Articles: Portrait Magazine
Hey Madison! How are you today? I am great! I’m happy the holidays are coming up!
You’re the youngest Disney channel star! How does that feel? It feels crazy to me still. I am very lucky to be apart of the Disney Channel family. I’ve been a fan ever since I started watching tv, so it’s a dream-come-true to be on the show!
Most people know you from your role as Sophie on Cory in The House. What was it like getting that role? What a lot of people don’t know is that I was auditioning for “Cory in the House” and “The Game Plan” at the same time. It took many months of auditions and callbacks and a lot of hard work. I actually booked “The Game Plan” first, which meant I wasn’t going to be able to do “Cory in the House” because they were going to be shooting at the same time. But I was still thrilled just to get even one of them! So I went to Boston and we had 2 weeks of rehearsals before we started filming, and during rehearsals, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson got hurt and ruptured his Achilles tendon. That caused the movie to be put on hold for 3 months so he had time to recover. Luckily, “Cory in the House” hadn’t booked anyone for the role of “Sophie” yet, so when they found out I was available again—they hired me! I feel SO LUCKY that I ended up being able to do both projects!
Sophie is quite devious. Are you anything like her? No, I really try to be a nice person and I hardly ever get in trouble, but I used to pull pranks on my big brother! When my friends would spend the night, we would try to listen in on the other phone when he was talking to his girlfriend, but we’d always get caught!
Which was your favourite episode to film? The episode called “We Built this Kitty on Rock & Roll”. That was my favorite because Sophie got to join the band with Cory, Newt, & Meena and perform live on tv! I got to dress up like a total rock star—with pink hair extensions, a leather jacket, ripped jeans, makeup—and totally rock out on stage! It was awesome!!
Who were/are you most close to from the cast? I am close to the entire cast! Maiara, Jason, and Kyle, and I used to play Guitar Hero in Jason’s dressing room during our lunch breaks! They are all like my big brothers and sister to me.
What upcoming projects do you have coming up? I have a tv movie called Letters To Santa: A Muppets Christmas, which will be on NBC December 17, 2008. I am in a new Will Smith movie called Seven Pounds, which will be in theatres December 19, 2008. Also, I star in a movie called Free Style. I play the little sister of Corbin Bleu from High School Musical. It will be in theatres February 6, 2009.
Out of the premieres and events that you’ve gone to, which has been your favourite and why? Definitely The Game Plan premiere in Los Angeles! It was a really special day for me. It was my first movie premiere, and all my friends and family from Texas flew out to LA and were there to celebrate with me. I wore a beautiful pink custom-made dress that made me feel like a princess! I got to ride in a limo to the theatre! And there was an after-party with football and ballet-themed carnival games. Then that night all my friends & family went out to dinner together. It really meant a lot to me that they all came out to support me. It was the best day ever!
Describe your ideal project to work on My ideal project to work on would be another Disney movie with girls and boys around my age. I would love to work with Andy Fickman again (the director from “The Game Plan”). I’d like my character to have a cute fashion style, but still be spunky. A girl who sometimes can be one of the guys, sort of a tomboy—but also could still dress up and be really girly. That would be really fun to play.
Which celebrity do you really look up to? I look up to Reese Witherspoon. She is such a great actress. She can do comedy and drama, which I admire a lot. That’s what I’d like to be able to do.
What advice would you give to upcoming actors? First, make sure you really like acting, because it is a lot of hard work. But if you really love it, it’s worth it! If it’s something you really like doing, then take acting lessons. There is so much stuff to learn, and I’m still learning!
What are your goals for 2009? I want to learn how to ride a bike, whistle, and learn how to swim. I’ve been so busy working & going to school that I just never made time to learn how to ride a bike…but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it! I haven’t learned how to swim yet because I used to have a big fear of going underwater. But I finally conquered that fear over the summer & I’m not afraid anymore. Now I just need to get back into swimming lessons so I can actually learn how to do it.
And onto some slightly more random questions so fans get to know you better. Describe yourself in 3 words Spontaneous, bubbly, and dancer
What’s the best present you’ve ever received? My iPhone
If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Italy and Paris
What are your hobbies? Dancing, writing (songs and fiction stories), and acting
Describe a typical day in your life I never really seem to have “typical” days, which is fun because then life is never boring. It depends on whether I’m working on a project, or if I’m just going to school. But my FAVORITE kind of days are weekends when I get to sleep in, and me and my mom go to my favorite diner for breakfast, see a movie, get a pedicure, and go shopping!
If you were stuck on a desert island with only three things, what would they be and why? My mommy, my iPhone, and chicken nuggets.
Tell me a secret! I can cook! Chicken rice soup and birthday cakes are my favorites to make.
Do you have a myspace? If yes, what is it? Not yet.
How can fans contact you? They can send fan letters to me through my agent at:
United Talent Agency Attn: Mitchell Gossett for Madison Pettis 9560 Wilshire Blvd, Ste 500 Beverly Hills, CA 90212
I don’t have my own “official” webpage yet. We’re working on it now. But someone I don’t even know created a great fan website about me. They can check it out at: www.Madison-Pettis.com
