Disney star Kelly Blatz 'the next Zac Efron'

Interview by Natalie Jamieson
Newsbeat entertainment reporter The actor grew up in Burbank opposite Disney's LA studios

Kelly Blatz won't be a name familiar to many people in the UK, but in America he's being dubbed the next Zac Efron. The 22-year-old actor and singer plays Aaron Stone in the Disney series of the same name and appears in sci-fi movie Skyrunners. He also took Blake Lively to his high school prom but admits they don't see too much of each other these days.

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You used to work opposite the Disney studios in Los Angeles didn't you before getting your big break with them?

I worked at a coffee shop directly across the street from Disney Channel building. So I served a lot of the people that I actually now work for. They got a real kick out of that. And I grew up in Burbank and that's where Disney was, so it kind of worked out that way.

Did you go for auditions or did someone spot you while you were serving at the coffee shop?

No, I actually did audition for that. That would have been convenient, if they had just picked me out of the coffee shop. No, I auditioned like any other show. Luckily I was the right guy for some reason.

If people haven't seen Aaron Stone, what's it about?

Aaron Stone is about the kid named Charlie, who is a normal kid in high school. He's the best player at this online video game called Hero Rising and one day this billionaire recluse approaches him and says, 'Everything in Hero Rising is real and you have to become the real life avatar Aaron Stone and save the world and it's up to you'.

So he's thrown into this whirlwind of trying to balance his secret identity of being the superhero Aaron Stone and balancing dating and homework and sports and everything like that. That's pretty much what the show is based around.

How does Skyrunners fit in?

It's a sci-fi adventure about two brothers, Nick and Tyler Burns. I play Nick Burns and a UFO crashes in front of their car on the way home from high school and no one else is around. They realise that there's nobody in there and they take it and realise that they can use it as their own personal spaceship.

So, imagine flying up into space, across the US, anywhere they want to go, this is like a dream. But what they don't realise is that it was sent to them to defend the world from an alien invasion and that it is up to them to use the UFO to defend the world and save the world from aliens.

And you took a certain Gossip Girl to the prom didn't you?

Kelly Blatz took Gossip Girl actress Blake Lively to his high school prom

I did. Me and her, we grew up together, we went to school together. We're both very supportive and grateful in being able to do this, growing up there in LA. It's very surreal for us to be able to do what we love and we'll continue to support each other throughout everything we do.

What was your prom like? Was it like we see in the movies?

It was exactly like what you've seen. I did a movie called Prom Night. It's very much like, everyone goes to the dance, they've got the DJ, it's all lit up and outdoors, they do the whole prom king and queen type thing. It's very exciting.

And you've got a rock band as well?

I do, yes, called Capra. I've been playing with these guys for about four years now. Luckily I've been able to do this simultaneously and we actually did a song called Low Day for the movie Skyrunners. That's in the end and we did a music video. I think they released the single a couple of months ago. We've played all around LA and we're recording an album next month.