As Jack Griffo and Kira Kosarin return to Nickelodeon for The Thundermans: Undercover, they speak to Melissa Nathoo about their much-needed time away from the show, coming back and directing, and address fans wanting them to be a couple. Report by Nathoom. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00We don't like each other.
00:01This would break the internet.
00:03I am married, but my husband's name is Max.
00:05All right, we're gonna be goofballs today.
00:06We're gonna be 15 again.
00:07Obviously, you guys are back with Thundermans Undercover this time.
00:12You obviously had a little hiatus,
00:14because I was just saying to you guys when I came in,
00:15I spoke to you seven years ago for Thundermans,
00:19and then that was, what, 2018 when it finished?
00:21So, yeah, the show finished airing in 2018,
00:24and then, yeah, we had five or six years off,
00:26and then we made the movie, Thundermans Return.
00:29That was our big sort of, like, oh, my gosh, we're back reunion.
00:32So then picking up a few months later to do the series,
00:35we really kind of just, like, hit the ground running,
00:37got right to it, kind of felt like no time had passed.
00:39The hiatus, though, was that a nice chance for you
00:42to kind of reset before coming back into this?
00:44100%. We both needed it.
00:46I think so. I think after doing 103 episodes of a show as a child.
00:51From, like, 15 to 20, basically, like, we needed to go be people.
00:55Yeah, I think we didn't really know who we were at all.
00:58I think, especially in my acting work,
01:00I feel like my character was, you know,
01:03bleeding into all my work that I was doing,
01:05and so I kind of had to extrapolate, like,
01:07or kind of dissect, like, who am I, Jack?
01:11And, you know, and we did that work on ourself and came back,
01:15and now, like, we have so much more to give to the characters
01:18because we're, like, full adults now,
01:19and it's a crazy opportunity, so it's amazing.
01:21You are full adults.
01:23But I know with coming, with being full adults,
01:26you also get, like, a kind of self-consciousness.
01:29You know, when you're a child, you, like, you do whatever,
01:32you don't care who's watching, whatever you're doing,
01:34and then you get to a certain part of your life
01:36where you're, like, oh, I'm more self-conscious,
01:37and then you get to my age and you're, like, you don't care again.
01:40But coming back into, like, doing this,
01:42is there anything where you felt, like,
01:44oh, my God, I feel, like, silly doing this again,
01:47or is it just it's so natural for you because you grew up doing it?
01:51It's natural. I mean, we definitely do have more of an awareness
01:53of the way that people perceive us now.
01:55Like, I know, but we also did back then
01:57because we were on TV and reading comments from people.
01:59So, like, the first season, we were very un-self-aware.
02:01But by the time season one had aired,
02:03we were reading thousands of comments about ourselves a day.
02:05So I feel like that started pretty young.
02:08There's definitely an awareness of, like, you know,
02:10what this looks like to people.
02:12But, you know, you have to commit.
02:13You have to be silly.
02:13You have to be, like, willing to do the thing.
02:16And, you know, we're very grateful to have this job.
02:17So I think we're both pretty good at just being, like,
02:18all right, we're going to be goofballs today.
02:20We're going to be 15 again.
02:21Like, that's the job, you know?
02:22Yeah, it's still goofy.
02:24And there is a little bit, yes, what you're saying of, like,
02:27maybe judging yourself a little bit.
02:28But I think the storyline in itself and the synopsis
02:32is so fresh and new.
02:34And Keira and I sort of come in with a new perspective.
02:38You know, we're Chloe's guardians now.
02:40And we're really stepping into these more adult, mature roles.
02:44And so while we are going back, it still
02:47feels like we're going forward.
02:49Plus, getting to work on the show as an executive producer
02:51means it's like we don't feel like we've gone backwards.
02:53It very much feels like a new path forwards, which is nice.
02:57Because there is a fear of that when
02:58you go back to something in the past of sort of feeling
03:00like you're moving the wrong direction.
03:01But this has all very much felt like a new endeavor
03:04creatively and professionally.
03:05Yeah.
03:06Am I right in thinking you're also
03:07making your directorial debut on one of the episodes?
03:10Yeah, I directed episode 113, Prank You Next,
03:13which is coming out.
03:14I guess I don't know when it's coming out here.
03:16But it is in the first chunk of episodes,
03:17I think, that I guess could always change.
03:19But yeah.
