Paris Berelc can do it all. From stunt training to Reiki, she dives headfirst into her endeavors. She began with a rigorous background in gymnastics at a young age to now leading in films. She shares her journey of growing up with your fans and what to expect in the future. We sat down with the actress in anticipation of her latest film Kissing is the Easy Part steaming February 13 on Tubi.
Daphne Mangin: From starting acting as a young teen to now being an adult, what has been the most challenging part of that transition?
Pars Berelc: I would say the mindset of me growing up, but also still having a young audience because I started when I was 14. When I was doing Alexa and Katie, I was 18 to 21, but because of Netflix and streaming, you know, there’s people who watch me who are my age, 27, and there’s people who watch me who are four watching the show for the first time. So I guess giving myself the freedom and space to be an artist and try new things that aren’t really in the kid or family genre I think that’s probably the most difficult thing of just being like I am grown up now, I do different things and edgier things, maybe a Rated R thing. Also making sure that I am perceiving myself correctly on social media is another challenge.
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DM: So the balance of staying true to yourself?
PB: Yeah there’s so many young girls that follow me and so I really try to make sure that I’m presenting myself as a role model, but also there’s my authentic self and talking about the things I want to talk about. It’s like a weird balance. Sometimes there’s a little mask that needs to go on, but you have to wear a mask no matter what in certain situations.
DM: You have really good comedic timing in your roles. Can we expect to see more rom-coms in the future?
PB: Yeah I love rom-coms. They’re one of my favorite things to do. Comedy to me is just so fun and I love improving. I love it when my scene partner can also do improv because the take can go on forever, but there is a rom-com coming up on February 13.
DM: Can you tell us more about that?
PB: It’s called Kissing is the Easy Part. It’ll be on Tubi and Asher Angel is in it. I love him so much. He’s like my family, brother— he’s so awesome and was so easy to work with. We shot in the summertime last year and I can’t believe it’s finally coming out. I feel like we shot it years ago, but we didn’t, but me and him have started doing little interviews and it’s been fun. I haven’t seen any of it yet so I’m really excited.
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DM: Do you have a funny memory on set? Or something memorable?
PB: Yeah on our last shooting date, Hayley, who plays one of my best friends in the movie, she made all of these friendship bracelets for everyone and it was really really sweet and I still have it and still wear it. That was a really special moment.
DM: So I know there’s a lot of downtime in between takes on set. What did you do to pass time?
PB: Actually this was a funny moment on set. So me and Asher’s trailers were connected and Asher’s like super fit, works out all day. [laughs] I was sitting in my trailer and I was just looking at something and I feel the trailer shaking and I can hear thumping and I’m like, “What is going on?” So I text him and I’m like, “Dude are you working out right now?” He’s like, “Yeah.” [laughs] He’s doing like 500 pushups a day, 500 sit-ups a day. I’m like, “You’re insane,” and I would literally feel the trailer shake because he would be working out while we were in-between scenes.
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DM: You’re like, “Can you keep it down?” [laughs]
PB: Yeah [laughs]
DM: What project had your favorite wardrobe? And did you ever get to keep anything in it?
PB: My favorite wardrobe was probably Alexa and Katie and Do Revenge.
DM: Love the costumes in that movie.
PB: The costumes in Do Revenge were pretty spectacular. I loved the ones on Alexa and Katie too. Dahlia did such an amazing job and I actually did get to keep a lot of stuff from Alexa and Katie. I didn’t get to keep anything from Do Revenge, but that’s fine. [laughs]
DM: I heard you do stunt training. Are there any specific disciplines within it you enjoy the most?
PB: I was a gymnast before and so transferring gymnastics to stunt training was really fun for me. It was easier for me to pick up on, which was nice. I love in stunt training, it’s a commitment. You want to learn the steps and you want to make sure you know the choreography and you do it right so you don’t get hurt and the other person doesn’t get hurt. I love that discipline of it, like yeah it’s fun for filming, but it’s still serious like how I would take gymnastics. If you don’t do something right, you can get hurt. So make sure you are committed to doing it properly. I also love the trust aspect of it. I have to trust myself to know what I’m doing, but also trust the other person.
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DM: It sounds like it’s a choreographed dance.
PB: Yeah it is like choreography really, like you’re learning the steps of your foot goes here, and you go like this [swings]. I think it’s just a really fun thing to learn how to do honestly event if you don’t do anything with it, I think stunt training is just awesome.
DM: I bet your boyfriend, who’s a sports therapist, give you some tips on injury prevention and recovery.
PB: He helps me with my pain [laughs] Yes I learn a lot from him in terms of recovery and just taking care of my body because when I was a kid, recovery was not really a thing in gymnastics. We kind of just kept going until something broke. So I do love that now there are so many resources and it’s talked about more. He has taught me a lot and it’s nice to live at home with a sports therapist.
DM: You’re like, “Can you give me a massage?” [laughs]
PB: Yeah I’m like, “Can you do 20 minutes on my neck please?” [laughs]
DM: Is there a genre you’d love to explore in the future that you haven’t done yet?
PB: I’d really love to do an action movie. That’s my one thing I still want to do. A new concept. I would love my Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson moment because I loved watching them in those movies and they were both doing their own stunts. So action movie…
DM: We’re manifesting.
PB: We’re manifesting! I’m putting it out there.
DM: You’ve worked with acting legends like Adam Sandler and Tiffani Theissen. Did you receive any valuable advice from working with them or would you like to share anything you learned from working with them?
