Isabella Crovetti Dishes On Netflix's He's All That - Exclusive Interview

Isabella Crovetti is a 16-year-old who is absolutely thriving. A voice actor and a talent who's worked in projects starring Jennifer Lawrence (she played young Joy in the "Joy"), she brought character Brin Kweller to life in the hit Netflix film "He's All That," and there seems to be no signs of her slowing down any time soon.

When we were 16, were stressing out about what Lululemon leggings and tank top combo we'd wear to first period. We didn't exactly have our eyes set on our career, and we certainly weren't sharing the screen with the likes of influencer Addison Rae and former Disney star Madison Pettis. But thanks to her determination, support from her parents, and her sweet personality, Crovetti has managed to carve out a space within the entertainment industry all her own. What's more is that we got the chance to sit down with her to chat about all things "He's All That," what it's like to be a high schooler today, her love of anime and all things K-pop, and more.

They say that the entertainment industry is one of the toughest to break into, but with her warmth and bubbly persona, we can't help but feel that "He's All That" is one of many films that we'll see the budding talent in.

First and foremost, I think it's crazy that you're 16. When I was prepping, I was thinking back to what I was doing when I was 16, and it definitely was not this. So kudos to you. I looked into your background a little bit. I saw that you've done animation, you've done television, you've done film. I mean, young Joy, Jennifer Lawrence, that's huge. So tell me a little bit about your earlier acting career, and what initiated your interest in the entertainment industry?

Well, initially, my whole entire family is in the industry, actually. So my dad's a writer and producer. My mom was an actress; she was on Broadway. So she originally also wanted to get my brothers into acting. And I always loved watching "Yo Gabba Gabba!" as a child. And they'd always have people dancing on the screen. So I would be like, "Mom, I really, really want to do that. I want to be on 'Yo Gabba Gabba!'"

It didn't happen. But she called up a manager, an agent, and she's like, "Bella, do you want to do this?" And I was like, "Yeah." And that's just kind of how it started.

That's amazing. I also have a family in the film industry, so I definitely get that. It feels like it's in your blood. It's what you talk about around the dinner table. It's what you talk about at Thanksgiving and Christmas. And it just always seems to come back to that topic over and over again.

For sure. Yeah.

Just out of curiosity, how do your parents feel about you pursuing a career in acting? Are they happy? Are they like, "What's going on?" And what's that been like for you?

Honestly, it's the complete opposite. Sometimes I get like, "Oh my God, can I actually do that?" Sometimes, because I'm like, I don't know, with the money and financially, and my mom's like, "It's okay, Bella, you've got this." So it's actually the opposite. So they're very supportive. I got really lucky with them. They're always behind me, hyping me up.

Having your parents in your corner, it's a big deal. 

So I want to talk a little bit more about your career broadly. And then we'll zero in a little bit more on the film that just came out on Netflix, which is at No. 1, as of today, which is very exciting. So congratulations.

Thank you.

So, amongst all of this, and I'm sure that the new film might play into it, but what moments stand out to you as validation? Like "I got this" moments throughout your career so far. 

In, oh wait, in the actual "He's All That" film?

Just kind of broadly.

For me. I feel like actually "He's All That." Because as you mentioned before, I'm 16. So I'm not actually legally 18, which means I can't work as long. It technically, it costs more money because you have to have like less time with me and said teacher, but even through all that, the studio, Miramax, thank goodness, decided to cast me because, they saw, I don't know, they ... I don't want to be like, "They saw potential."

I mean, they clearly did though. It's a very good film — we'll get into it a little bit more — but it's like paying homage to such a 1990s classic. So they clearly were mindful with the cast.

Yeah. I'm very thankful to Miramax.

Before we get into all of the film, I just want to ask, what are your hobbies? What are you passionate about outside of acting? Like, what's school like? What's being 16 in 2021 in a pandemic like?

