Debby Ryan is mostly known for her role as Bailey in ‘The Suite Life on Deck’. However, it seems that this is just the beginning for the beautiful and talented 18-year-old actress and singer. Sitting down for a chat with MF Magazine, Debby revealed that she decided to pursue acting when she was ten. “I realized that every amount of work and sacrifice was worth that moment: sitting by a velvet curtain, pulsing with the adrenaline of preparing to get lost in another world, and take people with me. I wanted to use every minute of free time between school, chores, dance, and homework to immerse myself in that realm. I found myself captivated with spending hours studying characters and acting styles, running lines, go to bed early so I could rehearse before school. That, to me, was better than going to the mall, and worth not having free time,” she says.
Debby started acting in professional theatres at the age of seven, yet she became famous for her role as Bailey Pickett in the Disney series ‘The Suite Life on Deck’ that finished its run in May this year. Speaking about the end of the show and missing her cast mates, the actress told MF that, “I realized I talk to at least one person or another from Suite Life almost every day. When you work with a group of people for 9 to 12 hours for three of some of the most monumental years of your life, it would be pretty hard not to form bonds. You see so many sides of these people, more often than family sometimes. Honestly, the cast and crew of Suite Life was such a diverse collection of people with so many different skills and experiences; I’m very excited to see where everyone goes from here.”
Still, things are going great for Debby who landed her own Disney Channel series called ‘Jessie’ set to have its debut this fall. “I’m proud – watching this artful machine with my name on it. Disbelief – that I get to come to work everyday and do what I do. Restless – always looking for some way to make it better. Anxious – can’t wait to show my fans what I’ve been pouring my heart into for the last seven months. Developing this project was some of the most fun work I’ve ever done. Now that we are in production, it’s not only meeting, but actually exceeding my exceptions. It already feels like a family, of such talented people,” Ryan says.
On whether she relates or not to this new character, Debby confesses that ‘Jessie’ is cooler. “Yeah, I mean, one of my favorite things about this role is that I get to play someone who was raised sort of similarly to my own upbringing. Except Jessie is a much cooler version of myself. She’s sweetly strong; confident in her strength that she doesn’t feel the need to try and prove it all the time. Plus, she’s a funny chick. You know, we both babysat growing up and it seems to have really helped prepare us for the roles we’ve just found ourselves in. Jessie, as the nanny of 4 crazy kids with the world at their fingertips. Myself, at the helm of a young cast who’s brand new to the sitcom world. We both grew up around the military world, and family is very important to us. Both Jessie and I have been encouraged from a young age to find our strength, and fight for the things we believe in,” the young actress told the magazine.
Ryan reveals that one of the actresses she looks up to is Amanda Bynes. She also says that, “Emma Stone, Tina Fey, Sandra Bullock, Zooey Deschanel… Growing up, I watched a lot of Amanda Bynes. There’s something about a girl who can lose themselves in a role, comedy in particular, in such a ridiculous but genuine and earnest way. Smart, professional, directably, and fearless. Also, I totally see Tina Fey’s business sense as a road map to my ideal career. I met Emma Stone at a premiere very briefly, and was enamored by her approachability. Some people fake it on screen. She’s genuinely relatable, but still inherently cool. Zoe Saldana’s that way as well. That’s such a cool balance.”
The teen idol has some words of advice for all young girls in the world who feel lost. “I don’t think you ever fully figure yourself out, because you are always growing and changing. Own that! Find the joy in surprising yourself. Explore the world around you and finding out how you feel about what you see. Try out new hobbies, styles, foods, cultures.. see what sticks. Its natural if you don’t know just yet what you stand for, but you need to know what you stand against. Have an anchor so life doesn’t toss you around. It’s good to have a mentor who has achieved what you want to achieve. They can help you so much and you can learn from their mistakes,” Debby concluded.
Photos courtesy of MF Magazine
