Keslee Blalock has been busy lately and has two great projects coming out. BSCKids was able to get some time with Keslee to talk about Family Camp and Ivy & Bean and her roles in each of them.
KESLEE BLALOCK is a young actress from Dallas, TX soon to star as Ivy in Netflix’s highly anticipated film series “Ivy & Bean” based off the New York Times bestselling book series, out early summer. She will star alongside Jane Lynch and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family). Also, she will soon be seen co-starring in the family faith based film from the Skit Guys, “Family Camp,” coming to theaters May 13th.
BSCKids: So we hear you are starring as Ivy in the Netflix Ivy & Bean series, tell us a bit about how you got the role… Were you familiar with the books?
Keslee Blalock: Yes, I play the role of Ivy! I still can’t believe it. I first auditioned for this project when I was 7 years old. It wasn’t until I was 9 years old that I booked it and we started filming. Covid pushed so many productions. I was so excited when I first heard they were bringing Ivy and Bean to life. I am very familiar with this book series, It’s super popular at my school.
How would you describe Ivy and do you feel like you have anything in common with Ivy?
Ivy is a very smart girl who loves to read, has great big ideas, loves to use her imagination and is a loyal friend who always sticks up for what she believes in. Ivy and I have so much in common. We both love to play pretend and we are both super girly and love to wear dresses but both are still brave enough to catch a frog with our bare hands; that is one of my favorite things to do in the summertime. When it comes to the part of Ivy where she loves to read for fun, that’s where we aren’t the same. Not a lot of people know this about me but I am dyslexic, so reading is harder for me. I really enjoy stories and using my imagination but I only sit down to read when I have to.
What has been the hardest part so far of playing the character of Ivy? Have Jane Lynch and Jesse Tyler Ferguson taught you any tips or tricks you can share?
Playing Ivy hasn’t been hard at all. It has actually been the best experience of my life. It was tough being away from my siblings and family for 6 months. Ivy and Bean films in Canada and due to covid restrictions and the border being closed during filming, my family wasn’t able to come see me and my mom. We Facetimed them all the time so that really helped plus being on set with my best friends every day all day made the time fly by so fast. I am so glad that the border is open again so they can come visit next time. Jane Lynch and Jesse Tyler Ferguson are so talented and I loved watching them work. They made every scene so fun and easy and so funny! I can’t wait for everyone to see them in Ivy and Bean. Neither of them really taught me any tricks really but Jesse was so funny doing all of our scenes and he had everyone laughing sometimes even before they would call cut!
Have there been any behind the scenes stories you can tell us about?
I really like wolves. On the first day of filming I was on break between scenes. So I asked one of the wardrobe assistants if she wanted to play wolves with me and she said YES. So we started a wolf pack. My wolf pack grew super fast. After that, everywhere I walked on set everyone would howl at me to say hello! It was so much fun because I could just open my trailer door while I was on lunch and howl real loud then shortly after you could hear howls coming from all over!
What is your favorite book series that you would want made into a series?
There is this Book called “Fish in a Tree”. I would love to see this become a movie! I can really relate to this story and I feel like so many kids would benefit from its message. The book is about a girl named Ally who is a 6th grade girl who is dyslexic and is embarrassed by her struggles with reading but with the help of a kind teacher learns that great minds don’t all think alike. A quote from the book says “Everybody is smart in different ways, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid”. If this is made into a movie I hope I get to play Ally!
If you could guest star in another Netflix series past or present, which one would it be and why?
It would for sure be Stranger Things! Millie Bobby Brown is my favorite actress!
For your new movie Family Camp which is out May 13th … Tell us a bit about your character?
I play Barb Sanders who is the daughter of Eddie and Victoria Sanders and fraternal twin to Ed Jr. Barb is a sheltered homeschool kid who thinks she knows it all. And why wouldn’t she, being the daughter of Eddie, the man who has an answer for everything.
What was the best thing about filming Family Camp?
Filming Family Camp was so much fun because everyone on set was so nice and happy all the time. Maybe it was because people were just happy to be around other humans again after covid, it was awesome. Everyone stayed in the same hotel so at night everyone would go to the pool or hang out by the fire pit and I loved catching the big frogs that lived around there.
Have you ever been to camp? If so tell us about your experience.
Well, if you count filming Family Camp during the summer at a REAL CAMP, going to camp then YES. That is the only camp I have gone to but I can tell you about this one time during one of our night shoots you could hear packs of wolves howling all around us. It was so cool and kind of creepy because the woods were super dark.
What is your favorite thing about social media?
My favorite thing is that I still feel connected to my friends and family when they are all in different places. I love to see other peoples updates and comments and I love to share things going on in my life too, like what I am working on, where I am going and regular day to day stuff like my pets and just hanging out.
What is something the people would be surprised to learn about you?
There are a few things people would be surprised to learn about me. One thing everyone seems shocked about is that I have 5 siblings and all of our names start with a K.
Special thanks to Keslee and you can check out the trailer for Family Camp below.
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