Imagine going from a huge fan of a franchise to now being a part of it. This was the experience for Joshua Colley, who stars as a young Hook in the fourth film in the Descendants franchise, Descendants: The Rise of Red, which will premiere on Disney+ on July 12 and on Disney Channel on August 9. Before the film’s release, we got to chat with Joshua to learn more about his love for Disney, his character Hook, his experiences on Broadway and in other shows to now being a part of the Disney family, and his favorite part of being in this cast.
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, Morgan Dudley, Dara Reneé, and more.
Joshua’s versatility as an actor and performer has become evident as he shines in many different mediums. Joshua grew up in the theater world where played Les in the Broadway show Newsies and Gavroche in Les Misérables. He has also had many roles on screen including in the Hulu series Sex Appeal, the comedy film Senior Year, playing Liam in season three of Love, Victor, and most recently as Monty in the first season of Dead Boy Detectives.
“I’ve always been a fan of Hook, I went as him for Halloween when I was seven, so he’s always been inside of me.”
Joshua said he grew up with Disney Channel movies, including the High School Musical and Camp Rock films and he even got to check off a bucket list item while filming Descendants: The Rise of Red: doing the iconic Disney Channel wand promo. Joshua said he loves how immortal Disney Channel original movies are and how much of a family the Disney community is.
“Disney Channel movies were my life growing up so to find out that I was going to be a part of one was so exciting.”
We also asked Joshua about his character Hook’s costume, and he said it was a very collaborative experience with the costume design team, as he got to sport eyeliner and his own haircut while also wearing the iconic hook on his hand.
“Once I put that hook on and I get that eyeliner on, I’m right into [character]. Good luck getting me out of the character.”
Because Joshua plays Hook, who is a villain in Disney Channel lore, he said he tries to find himself and the humanity in every character, and he especially wanted to understand Hook’s motivations behind the way he acts and channel those emotions through his performance.
“I think finding the truth in every character that you play is key and I definitely tried to do that with Hook.”
Joshua has been in multiple iconic Netflix shows, including Love,Victor and he said that the cast was such a community and he brought that familial aspect onto the set of Descendants: The Rise of Red. He learned so much from all his cast members, especially HSMTMTS star Dara Reneé, who he said is made for Disney.
“It was very much a family on the set of [Love, Victor] and that’s kind of what I brought to Descendants is the sense of community within the cast.”
Thank you, Joshua, for FaceTiming with Young Entertainment! Make sure to follow him on his Instagram at @joshuarobertcolley. Watch the rest of the interview, where we ask him more about playing Hook, his favorite Disney songs, his past projects, and his favorite behind-the-scenes moments. Like, comment, and subscribe to our channel for the latest news in young entertainment.
Consider this:
- Bring yourself to every character. Finding the truth in your character and ways to relate to them, no matter how different they are from you, is important.
- While on set, take the time to watch others perform and even take notes on things they do. It is a great way to learn from others with more experience on how they get into character and deliver their scenes.
