HOLLYWOOD
starred on Showtime’s I’m
Dying Up Here and booked
a role on OWN’s The Paynes.
Up next: a Dre collaboration
via Apple series Vital Signs.
I’ve been most starstruck
by ... McCrary: “Beyoncé.
Second is a tie between
my surprise sushi lunch
with Logic and surprise
birthday FaceTime call
with my favorite YouTuber,
CoryxKenshin!” Joseph:
“Definitely Beyoncé.”B R O O K LY N N
PRINCE 9
K n ow n fo r
The Florida ProjectThe Oscar-nominated
Florida Project put Prince
on Hollywood’s radar in- And the Florida-based
actress hasn’t stopped
working since. She voices
a part in The Angry Birds
Movie 2 as well as the
Angelina Jolie-produced
The One and Only Ivan.
She’s near the top of the call
sheet for Apple’s upcoming
mystery drama series Home
Before Dark. And she has
her sights set on directing:
Her first short screened in
June at Cannes Lions.
I’m dying to work with
“No. 1 is Letitia Wright. We’ve
been messaging each other
on Instagram and she seems
super cool.”
STORM REID 16
Known for
EuphoriaAfter breaking out in Ava
DuVernay’s A Wrinkle
in Time in 2018, Reid
appeared on the director’sEmmy-nominated Netflix
limited series When They
See Us and on HBO teen
drama Euphoria. Next, the
Atlanta native is set to work
on Universal’s The Invisible
Man with Elisabeth Moss as
well as the Suicide Squad
sequel alongside Margot
Robbie and Idris Elba. She’s
also producing with an as-
yet-unrevealed TV project.
I’ve been most starstruck
by “The moment I met
Zendaya at Ben & Jerry’s
when I first moved out here
or when I met Miss Oprah
and she knew my name.”JOJO SIWA 16
K n ow n fo r
Dance MomsAfter getting her start on
Abby’s Ultimate Dance
Competition and Dance
Moms, Joelle Joanie “aka
JoJo” took on YouTube,
where she has 10 million
subscribers. Nickelodeon
signed the Omaha-born
performer to an overall deal,
leading to projects includ-
ing May’s JoJo’s Dream
Birthday. She’s also made
music videos, launched a
nationwide tour and struck a
deal with Claire’s to release
a line of hair bows (part of
her signature look) and an
ill-fated makeup set: It was
recalled by the FDA after
multiple kits tested positive
for asbestos.
I’m dying to work with
Adam SandlerJACOB TREMBLAY 12
Known for Room,
Good BoysSince his breakout turn in
Room, the Canadian-born
Tremblay has starred oppo-
site Julia Roberts in Wonder,
worked with Shane Blackon Predator and is about to
be heard uttering words no
12-year-old should know in
the R-rated comedy Good
Boys (Aug. 15). “I don’t want
to ever give up acting,” he
says. “But I’d also like to be
a director. Or a producer. Or
a screenplay writer — I’m
always writing down ideas.”
I’m dying to work with
“Probably Will Smith. Me and
my sister have been watch-
ing Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”MADDIE ZIEGLER 16
K n ow n fo r
West Side StoryZiegler’s creative partner-
ship with Sia — dancing in
several of her videos — has
expanded to include a
starring role in the singer’s
directorial debut, Music,
about a teen with autism.
“I’m so honored that I got
to represent and play this
role,” says Ziegler. When the
Dance Moms breakout (she
has 13 million Instagram fol-
lowers) isn’t touring with her
sister, Mackenzie, she has
found time to shoot Steven
Spielberg’s West Side Story,
where she’ll get to show off
her moves as a member of
the Jets. “Dance is obvi-
ously my No. 1 passion,” she
says, “but I am really, really
loving acting.”
I’ve been most starstruck
by “RuPaul. It was 6 a.m. and
we had to say, ‘Good morn-
ing, America’ together on
Good Morning America, and
it was the best 20 seconds
of my life.”Profiles by Trilby Beresford,
Tara Bitran, Kirsten Chuba,
Aaron Couch, Ashley Cullins,
Mia Galuppo, Katie Kilkenny,
Borys Kit, Natalie Jarvey, Bryn
Elise Sandberg, Rebecca Sun
and Benjamin Svetkey.TIP FOR A KID ACTOR:
‘BE 12. YOU’RE FINE’Dante Basco, who played Rufio in the 1991
Disney film Hook, shares advice he’s given to
his niece, Ella Jay Basco, primed for her
own breakout in Warner Bros.’ Birds of Prey
As told to Rebecca Ford
y brothers and I came to L.A. as break-
dancers when I was about 10, and by the time
I was 15, I was working on this really big
movie, with Steven Spielberg and Dustin Hoffman
and Robin Williams. It’s a shocking experience,
running into fans for the first time — it’s a lot for
anyone to take. I was 15 when I did Rufio and now I’ve
been Rufio for more of my life than I haven’t been.
Wrestling with that is always interesting because
you don’t want to be fully defined by it, but at the
same time it’s you, and you don’t want to be ashamed
of you either.
Starting out so young meant missing out on a lot
of things that kids do, that your friends are doing,
whether it was playing team sports or school dances
with friends. I remember having fights with my
mother when I was young about “Why can’t I just go
have frozen yogurt with my friends after school and
go hit on the girls at the library?” At the same time,
you have the experiences that none of your friends
are having, and so you make sacrifices for that.
It’s even rougher for the kids today because they
have social media — it’s as if they’re being inter-
viewed every moment of the day even when they’re
just interviewing themselves, putting out a tweet or
an Instagram post.
My fear, like every parent or uncle, for the next
generation is that they’ll get their feelings hurt and
become disappointed in this industry, which has a
way of breaking your heart — sometimes breaking
your soul, you know? I’ve had a lot of conversations
with my niece Ella, and what I tell her is, a lot of
things are going to come at you. There’s going to be a
lot of good things said about you, there’s going to be a
lot of bad things said about you. Just remember what
our real job is — it’s just to do good work. Work hard.
And be you. That’s going to keep you sane. You’re
right where you’re supposed to be. You don’t have to
be any older or any wiser than you are. You’re perfect
where you are right now. It’s great to do interviews
and talk about issues — but also be 12. You’re fine.
Try to have fun. We still have one of the most fun jobs
in the world. Go have fun.
Top: Dante Basco (left)
with Robin Williams
in Hook. Right: Basco
squired his niece Ella
to opening night of
Miss Saigon at L.A.’s
Prince Reid Siwa Ziegler Pantages on July 18.