Descendants Sons and Daughters: Mitchell Hope as Prince Ben

By: Lynn Barker

Adorable Mitchell Hope is part of the Aussie Actor invasion of Hollywood. (Are there ANY ugly guys there?).  He recently spoke to us in his cute Aussie accent about playing the Prince of Auradon, heir to the throne and the instigator of an idea to give the teen kids of famous villains a chance to make good by inviting them to attend high school in his kingdom. Is he asking for trouble? Will he fall for one of the so-called villainous daughters?

Ben told us that dancing in the movie got him out of his shell and made him more of a social dancer as well.. He was giving up acting until he got a call for the “Descendants” audition and landed the role.  

Kidzworld: You are one of many talented Aussie actors working in the states. When did you first work here and how were you discovered?

• Mitchell: We’re trying to launch a takeover of Hollywood. I did a few little shows on Aussie TV, just little things then finally my agent called. I had quit acting right before I got this audition for “Descendants”. It’s time for me to go get a “real” job. You know my parents were breathing down my back. So, my agent said “Just do this one audition”. Acting is something I’m never going to really get away from so, I jumped at the chance to get back into it. “Just one more. It’s a call back”. I said okay “And you’re going to L.A. tomorrow”.  “Oh, okay”. This is a viable career option. I wanted to go back to school. But once you’ve found this thing that you want to do, it’s hard to get away from it.

Kidzworld: You were in an Australian TV film. How would you compare that experience with shooting this film? How are they different?

• Mitchell: I love the industry in Australia. There is some really incredible film and TV coming from there but, at the same time, the industry is just not on the scale that the U.S. has. It’s not the same. When I went to do “Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of INXS” (TV Mini-Series), it was big. To me, that was the biggest thing I’d experienced. I was like “Wow, this is huge. Look at that, there’s trailers and make-up and hair. This is so crazy”. Then “Descendants” took what I knew from “INXS” and just crushed it. It was so huge.

Kidzworld: I’ve only seen the trailer in which your character Prince Ben tells his parents he wants the kids of villains imprisoned on an island to be freed to go to school in his Kingdom of Auradon. Now do you think he has an ulterior motive for doing that or is he just kind and a good guy to a fault?

• Mitchell: Ben, in my opinion, is a well-rounded character. He has a very strong sense of morality and has a foresight into human interaction and emotion and empathy. He kind of gets things. Ben is very much trying to make the world a better place. He’ll give his right arm or anything he can for the benefit of other people. He’s the Hemmingway hero. Ben is a cooler guy than I am.

Kidzworld: Will Ben fall for one of the “evil” girls?

• Mitchell: I don’t know maybe. They ARE evil….You tell me. Who do you think? (We suggest Evie or Mal.. he won’t tell us).

Kidzworld:  Did the cast hang out on set between takes or after shooting? Where did you shoot and what did you all do?

• Mitchell: We shot it in Vancouver. Hanging out with the cast was my favorite part of the entire thing. As a cast we got along really well but I on hundred percent believe that I could go have a chat with any one of my fellow castmates. We could talk for hours. Sometimes it would be a long day and we’d be like “Hey, you guys want to go do some stretching?” because there is some dance and musical elements to the movie. We’d sit around and play guitar and sing music.

Kidzworld: Fun! Did you get to keep any props or things from set?

• Mitchell: Don’t tell Disney but I stole one of their little plastic rings lying there. I’m like “Man, I am taking this ring and they can’t do anything about it”. There were like 80 rings there.

Kidzworld: You sing in the film. Do you dance too?

• Mitchell: Yeah. It’s not exactly a musical but it’s got musical elements in it. It’s a lot of fun. I haven’t had a lot of dance background. Let me tell you, dancing is difficult. I used muscles I didn’t even know I had. The dancing in “Descendants” has loosened me up a little bit. When I go out with friends now, I dance a little bit as well. It’s turned me into a bit of a dancer.

Kidzworld: What group or music artist are you really into right now?

• Mitchell: I’ve been into Australian music. There’s a band called “The Smith Street Band” that are fantastic. They’ve got this Aussie punk kind of thing. You got to a pub for a meal and watch these guys do their thing and afterwards they’ll come and have a chat with you and I like Foley.

Kidzworld: Did you have a favorite Disney villain growing up?

• Mitchell: I don’t have a favorite villain. I always despised the villains. My favorite Disney film growing up was the old 1965 “Robin Hood” (Robin was a fox, literally). I loved everything Robin Hood was and I read all the old stories. I thought that he would go do something rebellion and crazy but, at the same time, he had such strong moral values and it was there in every action he made. Robin Hood was the hero.

Check out heroic Mitchell as Prince Ben in “Descendants” on TV July 31^st