Former Disney star Alyson Stoner is speaking out about feeling pressure to have their first kiss onscreen as a child actor.
Stoner, who uses they/them pronouns, recalled in a recent episode of their “Dear Hollywood” podcast titled “A Child’s Body: Open Access” being told they were going to kiss Dylan and Cole Sprouse, then stars of the Disney Channel series “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.”
Stoner said they felt obligated to perform the scene, because they had “already booked the role of Max” and filmed a previous episode.
“Writers and executives might decide to make your character do anything on the next episode and it’s assumed that you’re going to agree to whatever scripted,” Stoner said. “My first kiss and several of the times I experienced kissing all happened on camera.”
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“Did I know that when I auditioned for Max? No,” the actor, now 30, continued. “Was I ready for that? No.”
“I felt young and uncomfortable but I was already under contract and I didn’t want to be difficult especially because I’m only a recurring role, like closer to a guest star than a lead with less clout.”
Stoner said they justified it to themselves as just being a part of the job being an actor.
“I felt like, ‘This is part of my job. I chose to act and audition for this project. It’s only a character.’ So in that way, I justified like, ‘OK, I can have my kiss here and then I’ll have my own separate first kiss at some point.'”
Alyson Stoner recalled not being ready for their first kiss to be on camera while working on “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” with Cole and Dylan Sprouse. (David Livingston/Getty Images)
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The overall theme of the episode of the podcast focused on Stoner reflecting on how child actors have a “lack of control over your body.”
The “Camp Rock” star shared an alarming moment when they were cornered by someone in a public bathroom seeking a photo with the star.
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“When I was ten, someone walked in on me using the restroom and demanded I take a photo while I was peeing,” they recalled. “And I froze in embarrassment and fear. I said something like ‘Please let me finish first, and then we can do this outside.’ I don’t think they felt great about their own reaction and behavior, but something came over them. And not wanting to be troublesome or leave a bad impression, I walked out with a smile and took the photo.”
Stoner shared that a fan followed them into the bathroom when they were just 10 years old to demand a photo. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for dcp)
Stoner also remembered, they “used to be approached by grown men who had stacks of photos of my face in their car trunks and they’d demand that I’d sign all of the photos so they could sell them on eBay.”
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Stoner described themselves having to be “hyper-vigilant” at a young age and enduring a stalker as well as, according to them, a kidnapping attempt by someone pretending to be working with the Make-A-Wish foundation seeking a meeting with them.