By: Lynn Barker
14-year-old actor Cameron Boyce was first a dancer appearing on the “Shake It Up” TV series. He now plays Luke on Disney Channel’s “Jessie” show. This summer, catch Cameron reprising his role as Adam Sandler’s son Keithie Feder in the wacky comedy Grown Ups 2.
We caught up with Cameron at home in L.A. and learned that, since his character breaks his leg in the movie, the actor spent most of the film in a fake cast. He talks summer fun, pranks his personal friends pull on him, what the cast did off set for fun and what is coming up on “Jessie”.
Kidzworld: Tell me about what is going on for Keithie in this film.
- Cameron: Keithie is getting bullied in school and is not really a tough kid so to kind of prove himself, he wants to play football but his mom (Salma Hayek) in the movie doesn’t want him playing football so I end up being the kicker for the team because you don’t get hit as much. Adam (dad) and I practice the kicking and he realizes that I’m really good and he ends up tackling me and breaks my leg! So it’s pretty funny. I have to go through most of the rest of the movie with a broken leg.
Adam teaching son Cameron to kick the football
Kidzworld: OMG, so you are in a cast through most of the movie?
- Cameron: Yeah. Well you can’t slip on a cast but they had two separate pieces of a cast so they would slip each on then tape it together so it would stay. I had to be careful with it and walk around on crutches even when I wasn’t in the scene. It was fun for like 10 minutes. Then, it was a drag.
Kidzworld: I can imagine! Can you relate to how Keith feels when his dad moves the family from the city to the suburbs? Did that ever happen to you?
- Cameron: I grew up in L.A. and have been here most of my life so I guess I couldn’t really relate to Keithie’s move but it’s probably really hard. When we did the first movie, we moved away for four months.
Kidzworld: Now that you are a teen, was it different working with Adam Sandler and the adult guys this time around?
- Cameron: It was a little different I think. The first time (for Grown Ups) we were really young, just kids but we’ve all grown up and a lot of us have gone on to do shows so I think we’re a little more equal at this point. Adam kind of gave a little more individual reactions and treated us more like individuals.
Adam and family get a kitchen surpriseCourtesy of Tracy Bennett
Kidzworld: What is your personal favorite summer activity?
- Cameron: We just got a swimming pool so I’ve been swimming a lot this summer. Mainly swimming and a lot of basketball. When it’s really hot, we like to run through the sprinklers.
Kidzworld: Did you hang out off set with any of the other teen cast members? Did you go to dinner or do anything fun?
- Cameron: We were always hanging out. We made a family bond on the first movie and it translated to the second movie. We all went to dinner and did activities. Nadji (Jeter who plays Andre in the film) and I are pretty good friends now so we would hang out in his hotel room. There were restaurants and Fro-Yo across the street and we would walk. We were in Salem, Massachusetts.
Kidzworld: Tell me something funny or silly that happened on set between scenes; a prank or something funny that went wrong.
- Cameron: There is always something funny going on between scenes with Adam Sandler. He’s always cracking jokes and yelling at people for no reason. It’s pretty funny. He’ll joke around during scenes too. When he guest-starred on “Jessie” there was nothing in the script that he said first take. But we always did stupid stuff. It was like a family, constantly messing with each other like brothers and sisters.
Cameron as Keithie and Adam Sandler as his dad
Kidzworld: What would you consider your favorite scene in the film and why is it your fave?
- Cameron: Everything in the movie is so funny but my favorite scene to watch is when Shaq is a cop and he meets the guys outside the grocery store and Adam recognizes him (as an old friend) and asks “How did you become a cop after all the stupid stuff we did as kids?” Shaq flips his gun out and goes “Put your hands in the air”. Everybody does then he goes “..and wave ‘um like you just don’t care”. That was the funniest.
Kidzworld: Hilarious! Did you have any scenes with Taylor Lautner or get to meet him?
- Cameron: I got to meet him around the lot but we don’t have any scenes together unfortunately. He plays a jock. It’s pretty funny. He makes all the (older) guys jump off a cliff into the water naked.
Kidzworld: Does Keithie have a crush on any girls in this film?
- Cameron: In the first Grown Ups, Kevin James’ daughter Donna was his love interest. But it was more like friends then. I think she still likes him in this one and expresses her feelings to him. There’s a scene where Adam and I are practicing the kicking, she’s cheering me on. Donna’s a little bit more expressive than Keithie.
Cameron as KeithieCourtesy of Tracy Bennett
Kidzworld: What bands or music artists are you into?
- Cameron: I’m always into the same people. I don’t really grow up. I’m into old stuff, ‘70’s, ‘80’s, the funk side of the ‘80’s. My mom is now trying to educate me in the rock side.
Kidzworld: What is your pet peeve when you and your friends are out together? Like “I hate it when they do…..this”.
- Cameron: I have crazy friends so a lot of times when we’re out, people recognize me on the street but they will yell, “This is Cameron Boyce!” and just run! They do that. Then I’m in the middle of the street with people looking at me.
Kidzworld: Little devils! What actor or actress would be super stoked to act opposite?
- Cameron: Kevin Hart. He’s the man! I like his style. He’s short so I can relate. All the stories he tells are real. I respect that and he’s just a really funny dude, great comedy instincts. To do stand-up on a stage for an hour and tell stories and make people laugh is incredible.
Kidzworld: What is in store for Luke on “Jessie” that the fans haven’t seen yet ?
- Cameron: Just a lot of growth. Luke, in early episodes was young and the prankster but Luke is growing and evolving. I think in Season 2 he starts to be a little more mature but he’s making strides to be not as crazy as in Season 1.
- Also there are a lot of people on Broadway who are guests on our show. We have a lot of experienced, veteran actors. The kids on the show take notes and we’re learning a lot from people who are guesting and, hopefully, one day, we’ll be as great as they are.
Cameron on Jessie
Kidzworld: Why will teens and tweens really like Grown Ups 2?
- Cameron: I think the first Grown Ups was silly and had crazy moments but it had a message. In Grown Ups 2, everything is completely insane. From one scene to the next, it’s people rolling down hills in tires and people jumping off cliffs. It’s crazy stuff. You will not be bored.
See Grown Ups 2 in theaters starting July 12th