03:19How was it?
03:20It was wonderful.
03:21It was fabulous.
03:22It was really great.
03:22It was also my birthday, so it was a crazy week.
03:25But yeah, it was really wonderful.
03:27It's something that I've been wanting to do for a long time.
03:29And you know, it's a big task to take on.
03:32It was definitely nerve wracking.
03:33And I really wanted to be, you know,
03:35I didn't want to just get by and be
03:36the actor who gets to direct because they're
03:38one of the actors.
03:39And like, it's a fine week.
03:40And I wanted to be a really good director
03:42because I want to do this on other shows
03:43and have a career out of it.
03:45So I took it really seriously.
03:47And I was definitely stressed.
03:48But in the end, it was a really wonderful experience.
03:49I think it's a great one to like, start with.
03:52You know it so well.
03:54To start with them, you know.
03:55To start with actors who I know so well.
03:56It wasn't difficult to work with him.
03:58It was the best way that we ever get
04:00to work together is with redirecting him.
04:02Because I know his strengths as an actor.
04:04And we know how to kind of communicate in that way.
04:07And I'm lucky that he gave me the trust as a director
04:10to let me kind of pull those strings
04:12and trust me to not make him look stupid in the episode.
04:15You said you were like brother and sister
04:16like when I interviewed you before.
04:18So I imagine like siblings,
04:20like when you've got to listen to like
04:21what your sister's saying to you.
04:23I wasn't sure what it was like.
04:25You know, I had the best time that week.
04:27And it was really great to see Kira do that.
04:29I think so.
04:30And yeah, like working.
04:32We work together so closely already.
04:34And so now she's doing this other thing.
04:37And yeah, it was a really cool week.
04:39When you came over last time,
04:41we talked so much about how much the fans
04:45love you two together.
04:46And they've named you Kira.
04:48Oh, I'm not Kira. Yikes.
04:50Do you think they finally made their peace?
04:51Because you got married last year.
04:53I got married but my husband's name is Max.
04:55Oh no.
04:56So no, it's not helped the rumors.
04:58Have they made their peace?
05:00Have the fans made peace with the fact
05:01that we've never been and will never be a couple?
05:03It's just so funny because it's never ever been that way.
05:07We don't like each other.
05:09As people, it wouldn't happen.
05:11We don't have enough in common
05:13to like ever want to make that happen.
05:14I was watching Mack Hines.
05:16We like each other like siblings.
05:17That was very fit in our roles.
05:19And then all the comments were still,
05:21Kira forever, Kira forever.
05:23To be fair, we did play into it with that one time
05:25we posted photos in a wedding dress and tux
05:26because we knew we had to get engagement.
05:29Because it was just such a thing that people talked about.
05:31And we were dressed for an episode.
05:34And we were like, oh my gosh,
05:36this would break the internet, sure enough.
05:38No, people have moved on from that, luckily.
05:40But yes, me marrying a man named Max
05:42has made it very confusing.
05:44People do think it's him,
05:46especially because my husband's very offline.
05:48It's like, you truly can't find a photo of him
05:50in the last four years.
05:51And the couple photos online are from when we first met.
05:53And he doesn't look like that anymore.
05:54Anyway, so when you do see him on my Instagram,
05:56he's usually like a blurry figure in the background.
05:58So everyone does think,
05:59actually, they don't even think it's you.
06:00They think it's Jace Norman for some reason.
06:02Everyone thinks Jace and I were in love.
06:04And now we don't follow each other.
06:06And so we have this huge falling out.
06:07But we just like, we were never friends.
06:09We just like made an episode of TV together once
06:11years ago, like as teenagers.
06:12But the internet takes stories of the ones we love.
06:14Exactly, the internet is its own beast.
06:16I've learned to stop trying to control it.
06:18It is what it is.
06:19Right, but you guys,
06:20I think everyone is going to be very happy
06:22to see you back together as the Thundermans.
06:24We're back, baby.
06:25You are back.
06:26So yes, I am looking forward to
06:28seeing also what comes for you next.
06:30Yeah.
06:31Because it sounds like you're on the right path, guys.
06:34It's nice to see you again.
06:35It's nice to see you.
06:36Come back to the UK a bit more often, guys.
06:38Yes, I'd love to.
06:39Come back.
06:40Lovely to see you.
06:41Lovely to see you.
06:42Great to see you.