Disney Channel's Genevieve Hannelius Reveals Why She Took a Step Back From Acting
Genevieve Hannelius is reflecting on her experience with child stardom.
The 26-year-old actress was notably on various Disney Channel shows such as Good Luck Charlie, Sonny with a Chance, Jessie, and Dog with a Blog, starting at the age of 7.
Now, she is explaining her decision to take a step back from the spotlight.
“My time at Disney was always really positive and really fun. I know people have had so many different experiences working for Disney or being a child actor, and it does have its challenges and it also is kind of a bizarre thing to do. It’s not a childhood at all. It has affected me in certain ways for sure. But for the most part, my experience was really positive,” she told People.
“But I wanted to have different experiences, new experiences. I had been doing it for so long at that point, so when that transition happened, I was ready. That was something I really wanted — to grow up, have my own experiences, and not have it all be public,” she added.
She also reflected on what it was like to adjust socially after being homeschooled and experiencing fame at a young age.
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“I was like, ‘Wait, people are drinking and partying and having fun, and I didn’t know this was going on. I think it was tricky at first,” she adds. “People made assumptions about me because they knew who I was. Some maybe thought, ‘She doesn’t need friends.’ But the truth was, I definitely struggled with trying to fit in, especially in high school,” she said.
Genevieve said she needed to take the time to find herself after centering her identity around acting as a child.
“I had been working for so many years, and stepping back as an adult allowed me to take the time to really ask myself, ‘Is this what I truly want to do? It was so important to check in with myself, and I encourage everyone to take a step back and reassess their path as they get older. It’s a valuable part of personal growth,” she explained.
Genevieve later went on to study at Sarah Lawrence College, and now lives in New York City. Currently, she has returned to the acting world, as she is in an off-Broadway production of a show titled S—.Meet.Fan.
“I’d never done it, and I just kind of challenged myself. So being able to do an Off-Broadway play that I did over the fall and winter was such a bucket-list moment. I got to work with so many amazing actors, and that’s a space I really want to continue working in,” she said of the experience.
She continued, “I learned so much doing theater because it is such a different experience than TV and film,. I think the biggest thing I learned is just being in the moment. When you’re doing TV and film, everything is a setup and there’s a lot of waiting to film something, and it’s a little more precise in that way. With live theater, it’s spontaneous and it’s in the moment, and whatever happens was meant to happen. You kind of have this interaction with the audience. So it really taught me a lot of things, but mostly I think just to trust myself as an actor.”
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