He’s Disney newest star after tween idols the Jonas Brothers; you could say, the boy version of Miley Cyrus. Heck, 21-year-old Kelly Blatz has even been tipped off as the next Shia Lebouf by Hollywood’s starmakers.
All this fuss even before ‘Aaron Stone’ – Blatz’s own ‘Hannah Montana’, who’s a videogame-playing, crime-fighting teenage superhero rather than a boy-crazy, closet pop superstar – is released worldwide as Disney Channel’s next big hit.
The best part? He didn’t have anything to do with the words ‘reality show’.
We got sneak peeks of the first season and it looks pretty much like nothing Malaysian kids have ever seen before. Nothing like ‘Doreamon’ or ‘Spacecop Gaban’ (but with teeny ‘Dragonball Z’ action in there somewhere), ‘Aaron Stone’ offers an innocent, almost exotic sense of modern America that’s okay to like.
It’s star, Blatz, who’s semi-geeky onscreen as he protects his single mum, little brother and cute neighbour from danger with an uptight android by his side, and saves the world from real-life videogame baddies each episode, turned out to be quite something else. From famously dating and breaking up with a ‘Gossip Girl’ (Blake Lively) to appearing in an episode of ‘90210’, this kid wants to grow up fast.
Listening to Blatz’s enthusiastic punctuations through the phone, it made sense that he also moonlights as a singer with the band Capra, a glam-looking bunch of indie longhairs made up of Hollywood area buddies. Next up, he’s in the movie ‘April Showers’, a serious drama about survivors of gun violence in American high schools.
For his first round of Southeast Asian press, Blatz mixes up the goofy and the dramatic as he talks us through what he’s all about and what thrills he has in store for the tween world (and their moms). Introducing the first ever Disney megastar with a ‘z’ in his name ... Kelly Blatz!
How different are you from the other Disney stars that came before you?
Well, I think that ‘Aaron Stone’ is just a whole new brand that they’re starting that’s more for boys. I think they don’t have a real action show with high-flying action sequences and stuff like that yet. It’s a whole new thing and to be the first person to do that is an honour. I think that it’s all very similar though – it’s still an inspirational character that kids can look up to and kind of relate to and want to emulate just like all the other Disney characters.
You seem to have sort of an edge already compared to Hilary Duff or someone else when they first came out.
Yeah, the show itself has an edge and a darkness to it that I think kids will respond to. It’s very savvy and current. I think it doesn’t expect kids to not understand it even though the storylines are intricate. It’s something totally new that Disney is doing and to be a part of it is awesome.
How do you feel when folks compare you to Shia Lebouf?
You know, people tell me that all the time (laughs), and I think it’s fine. I think he’s great, because of what he’s done and what he’s continuing to do on such a high scale. I think his career is fantastic and it’s very flattering to be compared to him ‘cos I’m actually a big fan.
Care to talk us through the training that you had to go through for the show?
I actually had to train in martial arts, which I’ve never done before. I worked with Koichi (Sakamoto) who did all the ‘Power Rangers’ stuff and also worked with Brenda Song from ‘Wendy Wu’. It was amazing, exciting. It’s really hard definitely, I had to pick up stuff as I went along and it was really fast. That’s when I knew it was part of the job and you really have to be in good shape. I’m lucky I love that stuff – I’m also into extreme sports and skateboarding and stuff like that so I was fit enough to do it at the time. I did none of the crazy stunts though (laughs).
So your ‘Aaron Stone’ character, Charlie, appears to be kind of a geek/jock mix in school. What were you like in school?
I was very similar to Charlie in school ‘cos I did play sports growing up like football and baseball. But with Charlie you know he’s not just a jock, he also does martial arts, he’s very good at school and he does music and of course, plays video games. He’s also kind of an all-rounder, friends with everybody, you know just a regular, happy kid. So I was very similar to that when I was in school. It wasn’t that difficult to see where he’s coming from and what his challenges are.
Are you as geeky as Charlie in real life?
Well, you know, I did play video games but I wasn’t as video game-savvy as Charlie. The thing with Charlie, playing video games is though he’s not that geeky about it – he’s more like a new brand of, I guess, cool video game player? (Chuckles) I definitely have my geeky side as well, you know.
What’s going on with your own band, Capra?
Yeah, you know, I spend as much time acting as I do doing music so that’s also something I’m very passionate about. We just got a record deal so we’re going to be recording soon and hopefully get a release by the end of the year. We’re very, very excited you know, it’s rock music, it’s hard and it caters to a wide demographic and hopefully it will get to Asia and you guys will get to enjoy it.
Do you think your band will appear on the show?
I don’t know if it’ll appear on the show, though it might appear on the channel. I think we can cater (to Disney viewers) and if we do reach a lot of people that would be fantastic.
Do you have time to sit down and actually do some songwriting these days?
Yeah. My band actually came to Toronto where I shot the show (to come hang out) with me for two months. So they would be writing during the day and then they would send it to me and I’d listen to what they had done on my iPod in my trailer between scenes. Then I’d hook up with them later and finish whatever song we had that day and it actually works out better than if I was just doing the band. Even when I’m out here because of the Internet I can still work on stuff on my computer in my hotel room and send it over to them. But I was home for awhile before coming (to Malaysia and Singapore) and all we did was write music for the album so I definitely find time.
Wow, it looks like you have the best of both worlds...
I’ve always grown up being so affected by music and films. As a kid music has an effect on every situation for so many different people and just watching movies like ‘Jurassic Park’ is something all kids enjoy. So to be able to do something that I’m passionate about and at the same time be that guy who is in the middle of all these kids’ aspirations around the world. It’s an amazing dream and an opportunity that I’m very thankful for. You also get to meet so many people and travel without it even feeling like a career – that’s awesome.”
What exactly made you want to do ‘Aaron Stone’ in the first place?
Three reasons. First aspect is that it’s very funny and light, the comedy of it was great I thought. And also the action, the chance to be a superhero and do things that I never thought of, that was very appealing to me. But the biggest thing was I knew that Disney reaches a wide variety of people around the world and to be a part of their new brand. To get a chance to get up there as a role model to kids, to be that person for millions of people across the world ... wow.
What would be your advice be to kids watching you, about the subject of “being cool”?
My advice would be not so much about being cool but to embrace whatever you’re interested in whether it’s computers, or math, or sports. I think that a lot of kids in the world they can do anything that they want to, if they put their minds to it. They should never listen to people telling them that they can’t. For me, when I tried to be an actor or a musician you know, they’re like, ‘you shouldn’t do that, you’re gonna ruin your life’, you know, ‘don’t do it, don’t do it’. But I knew that I could do it and I just went after it. I think I’m an example that you will be completely fulfilled if you just follow what your feelings are and what your passion is.
‘Aaron Stone’ airs on Disney Channel (Astro Channel 615) every Friday at 7pm.
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