Ella Anderson & Riele Downs Reveal Secrets About the "Henry Danger" Musical
Ella Anderson and Riele Downs are the epitome of cool as they enter the press tent at the second annual U.S. Nickelodeon SlimeFest in Chicago on Saturday (June 8), rocking neon and silver outfits like it was their job.
The Henry Danger stars have charmed fans since the show began in 2014, and the sitcom has now bypassed both iCarly and The Thundermans' 100-episode count, making it the longest-running live-action series in Nickelodeon history.
Seventeen chatted with the Nick stars about all things Henry Danger - the second half of season 5 premieres June 15 at 8 p.m. ET.
How was it filming the musical episode?
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The sure-to-be-unforgettable, hour-long special airs July 27 and will feature 26 original songs. Frankie Grande, brother of veteran Nickelodeon star, Ariana Grande, will reprise his role as villain Frankini, making it his fourth time on the show. (He was previously on two season 3 and one season 4 episodes.)
Ella and Riele described filming the special as both "crazy" and "wild," and that it took a little over three weeks to complete.
"The craziest thing is it was just so out of our comfort zones, for many of us," Ella said. "I'm not a singer or dancer ... but hanging out with Frankie definitely redeemed some of those things." At the risk of making a bad pun, the icing on the cake for Ella was that filming happened during her birthday. "So, that was fun shooting something so crazy."
Though Riele admitted she had some experience with dancing, she was still in the same boat at her co-star, agreeing that Frankie really helped make the experience memorable instead of chaotic. "Frankie is really fun. He’s so nice to us, and he’s very, very talented, too. So, working with him was really fun. Everyone really pulled out for it. We had a couple days to prepare before the musical episode, and everyone just really worked hard."
How has it been working with directors who are former Nickelodeon child stars?
Both iCarly's Nathan Kress and Drake & Josh's Allison Scagliotti have directed multiple episodes of Henry Danger - all three shows are part of the Dan Schneider universe. For current Nick stars, this makes a huge difference on set.
"They’re really nice," Ella shared, "and I think they come from a totally different place, from having been in our position."
Riele concurred and shared how having their unique perspective was helpful. "They know how to communicate to us really well." (Of course, this isn't to say non-former child star directors don't also communicate well. But getting notes from someone who has been through exactly what you're going through can make a huge difference.)
The girls revealed Nathan and Allison have given them good acting notes, which is "great insight" to have.
What has been your favorite "Chenry" moment so far on the series?
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"Chenry" is definitely the biggest ship on Henry Danger, even though Charlotte (Riele) and Henry (Jace Norman) are just friends. Fans can't get enough of the duo, and Nickelodeon loves teasing the romantic pairing.
After pondering five seasons' worth of Chenry, Riele liked a moment on the season 4 episode, "Flabber Gassed," in which Charlotte and Jasper (Sean Ryan Fox) control the bodies of Kid Danger (Jace Norman) and Captain Man (Cooper Barnes).
"That was [a] really fun friendship moment," Riele said. They had to do a ton of prep before filming that scene, since they needed to be in sync with each other to make it look like Riele could actually control Jace on-screen.
Hopefully, we'll get more cute Chenry moments during the rest of season 5!
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