“It’s when the two of them are realising
how alike they are and how they wanna be
friends in the real world,” she reminisces.
“It’s really cute and it was so much fun to
film. All the music and the dance sequences
are just so amazing.”
Energetic number BAMM tops Manheim’s
list. “BAMM is definitely one of the most
entertaining songs because we had this air
track that was installed into the ground so
we could do these crazy flips and bounces,”
he enthuses. “It is a really cool routine!”
Getting into character
Stepping into Addison’s sneakers appealed
to Donnelly for a number of reasons – first and
foremost because she sees past the zombies’
diferences to be the film’s moral compass.
“I love her because she’s so brave and
optimistic, and she is the first person to say,
‘Hey, zombies and humans are kind of the
same.’ It’s cool she has that realisation.”
Despite many hours spent on the sets
of various television shows throughout his
childhood, ZOMBIES marks the first role for
Manheim – the son of Golden Globe- and
Emmy-winning actress Camryn Manheim.
But having a famous mum didn’t make
winning his role any easier.
After first auditioning for the dashing
leading man, producers brought him back
in to try out for villain Bucky. It was only
then that Manheim believes they could
finally see that he made the perfect Zed.
“Zed was the only person I could play.
I think he is similar to me, so it was really
easy to portray him,” Manheim smiles.
WORDS: CAROLYN HIBLEN. PHOTOS: BOOMERANG; DISNEY CHANNEL; NICKELODEONMeanwhile, the inevitable comparisons
already being made to HSM star Zac Efron
are almost too much for Manheim to bear.
“Oh wow! I’m smiling from ear to ear right
now that you’ve said that!” he beams. “That
would be amazing if I was the next Zac Efron.
I grew up watching him, being in awe of him.
He has a great career. I think we’re kind of
similar. He definitely has way better abs than
me, but I’ll get there one day!”
“The film is
very visually
captivating.
There are so
many contrasts”
- Milo Manheim
Zombies (from left)
Eliza (Kylee Russell),Zed (Milo Manheim) and
Bonzo (James Godfrey)
are striving for equalityGrowing up Disney
Both actors were massive fans of the 2006
Disney phenomenon High School Musical
- in fact, Manheim even had an HSM-themed
birthday party when he was seven! So to say
that they’re thrilled to now be a part of the
Disney family is an understatement.
“High School Musical was a huge part of
my life,” Donnelly says. “I remember watching
them and being like, ‘My dream is to be in
a Disney Channel original movie.’ So the fact
that this is happening is surreal. I’m excited.”
Human classmates (from left)Bucky (Trevor Tordjman),
Addison (Meg Donnelly) and
Bree (Carla Jeery) attenda zombie-friendly schoolFoxtel APRIL 41