Well, for hobbies, I love singing. I love singing, and I play guitar and electric guitar. I've posted like stuff on my Instagram. And I recently just got into dancing. I love dancing, I love K-pop. I recently, I, literally three days ago, came back from Korea. Cause I stayed there for like three months over the summer. Yeah. So I just got into dancing, and then for school, I've always gone to school. Like while working and acting, if you talk to any of my friends, they'll be like, yeah, she just leaves school randomly and then she comes back like three months later. They're always like, "Where'd you go?" I was like, "I was filming I don't know," but with the pandemic, I'm actually doing homeschool right now.

Okay. That's cool. And so, I mean, you just got back from Korea, so what did your summer look like?

My summer was honestly like crazy. I, cause I was living in Korea for three months, I started learning Korean and got to meet a lot of cool people. A lot of cool friends. And maybe like now, after being there, maybe like I'm thinking about living there for maybe two years-ish.

That would be great.

Yeah.

Definitely a change of pace. Change of scenery for sure.

Yeah.

You're 16. You've got what, two-ish years until you can work full time. So where would you like to see your career go? What are you hoping maybe the next five years will bring?

Hopefully like another movie. Maybe like a feature film, the lead we'll shoot for that. And I've always wanted to do a Marvel movie. I feel like everybody wants to, but that's just always been something at least like a very big-budget, like action film. I want to do some sort of special effects.

That would be really cool. Is special effects something that you would ever be interested in and like learning more about on the technical side or do you kind of always want to stay in front of the camera, do you think?

So yeah, no, I don't think I have the patience to sit down in front of my computer and be like, okay, edit. Like nah, I just want to more, like, do the physical stuff and the training to do the fight scenes and all that.

That'd be really fun.

Yeah.

It's like such a choreographed thing. Kind of going a little bit back to dance. It's like you really ...

Right, I was just thinking that.

Yeah, you really have to learn how to play off of another person, even though it looks so like spur of the moment and like action. It's so down to, I mean, it is like it's a choreographed dance really. So, that could be fun.

So moving to "He's All That." Obviously like "She's All That," [with stars] Freddie Prinze Jr., Paul Walker, Rachael Leigh Cook, it was the movie. I'd love to know like what initially drew you to the project and if you like watched "She's All That" to gain some, like, excitement or some inspiration.

Yeah. Originally I was drawn to the project because I'd worked with the director before on another movie, but also obviously, cause I saw that Addison [Rae] was in it and then Tanner [Buchanan] and I was like, oh my God, this is perfect. This sounds like it'd be a grand old time, which it was. And then for "She's All That," I'd watched it actually like originally maybe a month before I even got the audition. And then ...

Oh, that's cool.

Yeah, so I know I knew like a little bit about it, but it's not something I, like, grew up watching.

Okay. And were you at all intimidated working for a project that stemmed from such an iconic film? Or were you like, "I got this, we're going to remake it. We're going to redefine it"?

To be honest, I didn't think anything of it. And then after we filmed it, everybody was like, "Oh gosh, it's coming out. I'm kind of nervous." Cause it's like the original, and I'm like, "Oh yeah, you're right. Shoot." Thankfully I got nervous after we filmed that.

That's kind of lucky a little bit maybe, but this could very easily speak to a new audience as well, which I'm sure is probably an exciting aspect of it. I know it's like very new, very much still kind of getting reactions from viewers, but have you heard anything from people who've loved it? People who are definitely going to watch it again? Cause it's on Netflix, like, we can just watch it over and over again.

Honestly, the comments cause, you know, it's, I knew it was going to be a pretty big film. I didn't know it was going to be like this; it just like shocked me. How many people really actually ... I knew it was good, but, especially with the comments too, everyone's so sweet. They're like, "This is such a good movie. I love your character." And I was like, "Oh thank you." That makes, it really made me feel so happy. Genuinely.

A little bit of like (sighing).

Really. Like, honestly. Thank goodness.

As you mentioned a little bit, the likes of Addison Rae and Madison Pettis are all in this film as well. I know that social media is a really big part of the film, and we obviously are in such a Gen Z social media world. So what's it been like or what was it like kind of working in a film that had social media as like the core of it really? 

