One of Disney's hot young stars is in Auckland for a movie. Kelly Blatz talks to REBECCA BARRY
Kelly Blatz is not your ordinary Disney star. He's more of an action hero for kids.
"Anything for kids has to be high-energy," says the 21-year-old in his trailer, on a break in his shooting schedule for Skyrunners, an adventure movie filmed in Glen Eden for the US Disney Channel.
Blatz plays one of two brothers who pilot a spaceship while on a mission to save the Earth from deadly aliens. "It's not Steven Spielberg but we're doing it how he would shoot things. So we have the freedom of actually playing it very realistically, which is also very appealing for me."
He's also the star of the channel's new Aaron Stone series, as Charlie Landers, a shy teenager who has mastered a video game, Hero Rising. Charlie's avatar fights the evil Omega Defiance. When a billionaire recluse enlists his help as a secret agent, telling him the Defiance is real, Charlie must become Aaron Stone, a protective suit-wearing, supersonic jet-flying hero with sneakers that allow him go-go-gadget-style transportation, accompanied by a loyal android named Stan.
So Lance Guest wasn't the last starfighter after all. And just like all good Disney shows, there's an underlying message: Aaron is forced to rely not only on his physical prowess but his growing self-confidence.
"It's about being aspirational and going for what you want," says Blatz. "[Disney] always tends to focus on these huge feats - Hannah Montana being a singer or Aaron Stone being a superhero. I'm also acting and I do a lot of the things he does in the show.
"I was told I was ruining my life by going into acting. My friends and family were just watching out for me but if I listened to them I would have been kicking myself. So I try never to be discouraged, I always go for it. That's what this is trying to say."
Previously, Blatz had starred in a handful of indie films and had a guest role in Disney series Zoey 101, but it's obvious why he was picked as the next Disney boy-star. He has chiselled, all-American good looks and a doubt-free sense of ambition that comes from an earnest place, rather than a conceited one.
"I don't feel any pressure or anything but I know how much TV shows affect people. One reason I wanted to do the show is because kids will get a positive effect from it. To be that role model for people all across the world is something I never dreamed would be possible."
In the US, the show is the flagship series for the Disney XD channel (formerly known as the Toon Channel), which was rebranded last year. Aimed at boys aged 6-14, that hasn't stopped Blatz from attracting female fans - his biggest of note was Gossip Girl star, and emerging American sweetheart, Blake Lively, his girlfriend from 2004-2007.
"I haven't talked to her for a while because she lives in New York and I'm in LA, but we do keep in touch. I have a few friends on that show and I'm so happy she's doing amazing and I wish her all the best. We've been family friends since we were like 7, 8 years old."
While Lively has gone on to notoriety playing a wild New York socialite and Blatz has gone on to star on a channel that produced squeaky-clean Zac Efron and Miley Cyrus, Blatz says he doesn't feel the need - yet anyway - to go for edgier roles. Aaron Stone is nowhere near as schmaltzy as High School Musical anyway, and the Disney roles give him ample opportunity to embrace his sporty side. In Aaron Stone he rides bikes, skateboards and travels along flying foxes, adding to Blatz's already impressive sporting life playing football, baseball, basketball, snowboarding, surfing, wakeboarding, skateboarding and running.
"I definitely don't want to send the message that you should just be sitting around playing videogames. I know games are huge right now and I played them, growing up. But I think it's well-rounded with Aaron Stone because he does all that. He's someone kids can look up to because he's outdoors and really active and he overcomes his obstacles."
Aaron Stone premieres 5.30pm tomorrow on the Disney Channel; Skyrunners is due out later this year.