Maia Kealoha, 8, stars in 'Lilo & Stitch.' Now she wants to work with Adam Sandler.
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Young new star, Maia Kealoha joins Stitch from 'Lilo & Stitch'
Hollywood's newest young star, Maia Kealoha, joins Stitch in studio to talk new remake 'Lilo & Stitch'
NEW YORK − Maia Kealoha is promoting her film debut, a starring role in Disney's live-action remake of 2002's animated hit "Lilo & Stitch." Sitting in the USA TODAY studio next to an animatronic Stitch, the actress recalls her audition process with a level of excitement you would expect from an 8-year-old.
"Do you want to know a fun fact?" the Hawaii native asks. "It was my first trip to Disneyland and that's where we got the callback for the chemistry reads. And it actually snowed, like real snow, in Disneyland."
Snow is rare in Anaheim, California. It's also rare for a young child to make her silver-screen debut in a major Disney movie. But in this instance, it was partly by design.
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'I felt like some of her precociousness and her maturation over the course of the film really only made sense for a kid that was actually that young,' director Dean Fleischer Camp says. 'I always felt like we needed a real young kid for this, ideally one who hasn't become an actor and had their cuteness weaponized toward booking commercials.
"Maia was 5 when she sent her tape and we thought it was really promising. But then, when she walked into the room for her callback, it was very clear to all of us that she was the front-runner. Unlike a lot of the kids we saw, she was dragging her parents to these auditions and not the other way around."
Camp remembers how Kealoha was outgoing and "lit up the room when she walked in." She carries that same energy while talking about the film, her future and literally any other topic that comes up.
"Oh, my gosh, I would love to be in a movie with Jenna Ortega and Adam Sandler," she says when asked about actors she looks up to. She adds that Sandler "is a funny one" and cites "Happy Gilmore" as her favorite film of his.
In "Lilo & Stitch," Kealoha is a part of a cast that includes Hannah Waddingham, Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen. Sydney Agudong plays her big sister/guardian Nani. Tia Carrere, who voiced Nani in the original, appears in the new film as the social worker Mrs. Kekoa. Chris Sanders reprises his role as the voice of Stitch.
"(Galifianakis) is really funny and creative and he just told me to keep going on with my dreams," Kealoha recalls. "Also, Sydney (Agudong) taught me how to be a great big sister now that I have a little brother. She's just a great role model."
Kealoha says it was "amazing" to watch the movie at the premiere and she hopes to act more.
"I would like to do my own TV show," she says confidently. "Maybe like an action movie or 'M3GAN 3' or maybe a 'Lilo & Stitch 2.' Bing, bang, boom, let's go!"
Kealoha laughs as she makes the "boom" noise and animatronic Stitch nods in approval. At least if Disney is looking to make a sequel, its stars are already on board.
Contributing: Patrick Ryan
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