more quick break, but when
we come back, I want to talk about your new song, Evergreen,
and your song from last year, The Train, one of
my favorites. I also want to talk more about you
growing up in the business, our friendship, social media, and
much more. Will be right back and we're back. I
(33:49):
know it's how we to accept compliments, but I don't know,
but you are truly such a hard worker and you
inspire me and for people that I don't that don't know.
Olivia released a beautiful song that she wrote herself called Evergreen,
and last year short and release a beautiful song called
The Train, which I am obsessed with. And something that
(34:12):
a lot of people don't know is not only did
you write it, but you also made and edited the
lyric video yourself. You have edited multiple things. You are
people a lot for a lot of people. It's a
big team that does things. Olivia does it herself. Um,
and it is so inspiring because sometimes we can all
(34:34):
get trapped in our own head thinking, well, I don't
have this, so I can't do it. But you are
also a true definition of if you want to do something,
just do it yourself. And that's really hard to do,
to start something and put yourself out there. But I
just want to say that, And I think your song
Evergreen is so beautiful and I'm so proud of you
for you did. You did the cover art, um, you
(34:57):
did the lyric music video, and I just want to
acknowledge that because you work so hard. Thank you. Oh
my god, you're saying thank you. No, I I really,
I really do appreciate that. Like if I want to be,
you know, one thing as an actor, aside from hopefully
being a good actor, I want to be just hard working.
So I really appreciate that. Um. Yeah, I think that's
(35:22):
maybe a misconception as well. Like, yes, I'm an independent
artist and I do most of it myself. I wrote
the song, Um, I had an amazing producer who did
who produced it for me Isaac, And yeah, you're right,
it was a lot of work, but it's a lot
of work that means a lot. Thank you. Sammy has
always been so supportive of my music. I sent her
my new song Evergreen before it came out because she
(35:45):
wanted to hear. It was like I was having a
bad day and I was telling you about and You're like,
you know what, I'm gonna send you this. You can't
show anyone. Yeah, and Sammy knows. I'm like, super, she
won't send anything, and yeah, she won't until like you're like,
we were bold perfectionists. So unless it's like to our
standards correct, Yeah, yeah. If if I'm like, I don't know,
(36:07):
I think a couple of things need to be changed,
then I won't show it. But Sammy was in need
of a little bit of distraction that day, so I
was like, you know what, here we go. Here you go,
take it, take it, take it. But um, that's really kind.
Thank you, Sammy. I mean, this girl right here, Can
I brag on you for a second? Okay, yes, I'm
not going to get your permission. Um, I mean you
(36:29):
guys listen. You guys know what an incredible podcast this is.
And I always say that Sammy is a visionary. I
think she has such a view of how she can
contribute to the world and how she can contribute to
um people our age and helping them have a voice
and helping stand up for people. I think she has
such a clear vision of how to be an authentic person. Um,
(36:54):
I just think she's incredible. She's an amazing friend. Anybody
that is lucky enough to be her friend knows that.
And I'm just very grateful for you. She's incredible. Meanwhile,
she's also a student and so okay, but like, you're incredible.
I'm just I just this is what facetimes are. Like
(37:15):
time we'll try and complim each other and just like stop,
you know I'm complimenting you now. Yeah, that's basically the
conversations we've talked about this. But just like being in
a young person in the industry especially that's so male dominated,
it's so hard to find like minded people. And I'm
so beyond grateful because our friendship formed so naturally, it
(37:38):
wasn't forced. Um and I feel like we've also just
been there for each other in a weird way, even
if it's just over FaceTime and we have like not
the same career, but we understand what the other person
is doing and going through, and because they are so similar,
that's been super helpful, I will say, because not a
lot of people know the process of pitching a show,
(38:02):
of hoping to get renewed, to do you know, to
do all of that, waiting to here on the next season,
waiting to here in the next season, for each episode.
And I think you've been a very good person for
me to talk to because you've always it's very easy
to lose sight of how hard it is, um, and
I just very much appreciate how much you've just been like,
this is an accomplishment you need to recognize. Yeah, and celebrating.
(38:22):
I think we always remind each other, like, hey, this
is actually an incredible thing. I think you're caught up
in the moment. You don't realize that this is awesome. Yeah, definitely,
like celebrate yourself. I think we both do good at
reminding each other of that, Like this is actually a
big deal. I know you're caught up in the moment
and it all might be stressful, but like celebrate this. Yeah, right,
and we got each other, We got each other. Just
(38:44):
love fest right here. I know, Olivia, I okay, First
of all, make sure you follow Olivia on social media.
