Kira Kosarin & Jack Griffo on Thundermans Spinoff & Being Child Actors

Hey guys, Leslie Robbins here, hanging in the Young Hollywood lounge with some Young Hollywood friends. Kira and Jack are here, the stars and executive producers of The Thundermans Undercover. Yes. Hot off of The Thundermans Return. Yes. The movie. Hot off of The Thundermans series from back in the day.

We've been doing press since 4:30 this morning and you might be the only one who just nailed all of that. That was impressive.

That was incredible. Yeah. You had it all right.

Thank you. This is

Thank you, thank you.

I would just say you guys are just hot. You're just hot. You're hot.

Oh. Oh.

Nice.

Jack. You look good too. Well, no, seriously, the trajectory of Thundermans to now. Oh my goodness.

We just won't die and we're thrilled.

Yeah, it's going great. It is going great.

Talk to me now about this spin-off series, 'cause what a wild ride.

It's amazing. We're we're we're really really lucky to be back, playing the same characters. I mean, I think that, uh, I mean, I wake up every day and I'm like, how am I still doing this? And especially when we were just filming this season in Vancouver, you know, we're in this amazing place with these amazing people and there's just multiple times on set where Kira and I will look at each other and just have this sort of telepathic, like. Here we are. It's happening.

Yeah, no, it's it's amazing. It's incredible. I mean, you know, when we made the movie, we all kind of thought, like, what if this could turn into more but we kind of didn't dare say it out loud. We just sort of did what we could do to try to move things in that direction and so it's a to be here on the other side of it, having gotten that 26 episode order and having gotten to like make a proper season of television has been, uh, great.

Yeah. I mean, we both wanted to keep going, but we just we're trying to enjoy every moment as it came, you know. 'Cause you never know. With the movie, it was just a kind of a one-off thing, and of course, we were like, what if, you know, and, uh, and here we are and it happened, so.

Okay, I was with you guys almost a year ago. It was March 2024. Nickelodeon in the Valley. And it was magic. Like, I loved being with you guys. I wanted to stay and hang out. You felt the magic. Everyone was buzzing about the Thundermans. So, did you feel it then or you had no clue?

We knew on set. We were like, if we can pull this off, there's a world where this could keep going. It was part of why I fought so hard to make the movie be a multicam and make it feel like an episode because I thought if we can show people what an episode of the show would look like now, maybe the fans will want more and the network will trust us to make more, and that was exactly what happened. So, we were we were thrilled. There was that period where the fans were like, make more, make more. And we were like, we're trying. Like, give us a second. And then there was a period where we knew what was gonna happen and we still couldn't tell. And that was a really exciting couple of weeks where the fans were like, we love the movie, make more. And we were like,

He's still He's still as stars of the show, did you have to sit back and wait for it to happen or you were able to like, drive the car too?

As as stars of the show, yes. As executive producers, no.

Exactly.

Yeah, no, we definitely we got to be in from the very beginning. The the our showrunners and EPs who we absolutely adore and you know, have been working with forever, brought us right in at the ground floor and pitched us, I think first individually what they were thinking and then they brought us together and pitched us together what they were thinking. And once they explained the idea of the show, I just was like, oh, what was I worried about? You guys are brilliant. Like, I'm in. It's it's great 'cause the new fans are gonna have an awesome new show to watch and uh, And I definitely I think it stands on its own. Like I don't think you have to be a fan. I think it is also just like a good show in its own, I'm biased, but like, I think it stands up. But also,

Yeah.

But the nostalgia is there too for the fans who have watched us way since way back when.

Okay, let's go back way back when. You were 14 when you auditioned. Here we are. Take me back to being a child actor, 'cause you've lived it.

I think both of our favorites early on is we went to the same acting class and it was like our whole social circle. It was like where all of our mentors were. It was it was so much fun. It was where we met. And then Jack booked a different show, right? And I booked another pilot for Nickelodeon that ended up not getting picked up. That didn't go. And then I booked my show and we knew each other. And like he knew about.

We went to school together. We went to school together. Yeah. And I got the email in my in my inbox of, you know, Thundermans. And I was like, oh, that's Kira's show. I think I literally like texted my dad and was like, Jack, there's an audition for Kira's show. I was like, isn't that Kira's show, you know? And and then it's for like a series regular and I'm like, huh, they must be a shaking some things up over there. Um, and yeah, once the chemistry reads came around, I mean, me and Kira knew each other so well already. We had already done teamwork together in class. We'd already kind of had that, um, had that banter together and I think it was just kind of obvious once once we got to that stage of the auditions, you know, the chemistry was really there and we didn't really have to try. And I was totally willing to like get in her face and be her sibling, like.

Yeah. Her brother. Yes, no, they've never dated. No. Yes. Yeah, no, no, no. I will say to answer your your child actor question, you know, obviously.

