Disney Channel’s newest original movie, Freaky Friday, airs tonight. The movie is a remake of the 2003 Lindsay Lohan classic, and features original music! YEM attended the new movie’s premiere and red carpet last week in NYC. Disney Channel and Broadway stars came out to celebrate the new movie musical, including the movie’s cast! In this rendition of Freaky Friday, Ricky He plays the main character’s love interest, Adam. YEM spoke with Ricky about being a part of such an iconic movie, and what it was like to be a part of the newly imagined musical film.
Young Entertainment Mag: Were you familiar with Freaky Friday before being cast in the movie?
Ricky He: Absolutely! I was such a huge fan of the 2003 version as a kid. It was dope because they go to a Chinese restaurant in the movie and I had never seen a movie with Chinese people in it before. This was also before Netflix so I had bought the DVD and would watch the re-runs every time they played it. I had always hoped that I would one day grow up to be as cool as Chad Michael Murray.
YEM: You play the main character’s love interest, Adam. What was it like to have a love song sung about you in the song “Biology”?
Ricky: It was weird! I sing in it too and I really think it’s an appropriate ode to how weird it feels to be a teenager.
The truth about adolescence is, everyone’s been through it at some point, but everyone seems to forget how
hard, awkward, and uncomfortable it is! “Biology” really felt like I was reliving those feelings.
YEM: What’s your favorite song from the movie?
Ricky: I love, love, love, love “GO”. It has basically everyone in the high school cast in it and it’s all about going outside of your comfort zone. It’s about exploration, determination, courage, and open-mindedness, which are all things that I work towards!
YEM: Do you have any similarities to Adam?
Ricky: We actually have a lot similarities I think. Adam gets a lot of joy in seeing people succeed and come together because he believes in people. He’s a people person. He also comes across as confident because he
has a natural tendency to be open with people, but really he’s still subject to feeling awkward, nervous, and
shy! Adam’s my boi.
YEM: Your character loves sandwiches! What’s your favorite food?
Ricky: I LOVE fried chicken. All-time favourite. Undefeated.
YEM: You sang the song Go in the movie, which is one of the biggest musical numbers. What was that like?
Ricky: Pretty awesome! Cozi [Zuehlsdorff, who plays Ellie in the movie] sent me a video of her on a float at the Disneyland Fan Fest parade and they were playing “GO”! That’s crazy! I remember as a pre-teen going to Disneyland and hearing them play “We’re All In This Together” from HSM so this feels insane.
YEM: What do you remember most about filming? Did you have a favorite scene to film?
Ricky: I really liked shooting the finish line of the Hunt. We shot that at the Orpheum, which is an old theatre in Vancouver. The Orpheum is also where I watched John Legend perform live and made the decision that I wanted to pursue music and acting.
YEM: Finally, if you could switch places with anyone just like the characters did in the movie, who would it be and why?
Ricky: I’d wanna switch places with DJ Khaled’s son Asahd just so I can find out when it feels like to be a young king. Another one.
Freaky Friday airs tonight on Disney Channel! For YEM’s recap from the red carpet, featuring your favorite Disney Channel stars, click here.
