CELEBRITY NEWS

Disney Channel Star Dove Cameron Visits Last Fling

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Posted September 1, 2014

by Kristen Kucharski, Glancer Magazine

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Dove Cameron, star of Disney Channel’s hit series Liv and Maddie and original movie Cloud 9, as well as the daughter of Maleficent in the upcoming Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants, and Liz in the upcoming feature Barely Lethal, met in-person with hundreds of fans at Naperville Jaycees 2014 Last Fling.  She also graciously set aside personal time to interview with Glancer Magazine’s Junior Reporters, Maddie Kleivo, Marissa Kucharski, Tessa Kucharski, Emily Wang, and Gina Kocmoud. 

 

Having never auditioned for the role of Liv or Maddie, Cameron was surprised she received the part of twins after the series was tested across the country.  She works with two body doubles to help her get into character and emit authentic responses; but in the end, Cameron plays both roles of Liv and Maddie.  “So if you ever see me hugging myself – that’s actually Emmy Buckner or Shelby Wulfert,” Cameron says.  She goes on to share that she has somewhat of a photographic memory, so memorizing all her lines isn’t a problem.  “If I read something once, I’ll be able to recite it to you because I took a snapshot in my mind." 

 

Life for Cameron seems like a dream come true to most tween girls, but growing up hasn’t been easy.  She was home-schooled in the 2nd grade because she was introspective and very shy.  Subsequently, she returned to school, but left again in 7th grade after being locked in a closet for several hours by a group of girls.  “They poured chocolate milk down my dress; would cut my hair; color on my clothes, and trip me in the hallway,” she shared.  If school wasn’t hard enough, her father passed away during her teen years as well.  “My dad always used to call me Dove, Dovey, and Dovely.” 

 

To honor him and keep him close, she changed her name to Dove Cameron from Chloe Hosterman.  Now that she’s 18, she feels like she has fulfilled many of her dreams, but still hopes to get her Master’s Degree in Business and transition to film.  “I would also love to play Elsa in the Frozen Musical on Broadway.  It’s a Disney show, so I feel like that would be a good transition,” she adds.  “I would also really love to do Wicked on Broadway as Glinda because that’s who Liv is actually based off of.”  But ultimately, her passion is in baking and one day, she hopes to own a bakeshop in a small town and have a family of her own.  

-Interviewed by Kristen Kucharski

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COMPLETE Q & A INTERVIEW

 

Is it weird talking to the air when you are filming Liv and Maddie?

 

I never auditioned for Liv and Maddie, I originally played one girl and it was

neither Liv nor Maddie, her name was Alana, and when it got tested and

they flew it all across the country and people gave their opinions – what

people loved was the dynamic between me and my sister, who was

actually a different actress.  When we brought it back, Disney called and

said ‘your show got picked up and by the way you are playing twins’.  I

never auditioned for Liv and Maddie so when I was told I was going to be

playing twins they asked ‘how do you want to do the twin thing’ and  I was

like ‘what do you mean , aren’t you guys supposed to be the big Hollywood

producers telling me how to do this?’  So then they asked if I wanted to talk

to the air or if I wanted to work with a body double so I could look into the

eyes of another actress and have something to work off of.  I thought that

would work best because I wanted it to be very natural and I never wanted

people to be able to tell it was just me.  So I actually have two very lovely,

very talented body doubles that one always plays Liv and one always play Maddie, so if you ever see me hugging myself – that’s actually Emmy Buckner or Shelby Wulfert.  The reason I have such real responses is because I am working with another girl, but it is just me playing both Liv and Maddie, they just help me get into character. 

 

If the show was about triplets instead of twins what do you think the 3rd character’s personality be like?

 

I actually had to think about this for a show for Season Two.  I think probably the third character would be crippling shy and maybe into something like drawing or painting or something a little bit more artistic.  Or actually, you know what, maybe she would be a little bit dreamy, like a hippie – because you know we have like the Tom-Boy, the girlie-girl, and maybe there would be like, Summer.  Liv, Maddie, and Summer who’s all “the clouds”, because you have to have an extreme character with an extreme personality. 

 

 

Since you play two characters on the show, is it twice as hard to remember your lines

 

Fun fact - I don’t know what the technical term is for it, but I have a really crazy freakish memory like weird, shouldn’t work that way kind of memory, like I’ll remember the brand of like the cheese that my Uncle ate when I was three and he babysat me - that kind of memory; so I work very visually.  So it’s near photographic but a lot of people that have photographic memories remember literally everything and I just remember the things I decide to, so if I read something once, I’ll be able to recite it to you because I took a snapshot in my mind.  So it’s like selectively photographic.

