Disney star dives right in
AMERICAN ACTOR PEYTON LIST JUMPED AT THE CHANCE TO COME DOWN UNDER AND PLAY THE LEAD ROLE AS AN INSPIRATIONAL COACH IN AUSSIE FILM SWIMMING FOR GOLD
She is only 22 yet Peyton List could be described as a Hollywood veteran. The former Disney star got her start with a small part in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 at the age of six and has notched up more than 18 film credits and countless television roles since.
“There are a lot of lessons that I think I’ve learned, and I’m just now getting stronger and speaking up,” List says. “I think that at 22, and also just with sitting inside so much for the past six months, I’ve just realised I don’t have time for anything other than anything good.”
By anything good, List is referring to the many life lessons she has learned over the past 16 years as an actor.
It is a competitive business, a tough game for adults, so being a child star is even harder and we’ve seen many examples where things have gone wrong for those growing up in Hollywood.
Like most of us, downtime through the pandemic has made List reassess her place in the world, as well as her friendships and what she sees as important.
“I think I let other people define me or let people tell me
who I was for a really long time,” she says. “Only you know who you are, and I would never let anyone tell me any more. I had to learn to be strong and put people in their place if it’s necessary.
“For a while there, I just wanted to be a people pleaser and have everybody like me, and say what I thought the right thing was that someone wanted to hear. Over time, I’ve learned to form my own opinions, form my own thoughts. With acting from a young age, it wasn’t even anyone necessarily telling me that’s what I had to do, but that’s what I thought I had to do. A lot of the time, people, they smack a label on you and they go, ‘Oh, that’s who you are’. I feel like I’m already hard enough on myself and I’m already very critical of myself, so I need people around me who are only uplifting me.”
List is most famous perhaps for playing Emma Ross in Disney Channel series Jessie and subsequent spin-off, Bunk’d. She’s also known for playing Holly Hills in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series and her other movie credits include 27 Dresses, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Confessions Of a Shopaholic, The Trouble With Cali and The Outcasts. She spoke to SMARTdaily from her Los Angeles home for the release of her new film, Swimming For Gold.
She also has a hit TV series on Netflix playing now, Cobra Kai, which is an action drama based on the Karate Kid movies of the ’80s.
“I’m pushing myself and doing something that’s a little out of my comfort zone,” she says of her most recent roles. “That’s always it for me, just feeling like I’m pushing myself to do something I haven’t done before. And I really think any character that I can connect with or if there’s good people attached who are down to earth and cool, and a good story, then I’m down to do it. I’m always down to just jump in and dive in and get to know a new character.”
Swimming For Gold was shot in Australia last year and sees List star as Olympic swimmer Claire Carpenter who is sent Down Under to coach an elite team of boy swimmers. It is a feel-good coming of age flick about relationships, expectations and not judging a book by its cover.
“What really attracted me to it is that it is not your typical sports movie and it’s not your typical main character who wins the game for everyone,” she says. “I think what was cool about it is in the beginning, she’s going there so begrudgingly, and then as it goes on, she starts to become a coach and a leader and a teacher, and taking the behind-the-scenes approach and not always having to be the star and be the one in the forefront, that she finds love for helping everyone else achieve their goals.”
List says she was “super sporty growing up”. She has a twin brother, Spencer, who is also an actor. “I’m super competitive with him and growing up was like, ‘Anything he can do, I can do’. I did track and field growing up and I was always trying to be the fastest person in the school. I would always wear these pink cowgirl boots to school, which is really weird in New York City, and I would just try and beat every boy in track in my pink cowgirl boots.”
Shooting in Brisbane was overwhelmingly a great experience, although there were some down sides. List struggled when fellow cast and crew tricked her into believe in ‘drop bears’. Drop birds, or magpies, were also a challenge.
“What I don’t miss is drop birds,” she laughs. “I was not used to birds attacking my head. That was so weird. I was like, ‘What is up with the animals in Australia?’ I think for about a month into filming, I thought drop bears were real. I totally believed it because I was mixing them up with drop birds. But there was a bird that would just attack as I walked through the park, and I was always covering my head.”
While smashing it as an actor, List is also has nearly 17 million followers on Instagram and says social media is a necessary beast.
“I really have grown to love it and it’s just a really nice way to be able to connect with people and stay in touch. And also, using it for something more. Even right now, I’m working with a rescue, I’m fostering five dogs and I can use it to find them homes and to connect them with families and raise money for the rescue. I think I’ve just been learning how to use it and how to love it. Even though that’s fun and I love seeing all the pretty photos on there, I think that there’s a cool balance and there’s a way to use it for something that’s even bigger, which is cool.”
I’m pushing myself and doing something a little out of my comfort zone
Swimming for Gold is in cinemas now. Cobra Kai is streaming now on Netflix