Chatting with: "Bunk'd" Star & Advocate Kevin Quinn

You probably know Kevin Quinn best as the musically-inclinded head counselor Xander from the Disney Channel series "Bunk'd", and you might also remember him from Season 12 of "American Idol". But what you probably don't know about him is that he is a fierce advocate for today's youth! Recently, he filmed a PSA for DoSomething.org's "Not Safe for Wheels" campaign with Chevrolet to raise awareness for driver safety. We chatted with him recently about this campaign and his other upcoming projects, check it out below!

YH: What prompted you to recently get involved with the road safety campaign "Not Safe for Wheels" with DoSomething.org and Chevrolet? 

KQ: Road safety is an important personal cause to me. I lost a friend to a drunk driving accident at a young age, so when DoSomething.org approached me earlier this year and said they were running a campaign with Chevrolet to help keep young people safe on the road, and asked if I’d star in their PSA, I immediately said yes. I especially liked that the campaign focused on road safety not just for young drivers, but also pedestrians and cyclists, too. It’s been great to see the positive response from young people engaging with the cause. Over 100,000 people have participated in the campaign so far! When I posted the PSA video on my Instagram feed, I had someone comment that she lost her sister to a car accident and seeing this campaign meant so much to her. Another person commented to thank me for being a part of this campaign, because she herself is a teen driver who will benefit from this message. It’s a great feeling to be able to connect with young people on that level and make a positive impact in their lives for an important cause like road safety, and I’m glad that DoSomething.org and Chevrolet asked me to be a part of it. The campaign is open until December 31st, 2019, so young people who want to join or learn more about it can go to DoSomething.org/Kevin.

YH: When did you start singing and playing guitar? Who are some of your favorite musicians that inspire you?

KQ: I don’t quite remember a specific point that I started singing. It was just something I did growing up. Around the house, playing with toys... I always just sort of had this little hobby of murmuring songs under my breath. Most of it was Beatles stuff, as my Dad had introduced me to them at a very young age. I pretty much knew all of their songs because of that, even still to this day. In my opinion, their catalog is truly timeless, and that’s hard for any artist or band to accomplish. I mean, think about it; decades have gone by, and their music is still very relevant. I’m releasing an EP through Awal at the top of the year, so I’d love to have that relevance as years go by and I continue making more music. I also really like John Mayer, but to answer your question, I think the first time I actually sang in front of people was in a community musical theatre production at 13 years old.

YH: What has been your most memorable acting project or moment up to this point?

KQ: Let me start by saying this -- as a child, I had always loved cinema. Obviously every kid likes to go to the movies, but I was more interested in classic cinema and the process of actually making films. There were certain actors and directors whose work I specifically admired growing up. For instance, I loved watching Leonardo DiCaprio as a leading man, and I used to watch YouTube B-roll videos of directors like Baz Luhrmann at work. When my favorite industry professionals got a chance to work together, like Leo and Baz in Romeo & Juliet, well that was even cooler. For a 16-year-old high school student growing up near Chicago to know as much about filmmaking as I did, it kind of makes sense that I fell into the industry in retrospect. Now that I have my own memories from film sets through the years, it’s hard to pick just one project. However, I received a script for a musical drama film back in July, and after reading it, I fell in love with the project. I had a couple auditions for it, and then by August, I was on location shooting it. Becoming that character, living his truth... it ended up becoming a passion project, and I’ve never been more proud of my acting work as I am in that film. It was humbling knowing that the casting director, the director, and our producers trusted me with leading a film that they loved so dearly, and I know audiences will love it too.

YH: What are you most looking forward to doing in the future? (music, acting, anything in general)

KQ: Of course I’m looking forward to continue a career in film and music, but what I’m most looking forward to is traveling. There are just so many places I want to go, so many things I want to see. I’ve always appreciated world history and different cultures, so international travel is most appealing to me. My goal is to visit Asia sometime next year, preferably Tokyo or Singapore, but I also wouldn’t mind a trip to eastern Europe, like Budapest or Prague. Regardless, travel is important to me, as the world is a book, and there are many pages to read.

YH: What is something you have done recently that scared/intimidated you (does not have to be career-related)?

KQ: I have just recently started to open my heart to the idea of spirituality. It really is a journey, and in a way, it’s been like a relationship with myself that I continue to work on over time. I’ve had some really great life moments, but also some really difficult ones, and both the good and bad have broadened my perspective on a sort of “greater plan”. I think it’s tough to fully understand, but those who have also tried to work on it or make sense of it might also already be aware that this journey can be both intimidating and, at times, quite harrowing. Despite that, this journey has become an important part of my life.

Be sure to follow Kevin on Instagram and Twitter!