PB: What I will say about Adam and Tiffany is they both are the kindest humans and they are wildly famous and have these amazing, successful careers, but they are so humble, so normal and down to earth. They don’t make you feel anxious when you’re sitting in a room with them. They make you feel like you’re part of the family and they treat everyone the same. They’re very kind and I’m very lucky that I’ve been able to work with both of them.
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DM: In Miss Valentine, there was a scene where your character’s mother makes a reference to cooking pancit and lumpia. Do you ever try to get any cultural nods to your heritage written into scripts you work with?
PB: Yeah that was one that we actually added. It kind of came up on the spot and we were talking and said, “What if we came up with pancit and lumpia?” It would be a really cool thing to add in there. I try to whether it’s adding types of foods or if my character’s last name. If we say it I try to be like, “Can we make it a Filipino name please?” I definitely try to— I mean that’s also me and I’m not the character without a part of me. So whenever I can, I try to add in a little bit.
DM: You’re an executive producer in Kissing is the Easy Part. What was it like putting on a producer hat versus acting? Do we see a production company in the future?
PB: That is my goal. To own a production company. I just want to make movies with my friends and be Margot Robbie or Adam Sandler or Reese Witherspoon— all those actors who own their own production companies. That is my dream. That is the end goal. I would say with producing, it’s basically just kind of the same thing with acting where if I go into a room, I gotta show them and sell myself like, “Hey this is why you need to book me for the role.” Producing is like, “Hey this is why you need to give me the money for the script I just wrote.” [laughs] So they’re kind of the same, but both different beasts and definitely have not mastered producing yet. I look forward to the day I have my own production company.
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DM: We’re also manifesting that.
PB: Yes [laughs]
DM: And you recently directed a music video. What was that like?
PB: It was so much fun with one of my dear friends. She’s an amazing singer. Amazing artist and she’s coming out with a new album. She had texted me and said, “Hey would you direct a music video with me?” I was like “Absolutely one hundred percent.” The song is called “I Hope She Hates You.” It’s gonna come out soon because it’s almost done. We did a final cut. It’s going into coloring right now. So you guys will see it soon. I loved directing. That was my first time. I’m very thankful that my first time was around so many people that I love and trust. We all just worked well together. There were hiccups that happened and it was like ok these are the ingredients we got, so we just gotta work with it and move on. I loved the problem solving part of it and working with my friends. I’d love to direct a movie one day.
DM: A multi-hyphenate
PB: Yes [laughs]
DM: What were your favorite places to travel to in the past year?
PB: I went to Punta Cana for the first time last year and that was really fun. It was for my boyfriends birthday. I went to Paris again which is my favorite city and not just because it’s my name [laughs] Because it’s my favorite. Another place I love is Slovenia. If you guys have never thought about it, you should definitely go. It’s pretty fabulous. The year before that I went to the Philippines again. I love any trip to the Philippines.
DM: What part?
PB: We kind of went all around. We went to Manila. We went to Iloilo, which is where my nona’s from. And we went to Boracay. That was the first time I got to see where my nona’s from and I got to see more islands because normally we just go to my family’s. So it was cool to do a little tour around and exploration.
DM: Do you have a pre-shoot ritual before filming?
PB: Yeah so normally when I shoot, I make a playlist for the character I’m playing. So I’ll listen to that. I also do breathing exercises to get me out of my head and into my body so I’m grounded and more centered. A few little rituals, exercises and breathing techniques.
DM: Speaking of that, what piqued your interest in becoming a reiki master? What was the process of training for that?
PB: So my friend, she became a reiki master and she introduced me to her other sisters and she was like, “You should meet Queenie, Ann, all these people.” They’re all actually Filipino. So that was really cool to be around a community that’s also my community. I met Queenie. I love her and I said I really want to learn how to do it. I never wanted to make it a business or anything, I just wanted to learn it for me. So I did level 1, and I was like I’ll do level 2. Then I was like, “I’ll just do it all.” It’s great. I feel like it helped shaped my own practice for me because I’ve always been very interested in energy and past lives. I’ve always been interested in that stuff since I was a kid, but I could just never put names to it or explanations to it so reiki really helped me be like, “Oh I’ve been doing this since I was a kid.” I just didn’t know I was doing it.
DM: Did you ever get a past life reading?
PB: I’ve never gotten a past life reading. I’ve done like a past life session on myself which is very interesting. The one that I had that I can think of was a little intense so I won’t say anything [laughs] There was a past life regression app I did and had the craziest visions.
DM: Do any of your sisters have an interest in acting?
PB: Not really. My sister, Bless, she did a little of it when she was a kid, but she always hated it. She said she would do VoiceOver. And Sky, she’s 13. She’s still figuring it out, but she’s so animated and all of them could do it, but they choose not to.
DM: If any of them did, would you try to let them figure it out on their own or guide them?
PB: I would definitely guide them for sure. I would make sure they have the manager, the agent, the acting coach. Acting coach is actually first. Just take classes. Do all of them. Do the improv, the scene study, the workshops, Shakespeare if you want to do the Shakespeare stuff. But just do the classes, learn the craft, learn your skills, learn the tools and we’ll get a demo together and figure out the rest [laughs]
Paris Berelc @theparisberelc
Photography: Raen Badua @raenbadua
Styling: Sky Naval @sky_is_dlimit
Make Up: Carol Park @1carolpark
Hair: Jennifer @kellyzhangagency
Social Media Manager: Tesia Kuh @tesiakuh
Content Creator + Interview: Daphne Mangin @dddaphne + Marco Tolentino
Production + Location: Maison Privée @maisonpriveepr_la + Bello Media Group @bellomediagroup
