Diego Velazquez Dishes On The Thundermans!
Diego Velazquez is one of the stars of the new Nickelodeon show, The Thundermans! In the show, Diego plays Billy Thunderman, the young son in a superhero family trying to live a normal suburban life!
We spoke with Diego about how he came to play the role of Billy Thunderman, and why being a part of the Thundermans cast is such a blast!
Diego Velazquez realized he wanted to be an actor 4 years ago when he and his father saw a casting call for the film Extraordinary Measures, starring Harrison Ford and Keri Russell, on TV.
Diego's audition secured him the role of Patrick in the film, so he came with his mom to L.A. to pursue his acting career.
In Diego's latest role, he plays Billy Thunderman on the new Nickelodeon show The Thundermans!
"Billy is not the smartest kid," Diego said. "He kind of lives on his own planet. It's not that he's dumb, he's just a little bit out of it."
Billy is also a huge fan of the Junior Super Troopers, a group that is basically the Boy Scouts of the superhero world. He wants to be the best Junior Super Trooper he can be, even though he looks up to his big brother, Max, who aspires to be a super villain.
He's also a fan of Dr. Colosso, a former super villain who was defeated by Billy's dad, and now lives in the body of a bunny within Max's evil lair.
"He is very fun to work with, but it's definitely hard," Diego said of filming the Dr. Colosso scenes. "He's a puppet, and we have three guys manning the puppet so filming can be a hassle, but it's also really rewarding in the end when we get to see him in a few episode. It definitely looks cool."
Billy Thunderman's superpower is his super speed, but if Diego were a superhero he'd want a few unique powers of his own.
"I'd have teleportation because you could immediately be anywhere in the world if you wanted," he said. "Also super strength because you'd be able to pick up anything and do pretty much anything you want."
Still, Diego relates to his Thundermans character.
"I'm like Billy because if I get into something, I almost can't let go if it," Diego said. "Billy is into Junior Super Troopers, and he'll never quit and always be with them. I'm like that. I just don't want to quit, I won't stop, I'll be in it forever."
His favorite moment to film so far was a scene in the second episode of the show.
"There's a scene where the trash becomes 10 feet high," he said. "We got to be in the scene and watch it happen right there instead of having to watch it from offset. It was really fun."
He also was excited to finally get to wear a superhero costume of his own on the last day of filming for the first season!
"What else got me into acting is when I was super little, I didn't want to play with toys. I always wanted costumes instead. That's all I would do," Diego explained.
Costumes allowed Diego to totally immerse himself in his characters.
"If I was dressed up in my favorite Peter Pan costume, and my mom would say 'Diego, get yourself some breakfast,' I wouldn't respond," Diego said. "I would when she'd finally go 'Ok, Peter Pan, get yourself some breakfast.'"
Be sure to tune into The Thundermans Saturday nights on Nickelodeon to see Diego Velazquez and the rest of the cast!
Click here to read our interview with Billy's costar Kira Kosarin and stay tuned for interviews with more of the Thundermans cast!
Who is your favorite Thundermans character? Join us at Sweety High and share all of your favorite photos and videos from your favorite Nick shows!