It was definitely, for me, interesting because this is what I'm growing up with now, and it's now, I feel like, one of the first movies to really touch on it, like the TikTok, Instagram-like influencer side of it. But I think it — overall, I'm really happy that it has a good message because it's just, like, be yourself even on camera. Like it really doesn't matter as long as you're just genuinely you.

Yeah, we're definitely kind of approaching the — and maybe correct me if I'm wrong because I'm not 16 — but I feel like we're kind of moving away from the super tailored influencer and moving a lot into being authentic on social media, which is very cool to see. 

For sure, that's spot on.

Do you have like any fun stories to share, like from filming or behind the scenes on set? Anything like that?

Well, I sadly was not there for it, but Tanner Buchanan who plays, I play his younger sister. I don't know why he did this, but he just randomly decided to put on a golden bikini with a golden skirt that I think some people were wearing at the Great Gatsby party. It even found its way online too. I don't know how it got online, but I think if you scroll through someone's Instagram, it'll be on one of those. It'll be there.

And so what did like a day on set look like for you?

Well, every day we had to check in for COVID, and then every other three days, we'd have to do a COVID test and then wear your mask. ... But hair and makeup, like straight away, you really like got into your trailer and then they're like, "Okay, hair and makeup right now. Go, go, go, go." And maybe two-ish [hours or an] hour and a half in there, and then you just start filming. I had to do school. It's kind of like very boom, boom, boom.

Very regimented, I'm sure. That's exciting. And then for about how long were you filming for?

We filmed it for maybe a month, four weeks, which [is] insanely fast for a movie.

That's very quick. And so how long has it now been since you filmed versus now?

We filmed in November, December-ish, so yeah. I don't know how long ago that was. Oh my gosh.

Nine months, 10 months. This year flown by. Seriously, it's insane. So it has that, like, timeframe in between filming and now [us] getting to see it on screen. What's that been like? Has it been exciting? Have you been nervous? What have all those feelings been like?

It's really weird. I guess having it done at a decent amount of time ago and now having everyone know about it because we had to keep it a hush, hush, we couldn't post anything and now it's like post a lot and all this stuff. Cause it's very social media-oriented.

Definitely. I liked that element of it though. Like you said, we haven't really seen especially TikTok incorporated in a film before. We've gotten Facebook obviously and Instagram here and there. It feels very current, very poignant for this particular generation, which is very cool. So kind of with that, and you touched upon it a little bit, but what message are you hoping that viewers will take from the movie?

I'm hoping that viewers will take, "Don't overthink too much about what other people think of you." Honestly, people just like genuine personalities. It doesn't matter what kind of personality you have just as long as you're yourself. That's the most important thing. And I know like everybody said that everyone's like "be yourself," but it is true. It's true.

What would you say was the biggest takeaway for you from the project?

Touching on like high schoolers, middle schoolers even, too. Like popularity — that's something when I was in middle school, I thought about, I guess I wish I ... like you think too much about like, well, who, which friends you should have and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But honestly, school is just school. That's like what high school is: four years of your life. Just pick the friends that you actually like and just have a good time.

I graduated from high school quite a while ago, but what was interesting for me, and to now look at this kind of retrospectively, is that when I was in high school, Instagram was a thing, but it definitely didn't have the impact that it does now. I mean, TikTok came out my last year of college, so it's really interesting, at least for me, to watch back and see you all going through this because it's so different to what I experienced, which honestly wasn't that long ago, in retrospect. Lke it's all developed so quickly. What's that been like to have social media at your fingertips for so long?

You know, there's like good and bad parts. I think I can speak for any high schooler or middle schooler again, just like people who have social media. A lot of people put a lot of pressure on how many followers you have, how many likes you get. It's good cause you can connect with people. But then at the same time, it's like, "Jessica didn't invite me to her party. What the heck?" Stuff like that. But anyways, there's still good parts about it.

