Photo Credit: Elias Tahan
Olivia Holt is having a marvelous moment. The 20-year-old actress is the star of Freeform’s hot new Marvel series Cloak and Dagger, playing Tandy Bowen/Dagger, a teenager who has to deal with her burgeoning superpowers and falling in love.
Prior to becoming a superhero, Holt, the face of Neutrogena, starred in her own Disney TV series, Kickin It, and scored a deal with Hollywood Records, releasing her debut EP, OLIVIA, last summer, and also appeared in a handful of films (including opposite Renee Zellweger and Greg Kinnear in Same Kind of Different As Me).
Here, Holt—who moved to L.A. from Mississippi at just 13 years old, dishes on her hot new show, her real-life superpowers, and what she thinks about being compared to another breakout Disney star: Miley Cyrus.
Photo Credit: Elias Tahan
Tell us about auditioning for “Cloak and Dagger.” What was your audition strategy to win the role?
This particular audition process was a bit tricky. Mostly because I was given very little material to know the characters and their story. I was aware I was going in for a project based off of the Marvel comic Cloak and Dagger but that’s about it, along with a couple mock scenes, so I decided to read the first comic just to understand what i was going in for a little bit better which helped tremendously.
Do you identify with Dagger? How, if so?
I think we’re pretty similar in the sense that we both have passions, and the drive and motivation for them. We also want to encourage people to live their best life and never stop at no.
What’s your real-life superpower and why?
I’m pretty great at eating. Mostly popcorn. I’m serious, I can finish a whole bag of popcorn in under 5 minutes, give or take.
Have you ever been in a relationship that works the way Cloak and Dagger’s does (stronger together, minus the superpowers, of course)?
Absolutely. A lot of my relationships have been built off of that companionship and support and trust. When you’re with someone, you’re a team. The decisions and moves you make are decided and made together.
You’ve acted in films and on TV, made music and starred on a Disney show. How often do you get comparisons to Miley Cyrus, and do you welcome those comparisons if so? If not, why?
I don’t get compared so much anymore. But when I was on the channel I go it quite frequently. Sometimes it was frustrating because people don’t want to understand that every actor has their own journey. And because we both worked for the same company people thought we were going to have a similar career.
What is something the world would be surprised to learn about you?
I’m a sucker for quotes and cheesy rom-coms. I have quotes all around my house and I’m always in the mood for a rom-com. Always.