 

 

When did you change your name from Chloe Hosterman to Dove Cameron and why?

 

So I changed my name when I was 14 years old.  I was originally born with the name Chloe and my dad always used to call me Dove and Dovey and Dovely.  He actually passed away right around the time I changed my name and so when I went into the business, it was my sort of way of honoring him.  Most of my family and Ryan (McCartan), who plays Diggie, who is my boyfriend in real life – they all call me Chloe, just cause it feels kind of natural; but in the business it’s Dove -but it is not a stage name it is to honor my dad who died before I made it big.  It’s my way of being able to honor him and keep him with me.

 

You were bullied a lot from 5th grade through high school?  Can you give an example of the bullying and tell us how you got through it?

 

I actually had a very interesting experience in school because I left school three different times for three different reasons.  The first time I left school was in second grade and it was because I was not fitting in with the class.  I was very introspective and very shy and I didn’t really learn like the rest of the kids.  I was very spacey, so I left school to be home-schooled in the second grade.  The second time I left school was in 7th grade because I got locked in a closet by a bunch of girls.  There was a specific group of girls that poured chocolate milk down my dress on my birthday and would cut my hair and put color on my clothes and trip me in the hallway.  I was shy and I was becoming more and more withdrawn and one day they locked me in a closet for a couple of hours and I didn’t get out until after school.  That was when my parents and I decided to pull me because it was just getting to bad.  I never got beat up but it was not a nice experience. 

 

Now that you are 18, will you stay in show business or will you go to college?  If so, what will you study?

 

I actually have a huge fear and disconnect from musical theater and acting and singing programs because I believe what gets people to the top is their unique approach to their craft.  If you think about the most well-known people, they are people that are so different than everyone else.  If you go to a university, they are teaching 30 people at a time, sometimes hundreds of people at a time, how to do it exactly the same way.  So, I think I will go to college, probably when Liv and Maddie is over but I will go to college to get my Master’s Degree in Business because I really want to be able to read contracts, understand what I’m getting into, and really be able to have a handle on my career, without needed to much support around that.

 

 

 

When did you start sewing and what is your favorite type of sewing project?

 

I think I started sewing when I was about 8 years old and honestly, my favorite type of project is

something that I can immediate wear the next day, because the reason I started sewing was

because I had such a distinct vision for what it is that I wanted to wear that I would look for it and

I would never find it, so I figured why not just make my own stuff.  So if I make it on Thursday and

wear it on Friday, that’s my favorite – so probably like skirts since they are like the easiest. They

are the most versatile. 

 

(Junior Reporter, Marissa Kucharski, made her a shirt).  You made me something! What a

sweetheart.  Oh my goodness – I’m actually going to wear this!  This is so cute!  Thank you

so much!

 

 

 

If you could fast forward 5-10 years – where do you hope to be in your career? 

What would be your dream come true? 

 

Honestly, my career has been on such a fast track.  A bunch of stuff happened that I thought

might never happen or might happen 20 years from now, so I kind of feel like I am getting everything

I wanted from this.  I think if I had my ideal world, I would transition after Liv and Maddie into strictly film. 

Do a couple films, play a bunch of dream roles, do some Broadway – I would really love to play Elsa in the Frozen Musical on Broadway.  It’s a Disney show, so I feel like that would be a good transition.  I would really love to do Wicked on Broadway as Glinda because that’s who Liv is actually based off of.  But then, honestly, then I want to get out of the business.  It was my dream and now I have experienced it and now I have this dream –baking is a huge passion of mine and so I really really see myself in about 10 years, owning a little bakeshop in whatever town I ended up in. I think I’m going to get out of L.A. and maybe move to a small place in California, maybe in the middle of the country somewhere.  Maybe Minnesota, that’s where my boyfriend’s from – I really want to open a bakeshop – that’s really my dream – have a family, settle down, have a life.

 

 

Do you have any pets?

 

I do.  I actually just moved out from the home me and my mother shared because I just turned 18.  My mother and I had a cat named Fern since I was about 3 years old.  I’m actually about to get a kitty of my own.  I’m going to name her Peanut Butter and I hope to get her around New Years.