Disney Society Interview with Samantha Droke

I was so excited to interview Samantha Droke who is starring in the Disney Channel Original Movie “Princess Protection Program”. She was a blast to chat with and so extremely nice!

We talked about everything from “PPP” and suggestions for aspiring actors/actresses to what else she has going on right now. I hope you enjoy reading this interview as much as I enjoyed doing it!

Disney Society: How long have you been in the acting business?

Samantha: I’ve been in the acting business for 10 years now. It’s been a long ride and a little crazy, but I love it. I started out modeling when I was younger and then I just kind of moved into acting and I’ve loved it ever since.

Disney Society: What was the very first show/movie that you did?

Samantha: The very first big thing that I did was a feature called “Truce”. It’s a country movie I did when I was 15. Before that I had done a lot of run way and print in Texas, but “Truce” is the first thing that I really count.

Disney Society: So, you play Brooke in Princess Protection Program. Tell me a little about your character.

Samantha: Brooke is the popular girl in school, but she has a ditzy side to her. You kind of learn to love her. Usually you don’t like the mean girl in a movie, but she’s just really ditzy and funny and hard not to like. This was a really fun part to play and I’ve played similar roles, but with this role the director let me do a few things that I wanted to do. It was a lot of fun to play alongside Demi and Selena and everybody else.

Read the rest below!

Disney Society:  How did you get the role of Brooke? Did you have to audition?

Samantha: Yeah, I had to go in probably about 4 or 5 times. I went in for a first call audition and then they brought me back for a second audition. Then they had another round where they brought everyone in and they matched you up with other girls. After that, we had to do another round and I got to go in and read with two other girls. Finally, after all of that, I found out I got the part!

Disney Society: That sounds like an exhausting, but exciting process.

Samantha: Yeah, it is really exciting. It’s a long process, but in the end you just feel really good that you worked so hard to get the part. It’s very rewarding.

Disney Society: What did it feel like when you received the phone call that you got the part?

Samantha: It was really exciting. I cried! I had worked with Selena [Gomez] before and I’ve known Demi and Kevin for awhile.

Selena and me wanted to work together again, because we had worked together in a pilot before and it didn’t get picked up. This was something that was going to definitely work out and fun to do for a good while. We got to work on the movie for a little over a month.

Disney Society: I did an interview with your good friend Kevin Schmidt. What was it like working with him?

Samantha: It was a lot of fun to work with him. It was fun to get to see him work, to see what he does to prepare and just hang out with him on the set. We are both always trying out for different projects, so to get to be able to work on the same movie was really cool.

Kevin is a really cool guy and he’s so smart. He knows what he’s doing and he really inspires me. He knows what he wants and he goes for it. He really inspired me to do what I am doing now, like going out and doing some things for myself.

Disney Society: What was it like working with Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez?

Samantha: It was a lot of fun and they are really funny together because they have been friends for so long. Sometimes they have their own little inside jokes and they’ll start laughing about something. No one will know what they are laughing about, but because they are laughing, it makes you start laughing. They are just awesome girls, so talented and smart.

Disney Society:  What was your experience like filming in Puerto Rico?

Samantha: The first week we got there it was storming, so we didn’t get to go out and enjoy the beach and the sun. It was raining and windy, but in Puerto Rico, the weather changes so quickly. It’ll be sunny and warm and then out of nowhere, it’ll start raining for about 15 minutes and then stop.

It was very beautiful there. This was my first time to go do a project without my mom. It was a little sad for her, but it was cool to go to off to Puerto Rico by myself to work and to get to enjoy a new environment. We did get to learn a little bit of Spanish and see some of the sights.

There was one day when decided to go out golfing, but we didn’t know it was going to rain. We drove so far to get there, so we weren’t going to let the rain spoil our day.

Disney Society: What are your plans for the Princess Protection Program debut night and do you know if there will be a premiere?

Samantha: I am hoping there will be a premiere. I’ve heard a couple of things about it, that it’s a possibility. If not, then I will probably have friends and family over to my house, have some snacks and watch the movie together.

I do hope they have a premiere, that would be awesome. I think that girls are going to relate to the entire story of the movie. It’s really a great movie.

Disney Society:  I love your YouTube videos. Do you feel that’s an important outlet to use to reach your fans?

Samantha: Definitely! Without YouTube, I don’t know how we could really relate to our fans, besides fan mail. I love YouTube, but I never really knew much about it until Selena and Demi started their own channel and I thought that was so awesome.

So, I had all of these videos of us in Puerto Rico, from when we were off of work and they were so funny. That’s when I decided to start my YouTube Channel and I just love it. I love making videos with friends in my free time. It’s also great when people leave me comments about my videos.

Disney Society: Do you have any other projects you want to tell me about that are coming up in the future?

Samantha: Right now I am just auditioning for different things. I have also been doing a web series with Kevin Schmidt and Nicholas Braun called “Poor Paul”. It’s for an older audience, like college age. We just finished the first season and actually just got put on Tivo. I think that the first season will be coming out on DVD soon. So I have that going on and also my tee-shirt line.

Disney Society: Quite a few of my Disney Society readers are aspiring actors/actresses. What advice which you give someone wanting to break into the acting business?

Samantha: I think it should be something that you are passionate about and that you really love to do. It’s a very tough business. I started out when I was 11 and I am just now really starting to do projects that I love to do.

I’ve come a long way and it’s been a tough ride, but it’s also been fun. You have to be driven and be able to handle rejection well. If it’s something that you really are passionate about, then I say go for it and don’t let anything stand in your way.

Disney Society: When you have a day off, what is your favorite thing to do?

Samantha: I love to go to the park. It can get kind of crazy and hectic here with everything going on. It’s definitely a different vibe from growing up in Texas. So, for me to be able to just go to the park and get away from everything, it just takes me back home. I can think and relax out there. I take my dog Max with me and just get out and play.

Disney Society:  Is there anything else that you would like to share with us?

Samantha: Well, my new tee-shirt line is up now. You can go to www.imaginethelove.com and go check them out. They can also go to my MySpace Page at www.myspace.com/imaginethelovebysam.

Image Credit: Bauer Griffin