Camren Bicondova Talks Catwoman and Gotham!
Camren Bicondova is a 15-year-old dancer and actress who's about to make a huge splash as the future Catwoman on Fox's Gotham!
In a recent interview with us, Camren dished on her past with dance and acting, as well as her upcoming appearances as Selina Kyle!
Camren Bicondova was born in San Diego, and started her dancing career there at the age of 5. She's been at it ever since.
When she was 8 years old, her mother took her to see the broadway musical Movin' Out. The experience helped Camren to discover that she wanted to dance professionally.
She later relocated to Hawaii, as her father in the military was stationed there, where she continued to take dance lessons.
In 2011, Camren became part of a dance crew called 8 Flavahz. The team appeared on America's Best Dance Crew in 2012, placing second in the competition.
"That was a really cool experience," Camren said. "I got to learn a lot about people I was working with and about the industry itself."
8 Flavahz went on to appear as dancers in a number of music videos, including Ciara's "Got Me Good." At the Kids' Choice Awards, Camren performed onstage with Jack Black, Christina Aguilera and Pitbull. She also served as an assistant for the Pulse On Tour.
After years of dancing in Hawaii, she moved to Los Angeles to be part of the dance industry. She worked professionally as a dancer for three years before she was bit by the acting bug.
Camren's dancing career opened doors for her as an actress.
"I got a little indy movie and I was cast as a dancer," she said. "They threw a couple of lines at me. I had never acted before, so it wasn't the best interpretation of the lines, but that's when I realized that acting seemed like a fun thing to do."
Camren started taking acting classes and her talents as an actress blossomed. This year, she was cast as Selina Kyle, the future Catwoman, in Fox's upcoming series Gotham. The show is a prequel of sorts to the Batman comics, films and television shows.
"Selina Kyle is a 14-year-old orphan who's a pickpocket and lives on the streets of Gotham," Camren said. "She's trying to survive in this world of danger and mystery. Gotham is about the journeys of the different villains and James Gordon throughout that time."
Before Gotham, Camren never knew that there was an extensive backstory behind the character of Batman and the world he lived in.
"I was always fan of Batman but I didn't know that there was this whole world that I was missing out on," Camren said. "I had no clue until I found out I got the role of Selina Kyle and I had to do some research."
To prepare for the role, Camren turned to classic incarnations of Batman, including the 1960s Batman series, starring Adam West, and the comic books.
"At first I was doing research on how people were playing Catwoman, but then I realized that I could pretty much do whatever I wanted with Selina Kyle because no one's ever done this young version of her before," she said. "I'm mainly focused on the comic books, but other than that I'm just doing my thing, going with the flow of what they give me in the scripts."
Though Camren isn't dancing in her new role, she says that her history with dance is integral to the way she plays Selina.
"I feel like if I didn't have training in dance, it would be harder for me to play this role," she said. "I mean, she becomes Catwoman. Her name is pretty self explanatory. Dancing has actually helped me become more confident in myself and I know how my body works, what works and what doesn't."
The role of Selina Kyle is very physical. Camren goes to great lengths to give her all when in comes to playing the character.
"I have to be very active," she said. "I work out daily and I've actually taken some parkour classes so I would be able to hopefully do some stunts. Liability issues stop me from doing most of them, but the ones that I can do I would love to do."
And just like her onscreen alter ego, Camren is definitely a cat person.
"A lot of people ask me if I'm a cat person or a dog person myself," she said. "I do have a cat and he's my best buddy."
Camren explained that the pilot episode, directed by executive producer Danny Cannon, has a very cinematic feel.
"I got to watch the pilot, and I feel like I'm watching a movie when I watch it," she said. "It's a very different take compared to other TV series, because when you'e watching a different TV series you just feel like you're watching a show."
In fact, Camren says that Gotham totally immerses you in the world it presents.
"You feel like you're watching something in person and you don't want it to stop," Camren said. "When the hour is up, you can't wait until the next episode airs because you want to find out whether there are new villains that are going to pop up. It's very unpredictable and I think people will like that and I think people will relate to it."
Gotham premieres September 22, 2014 on Fox. Camren urged both hardcore fans and interested newcomers to tune in.
"It's exciting!" Camren said. "I'm excited about Gotham because nobody's ever focused on the beginning of Batman before, and it reaches out to both the fanboys and the newcomers. For the people who have been fans of Batman since the beginning, some things will make more sense, and the people who like Batman but don't really know the story will understand it more."
To keep up with all of the latest from Camren Bicondova, be sure to check out her official website and social pages below! You can also join us at SweetyHigh.com to talk about all of your favorite superheroes and villains, and much much more!