Even though Descendants: The Rise of Red premiered on Disney+ earlier this Summer, the fourth movie in the Descendants franchise, we still can’t stop talking about how good and iconic it was. The film broke multiple records, including becoming one of Disney+’s most-watched original movies. We have interviewed many cast members from the film, and we recently got to chat with Aiza Azaar, who stars as a young Princess Jasmine to learn about her time on set.
“This is crazy, this is incredible. I can’t believe I get to be a part of this.”
Descendants: The Rise of Red follows Red, the rebellious daughter of the Queen of Hearts, played by Rita Ora, and Chloe, the perfectionist daughter of Cinderella, played by Brandy Norwood. When the Queen of Hearts incites a coup against Auradon, the polar opposite Red and Chloe must join forces to stop her. Kylie Cantrall stars as Red and Malia Baker stars as Chloe and the cast also includes Ruby Rose Turner, China Anne McClain, Joshua Colley, Dara Reneé, and more.
Believe it or not but playing a young Jasmine in the movie was Aiza’s first major acting role! And what better role to debut with than one of the most iconic Disney princesses. Aiza told us that she learned a lot in this role, especially about the physicality of acting. Aiza had to learn multiple dance numbers throughout the film, and said all of the cast and dancers were so supportive. She also got to work a lot alongside Kabir Bery who plays a young Aladdin.
“[I learned] the way your body moves and how that aligns with the character you’re trying to convey.”
Speaking of supportive cast members, we asked Aiza about her experiences working with so many talented young stars. Aiza had nothing but great things to say about each of them. She said Kylie always gave the greatest advice, Dara was one of the most upbeat and encouraging people, and Joshua was actually the first person to introduce himself on Aiza’s first day on set! Talk about such a great environment for your first big role.
“[Kylie Cantrall] was very engaging. She was the glue that held everyone together.”
“Joshua was so welcoming and opened that door for me.”
Princess Jasmine has been around for decades, and Aiza said it was an incredible opportunity and honor to her heritage to play the character. She took a lot of inspiration from the different iterations of Jasmine over the years but was also given the free range and creativity to make the role her own by the producers and director of Descendants: The Rise of Red.
“It is important to me [to play Jasmine], it is important to my heritage, it meant so much to me representation wise.”
Thank you, Aiza, for chatting with Young Entertainment! Make sure to follow her on her Instagram at @aiza_azaar. Watch the rest of the interview where we ask her more about masterclass moments and her tips for young actors, and her favorite behind-the-scenes memories. While you’re there, be sure to like and subscribe to our channel for the latest news in young entertainment.
Consider this:
- Maintain an open line of communication with your agent, it is not just a one-way relationship. Also take your time with choosing an agent, it will become an incredibly important relationship in your career so don’t rush the process.
- Blocking is when you plan out where your actors will be in relation to where the cameras are while filming. There are often little pieces of tape on the floor that will show actors where to stand, and the camera operators will work around that.