Yeah, definitely. And you know, high school has enough pressures already. You don't have to add more pressure to yourself to look a certain way or act a certain way when we're all just trying to figure out who we are in high school, I feel like.

Yes, for sure. Very well said.

Once you get through college, you're like, "Wow, I stressed out that much about high school. I don't even remember those people anymore."

Exactly. I'm still in high school, so.

It goes by like that. I know it's like the most cliché thing to say, but it's so true. 

I know. I'm already a junior, and it's literally so funny you say that. Cause I was thinking like yesterday, "Oh my God, I'm a junior." I only have like a year left after this. Like what happened? I was just a freshman.

So college applications, what's that looking like? 

How's that going?

Yeah, how is that going? Are you thinking about college or do you just want to see where acting takes you, do you think?

I'm, for now, just seeing where acting takes me, but I'm still doing school, just in case like a backup. If I ever did want to go to college, I'm still making sure I'm pretty good at school.

That's good. Do you have like a favorite subject or an area that you like the most?

Ooh, I like history.

I was a history major. That makes my heart so happy.

Yes, I love history. I hate though memorizing dates for the test. I hated that. But other than that, I just love learning about the past. I think its fun.

Do you have any upcoming projects that you can tell me about?

I do have an upcoming project. I don't know [if] people know this or not, because it is voiceover, but I've voiced "Vampirina." And then I also voice "Shimmer and Shine," and I played Shine on Nick Jr. So now, I just booked another Disney Junior project. It's a little different, my character. I actually play a villain. So I'm pretty excited about it.

That's really fun. 

I can't say anything else.

That's okay. That's very exciting. I feel like getting into the Disney umbrella must be very exciting.

Yes. I'm also so excited to sing again. Cause that's like one of the funniest parts. It's like singing these like very dramatic songs; it's so much fun.

Have you gotten to sit down and watch the movie on Netflix yet? Have you popped a bag of popcorn and sat back and watched it?

I was planning to do that with like maybe some of my friends. I already did watch it before it came out maybe like three times, but I don't know if it's changed at all from the original, for what they came out with now and from what I watch. So now that you say that, I should like watch it one more time to see if it's ...

Have like a little viewing party. That'd be fun. Well, before we wrap up, is there anything that you want to share that I didn't ask or anything about the film or past career stuff or interests or hobbies? Anything that you want to share that I didn't ask you? 

Like fun facts and stuff, I feel like ...

Fun facts are always good.

I love anime. I feel like this is such a touchy topic because you know, but there's such good anime, and recently I've literally been so obsessed with it and K-dramas too. I promise. I'm not like crazy obsessed with it, but I just think they're so good. That's just good entertainment right there.

Yeah. Well and there's a wealth of content, a huge genre.

Good content, right there. We should check that out.

Did you adopt any of the pandemic hobbies. Did you bake or, I don't know, what else where people doing? Playing "Animal Crossing" anything?

Oh my God.

Did you watch "Tiger King"? I feel like that was a whole phase of quarantine that we all went through.

I really forgot about that, I'm not going to lie. Oh wow. I watched it, but I wasn't like "Tiger King" — I wasn't that kind of person.

That's hysterical. Alrighty, well, that was all the questions that I had. I'm super excited to watch the film. I loved "She's All That." So I'm excited to watch this very fun, new take on it. And it's been such a joy getting to chat with you.

I forgot. Can I say like one more thing?

Oh, absolutely!

This is something I'm really excited about. So like I said, I was living in Korea for three months, and my dad's actually working on a pretty big project over there, which is one of the reasons why I went and stayed for three months. But he knows some people and I met those people. So I was able to get a signed autograph of one of my favorite K-pop groups ever. They're called, their name is Stray Kids, and they just came out with a comeback too. Oh my gosh, but I got like a full sign thing and one of my favorite members Bang Chan literally brought it to someone's house to give it so that they could give it to me. And he personalized it. I got all the members' signatures. I freaked out, but I was very excited about that. I just wanted to share that.

"He's All That" is now streaming on Netflix.