SA superfan, 10, uber excited to catch up with Disney's 'Descendants 2' cast

The Disney Original movie Descendants 2 starts on M-Net's Disney Channel today. Three of the film's stars, Dove Cameron, Cameron Boyce and Thomas Doherty, were in town this week to promote the screening of the movie.

It's been 10-year-old Asha Pitman's dream to meet Dove Cameron, her favourite actress. So when the opportunity came to interview her, she grabbed it:

"I waited nervously with the other (adult) journalists to meet the Disney stars and when they walked into the room I almost fainted with excitement. Dove Cameron noticed me immediately and told me I had great teeth and a lovely smile.

Then I got to ask her a few questions."

ASHA PITMAN: What made you want to be actors?

DOVE CAMERON: I always wanted to be a part of the shared common experience that film provides. It pulls your heartstrings, it makes you laugh, it elicits all your emotions. Film helps you feel less alone.

THOMAS DOHERTY: Acting is just good fun. You experience what it's like to be different people, you get to travel and meet lots of people. It's playing dress-up for a living.

AP: What's it like to have a talking dog?

CAMERON BOYCE: Often I'd be on set and have this weird realisation: ''I'm talking to a dog right now." The scenes came out way better than I thought.

WATCH the trailer for Descendants 2

AP: What's been your favourite role so far?

DC: Definitely Mel. I had incredible creative freedom with her character. The director said, do anything you want with her within the realm of the film. I got to know myself so much through exploring her. My second favourite is Amber in Hairspray.

AP: What's it like playing the evil character?

TD: Every human has the propensity to express some dark side. It's fun to tap into that in a controlled environment. At first I wanted Harry to be the most evil villain in the whole world, but he is a Disney character, so he's actually evil lite.

AP: What is the message of the film?

DC: It's important for people to feel safe enough to express their true selves. It's important to instil into kids that their natural inclinations meet expectations - that they're good enough and they should surround themselves with people who celebrate this. If they do that they'll become stronger adults.

THE STORY BEHIND DESCENDANTS 2

The story deepens in the music-driven sequel to the global smash hit Descendants, as the teenage sons and daughters of Disney's most infamous villains - Mal, played by Dove Cameron, Evie, played by Sofia Carson, Carlos, played by Cameron Boyce and Jay, played by Booboo Stewart - who are also known as Villain Kids or VKs - try to find their place in idyllic Auradon.

When the pressure to be royally perfect becomes too much for Mal, she returns to her rotten roots on the Isle of the Lost, where her arch enemy Uma, played by China Anne McClain, the daughter of Ursula, has taken her spot as self-proclaimed queen of the rundown town.

• This article was originally published in The Times.