Make sure you follow Sammy as well. She has great content,
gorgeous gorgeous content. That's the thing I've been trying. I
go back and forth. I'm sometimes I'm like I should post,
and othertimes I'm like, I can't. It's the struggle. It's
(39:05):
so an ongoing struggle, I know, because you're thinking it
as a business. Of course, at the same time we're
called teenage girls. Yeah, and it's also like interacting with
um friends and fans is so cool. So I think
when I think about it through that lens, I'm like, oh, yeah,
I do want to post. I do want to share
things because um, I don't know, I just want to
(39:25):
I want to use my platform. So it is that
mix of like I don't want to post on social media,
but which I totally get because social media is it
you're start because you're not on Snapchat, I'm not. No,
I think that is when you are so mentally clear.
I genuinely think. So I've only heard, you know, stories
about snap scores and all that good stuff, and when
(39:48):
people ask for my snapchat, Like, so, I remember I
did like when we want some girls like I don't
have a Snapchat. I was like, you thought it was
so weird. No I didn't. I was like, this is
kind of nice. I d like it cool. Yeah. Remember,
I think like borrowed your phone to use the filters
because back in the day when Snapchat filters were good, right,
didn't I remember the dog filter? Oh my gosh, yes,
(40:10):
I just liked the Like, I feel like Snapchat is
one of those, like the most unnecessary social media platforms,
Like it just does more harm than good. I agree.
Do you remember the flower crown filter? Remember the unicorn
and when like you open your mouth like a rainbow
tongue would come out. Yes, yes, that was this was
like when it was actually like good, Yeah, we don't
(40:36):
need Snapchat get often. You know, it's so true. There's
plenty of other social media platforms. Exactly. Sometimes I wish
we lived in a world where there was no social media.
Oh my gosh too, I feel like all the time, right,
all the time, things were based on your talent instead
of followers. Absolutely, OLIVI and I've talked about this, but
(40:56):
I can't imagine how frustrating it is to not get
role or should be considered because of a lack of followers.
And it's not about talent when it should be about talent. Yeah, yeah,
that's tough. It is. It is. I know you know this,
but like I understand it. I understand that this is
a side, but um, you know, I think actors were
(41:17):
just such fragile people. We can't deal with that. We're
so sensitive as an artist, yes, the artist, Yes I
can't do with that. No, I'm just kidding, but no,
I think that Again, that's back to the craft thing,
like you gotta love the craft enough for all that
to be worth it. Yeah, I feel that right. Um,
if you're ever wondering what our conversations are, like, Um,
(41:40):
this is it, this is it, this is it, this
is our friendship in a nutshell. Um, go listen to Evergreen.
I'm so proud of you. Thank you. And this year
finally on the podcast, it's it's a time on my
favorite season and now I'm a part of it. So
I love that? Is it? Do I say, like I
want to say, subscribe to your pod? Is that what
(42:01):
I say? Is that how you subscribe to a podcast? Yeah? Okay, everybody,
subscribe to this podcast. Please you made it this far
and leave a comment a green emoji for Evergreen. That's
how we'll know you've made it through. Yeah, let's pick
a specific one, like a green, like the green tree.
How about a green tree and a green heart? Love it?
(42:22):
Love it perfect. We're gonna know we're gonna know. Also
if you do that, comment that both on our Instagram post,
and that's how we will also know. Yeah, I'd love
to see that. We're kind of having a little secret code.
Yeah yeah, I would apply to whatever comments. Yeah, me too,
do it. We love this. Thank you for coming. Thank
(42:44):
you so much, Sammy. It's such a pleasure. This was
a long time in making. It was I'm glad I do.
Thank you guys so much for listening to this week's
episode of the Let's Be Real Podcast. I hope you
enjoyed it. Olivia, I love you so dearly, and thank
you so much for coming on stream Evergreen. She's worked
so hard on it, um and it's such an incredible song,
(43:07):
and also listen to the train. Follow her on all
her social media Instagram Olivia's Nabia TikTok, Olivia's nabia Um.
Make sure you subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already,
and follow me on Instagram at it Sammy J. That's
I T S S A M M Y j A
y E. And I will see you guys next week.
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