POPULAR GIRL: ISABELLA BLAKE-THOMAS

Isabella Blake-Thomas’ new movie Secret Society of Second–Born Royals is exactly what we were waiting for! The film, which tells the story of a royal rebel young woman, is premiering TODAY at Disney + and is the perfect activity for the weekend. Adventure and lots of fun are already guaranteed!

Isabella plays Princess January, a second-born royal with superpowers that is confident, kind, and owns the most stylish wardrobe. We definitely need to make this friendship between us happens – And Isabella agrees with us, right?!

The young actress of 18 years old was born in London and started her acting career at the age of 5 when she was selected to present the television program Green Balloon Club! From then on, Isabella had the opportunity to play several incredible characters, such as Young Zelena in Once Upon A Time and Peggy Kendall in Game Shakers, all of which were essential for the development of her career.

Today she set with us to talk about the Secret Society of Second–Born Royals, her EP Painless (yes, she sings as well!!!!!) and many other cool things – She even told us a secret :P 

 

1. Tell us about the Secret Society of Second-Born Royals!

Secret Society is a magical movie that centers on friendship, overcoming obstacles, and dealing with new things in our lives. The story follows Sam, a rebel princess who discovers she has superpowers and her journey beating a villain. Along the way, she meets a group of fellow second born royals with superpowers, including January, and they all team together to make a classic but new-age Disney film.

 

 

2. Is Princess January someone you would be friends with?

Definitely. She’s actually just a make-believe version of myself. She is friendly and kind and happy. If I was friends with her, I feel like we would spend our time drinking tea, eating scones, and wearing tiaras. Her wardrobe is fantastic so I would definitely borrow all her clothes.

 

 

3. What was the hardest part of this role?

That would be the physical training that was involved in the stunts. I learned how to do parkour and how to breathe properly for diving and all those things are harder than you’d think. I pushed myself and showed me new limits. One of the hardest things to do was to jump onto a wall with both feet and no hands. I was extremely proud of myself when I accomplished it.

 

 

4. You released your debut EP Painless last year, what made you choose these 4 songs and what was the inspiration behind them?

I chose those songs because they felt more stripped down and raw than my previous releases. It showed a part of me that I was nervous about sharing. Someone that had been in pain and struggling with things that life was throwing me. As an artist, it’s always nerve-racking to release music because it is so personal. I was thrilled that people like my music and can relate to it.

 

 

5. You and your mom founded Mother & Daughter Entertainment, what led to the decision to form this production company?

My mum and I have worked together for my entire life and it was after she directed her first feature film that we decided to put a name and a mission statement to what we were doing. Making content that matters is close to my heart because I want to make sure that the films we are putting into the world is benefitting it and not hurting it. 

 

 

6. What is a topic you’d like to discuss/focus on next?

I want to make more projects that have powerful, leading female roles. It’s not about just showing women being strong in normal, everyday things but showing them in jobs that you wouldn’t typically picture a woman in. For example a female engineer or astronaut. These things shouldn’t be so unusual. Something that shows young girls they can really be anything they want. 

 

 

7. How did you become an official Ambassador of Suicide Awareness with Awareness Ties?

Suicide has taken family members and friends of mine and it’s heartbreaking. When someone is going through something that causes them to feel the need to end their life, it makes me think about the thoughts going through their heads. One of the sentences I use a lot is, It’s okay to not be okay. I share that message as much as I can because I want people to know that they’re not alone and there are others feeling the same way.

I tell people, regardless of whether I know them well or not, that they can always talk to me about anything. I am here to listen and not judge and help in any way I can.

 

 

8. What is your opinion on shows that battle with tough topics like 13 Reasons Why and Skins?

It’s interesting for me to look at how open my generation is when it comes to mental health. I’ve spoken to adults that tell me that, when they were younger, their friends didn’t struggle with these things. I tell them that, they did, it’s just that this generation is ready to speak out about it. From an acting perspective, I admire the cast of those shows hugely because, as an actor, we become the characters we play and we put ourselves in their shoes, and doing that is challenging.

 

 

9. If you could have any power, what would it be?

My power would be teleportation. I would love to be able to get somewhere instantly, without any travel time. I love traveling and, especially at the moment, miss being able to go anywhere in the world. I would want teleportation so I could visit 10 countries in a day and not waste time getting there.

 

 

10. What is the last text that you sent?

The last text I sent was to my mum. I was reading a script that we’d been sent and giving her notes. I was texting her one of my notes so I didn’t forget. It said, why did she suddenly believe that it was okay to have a stranger in her house.  My mum and I read scripts together a lot to get our different perspectives on the stories.

 

 

11. Guilty pleasure YouTuber/Show?

That would be Grey’s Anatomy. I just finished bingeing the show and I’m all caught up. I’m desperate for new episodes to come out so I can get back into the show and help my favorite characters make it through their groundbreaking surgeries. I feel like I’m a doctor from having watched so much of it.

 

 

12. Quand as-tu appris le français? 

Quand je suis né ! I started learning French at the same time I started learning English…when I was born. My mum has spoken to me in French and English my entire life so I’ve been around for as long as I can remember. My best friend is French so we chat to each other in French when we don’t want anyone else to know what we’re saying. I speak French, Spanish, English and American Sign Language (ASL).

 

 

13. Tell us a secret?

I am obsessed with raspberry dark chocolate. Like, actually obsessed. I could eat an entire bar in 5 minutes. I love the stuff. My two favorite chocolates are raspberry dark chocolate and the Werther’s originals caramels filled with chocolate. My mouth is watering. Now I want chocolate.

 

 

14. What does popular mean to you?

The first thing that comes to mind is the song from the musical Wicked. As a word, to me, popular means well-liked. It could be anything from music to a person. I do think that there’s lots of pressure on people to be “popular” regardless of your age. My advice for that is to stay true to who you want to be. If you can be confident, kind, and happy with yourself, you will shine an inner light brighter than the people who you see as “popular”.

 

 

15. Can you tell us about any other projects you have coming up?

I’m working on new music while in self-isolation and will be releasing that this year. Projects I worked on at the end of last year will be out as well. I filmed a movie just before Christmas called Evie Rose about a friendship I had with a 100-year-old woman, and that will be released soon. You can catch all of my new work on my social media @isabella_b_t 

 

 

See Isabella today on the Disney+ release of Secret Society of Second-Born Royals!