Elie Samouhi was recently seen in the newest Disney Channel Original Movie “Upside-Down Magic.” In the movie, Elie Samouhi stared as Elliot Cohen, a somewhat bumbling Flare. Unfortunately, Elliot’s magic produces smoke instead of flames. Elie Samouhi is best known for his role as video blogger Rodney on “Bizaardvark.” YEM spoke with Elie Samouhi about his experience as a Disney Channel star.

Young Entertainment Mag: What’s it like now being a part of the Disney family?

Elie Samouhi: I have loved being a part of the Disney family for about 3 years now. Starting with “Bizaardvark,” and now with “Upside-Down Magic,” it’s been amazing, a dream come true. The Disney family is an amazing thing to be a part of, because they make you feel at home and like you are all, well, a family. They take really good care of us! I feel so lucky and grateful to be a part of this special Disney family.

YEM: Who is your character in “Upside-Down Magic”? Tell us about Elliot Cohen.

Elie: Elliot Cohen is a really cool dude. In “Upside-Down Magic,” he is a first year student. At the placement test, knowing that his magic is upside down, he hopes that somehow his magic would perform “normally”. After it doesn’t, he’s disappointed. He’s kind of quiet at first, but as he gets more comfortable and more motivated to prove Sage wrong about his magic, he shows his humor and his loving, loyal personality.

YEM: What are some things Elliot wants throughout the film?

Elie: Throughout the film, Elliot just wants to be a regular Sage Academy student. He’s disappointed and frustrated when he’s not considered that. So when he knows he can’t achieve that particular goal, he is motivated to make his own upside down magic a force to be reckoned with. At that point, he wants to prove to Sage Academy that his upside down magic is cool and useful, even if it’s not considered “normal”.

YEM: What was your favorite scene to shoot and why?

Elie: Shooting Founders Day was an AMAZING experience! It was shot during the span of five days. Those five days were crazy. Some days it was sunny, the last day it was pouring raining. It was really cool to imagine what the shadow monster would look like because for us there was no shadow monster they were just too powerful fans to blow air on us. Overall seeing how much time that scene took to perfect and how much hard work and effort and now seeing how well it turned out on the screen feels like a big accomplishment, and I’m proud of all of us for creating an amazing scene.

YEM: Was there anything challenging about Elliot that you were able to figure out? What was it and how did you overcome it?

Elie: I don’t feel like there were any challenging things to understand about Elliot. I kind of see him as an extension of my personality, also having very similar names. It was a very comfortable role to play as Elliott says and does things that I myself would do too.

YEM: Will there be more Upside-down Magic?

Elie: I don’t know, you tell me! If you guys enjoy it and you guys are watching it and keep loving it, maybe something will come of that last scene, the little teaser with the shadow magic book. I DEFINITELY hope there will be!

YEM: What would you like to see happen to Elliot?

Elie: I would like to see Elliot expand his knowledge of his own magic and dive deeper into what he can do to find more uses and to find more purpose for his magic. Also, Elliot is kind of sensitive so I would love to see him happy and proud of what he can do and enjoy the praise of the rest of the school, appreciating his own uniqueness and magic and as an accepted student at Sage Academy!

YEM: What was your favorite thing to watch on screen?

Elie: My favorite scene to watch on screen had to be Founders Day. We had worked so hard on perfecting it and doing this epic scene justice. To see our hard work pay off on screen was really a gift and is really awesome. That shadow monster is fire! Also the way we strut into the scene in slow-mo and we all perform our powers; we just look so cool man! Oh, and that’s when I, I mean Elliot, finally gets his high five!!!!

YEM: What else do you have coming up?

Elie: Well these are some slow times due to circumstances that I’m sure everyone is familiar with. I just became a Fender artist, I just turned 13 and entered the profound teen club, and I’m working on music and playing my instruments as this time is a gift for working on talents and hobbies and to really improve and move forward with them.

YEM: What’s one thing you can share with someone who wants to go into acting?

Elie: One thing that I can share with someone who wants to become an actor, is to be resilient and to never give up. Auditioning is hard and 99% of the time you’ll probably be hearing a no. If you go into an audition expecting a no, the yes’s will feel so much better. So don’t be too hard on yourself and do not give up because you are destined to hear a yes. It may not seem like it, but there is a perfect job waiting for you and it’s meant to be, so don’t lose patience, and prepare for when the time is right.

“Upside-Down Magic” is currently available on Disney Channel (check your local listings) and on DisneyNOW!