I want the dirt. I want the like, give me some dirt.

There's look, there's a lot there's a lot that goes with being a child actor. Like in general, kids having jobs, it's weird. It's contentious. It's something I have a lot of mixed feelings about. Putting that amount of pressure and responsibility, even if it's of their own choosing, financial pressure, like it's a lot to put on a kid and I have a lot of mixed feelings about it. That being said, we were both very, very lucky in that our parents were very supportive and not crazy. Not to spew, you know, stuff about Hollywood, but Hollywood can be really overwhelming for kids and, you know, can be a dark place sometimes and, you know.

Get swept into scary rivers.

Exactly. And so at age 14, I kind of I kind of already knew who I was a little bit. As as a kid, as much as a 14-year-old can, but I feel like, you know, kids come here at seven, eight, nine and it's like they're so impressionable and like for me, and you ask about sort of how we came up, like I I feel like I came at like kind of the perfect time.

It's so funny here that you say that because I remember so distinctly being like 13 and 14 and people being like, what's it like being a child actor? And I'm like, I'm not a child actor. Bella Thorne's been doing this since she was four. Like the people because the people we were up against in these auditions at 12, 13, 14, you would lose jobs to kids who had been acting for nine years already. So in our mind, we were like, oh, we're adults already. I was like, I'm in high school. I'm we're grown. We're not child actors. Now, of course, looking back, I'm like, oh my God, I was a child actor. Like, I fully went through puberty in front of millions of people watching. Like that comes with its own stuff for you can't discount that.

In superhero suits.

In in spandex.

Yeah. Not as hard for you, but for us, that was brutal.

We, you know, we went through it together.

It's hard for me too, okay?

You don't show it often, but when you do snippets of the training behind the scenes. Yeah. Can you take me through that 'cause it looks so cool and I want to see like your go-to move.

Yeah, I mean, there's like there's the two different sides of training. There's like the personal training that we each do just to like stay in shape, stay healthy, make sure that we're not going to break ourselves 'cause we're old now. We don't

You're old Hollywood now.

You can't just like throw a kick and like not expect to. We don't recover the same anymore. Yeah, you got to be a little more careful than when you're a young chicken. And the training we do in the show is mostly just like learning the choreography for that week. Like if there's a stunt scene that week, then we we meet with the choreographer, the stunt coordinator. We we learn it. And then we go home and then we like refresh it on the day. It all moves super quickly.

You got a go-to move? Physical like training move? Yeah, yeah. And you're in your sneakers. Let me see

You do a good walkover. Yeah, usually when I'm Phoebe I do a walkover just 'cause it's like it's safe. There's no high impact.

You want to do it here? No. A walkover?

I mean, I can if you really want. I mean, you can see it.

I want it. I want.

Okay, before we get to the front walkover, your husband's name is the same as your dog's name, which is kind of. And his character's name. Like isn't this amazing? Like Yeah. While all of this is going on, you found a man. You got married. Like like engagement. Like congratulations.

Thank you.

So now he's on the journey with you.

Yeah, he's the best. He's my he's my right hand man. He's he's everything. He's the best.

And he didn't even know who you were beforehand. That's what I love.

We met yeah, we met under no pretense like early COVID, through a friend. Became best friends the day we met. Spent every day together for the next three weeks and by a month in we were like, am I in love with you? I think I'm in love with you. Dope. And then we were together and then I was like, oh, we're going to get married. You're my husband. Okay, cool, great. And he moved in and then we got married and I've spent every day of the last five years just being like as in love as any human being could be and spending every day with my best friend. It's great. I I don't know. I I saved the world in a past life to like deserve this. I don't know what I did, but yeah, it's good. They're very cute together. I will say.

Now, um, you're not getting out of doing the front walkover, though. If this jumpsuit splits, you are reimbursing me. Oh, wow. It's happening. Yeah. That's great. It's happening. Jack. It's happening. Yeah. Oh, that's beautiful. What's happened. Thank you. Very good, very good, very good. Wow. The stunt is done. The show is on. What's next? The spin-off of the spin-off of the spin-off from the movie. Season 27. Thundermans forever. Jack, it's Max and Phoebe in their mid-50s. Max and Phoebe have a midlife crisis. Oh, they on Nickelodeon. Your grandchildren. You'll have kids. You'll find a mate and and life will be great. Yeah. And then I'll get you to do a stunt next time you're here. How about that?

Okay, I'll wear the right shoes. I'll stretch out. You can tell how nice the lounge is 'cause we started this interview after doing like eight hours of press, being like, the show's been great and we're very grateful. Now we're like, this is good. I like it. Let's have her do gymnastics. Oh, this is nice, man. Tell me more. You see a brunette at the airport doing a walkover, you know it's us. So.