If Sydney Park’s face looks familiar, you probably first saw her on That’s So Raven. Since then she starred alongside Tia Mowry and Sheryl Lee Ralph in the series Instant Mom, appeared on The Walking Dead, and starred in this year’s film, Wish Upon. Up next she has the second series of the Netflix animated show, Spirit Riding Upon, as well as an interesting YouTube project — a sci-fi thriller series which is produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Park talked to Shadow & Act about all of that and much more:
Audiences were first introduced to you as Sydney in That’s So Raven. Do people on the street still recognize you from that role? Would you be down to make an appearance in Raven’s Home?
I get recognized all the time for my role in That’s So Raven! I always joke that I’ll be 80-years-old and people will still stop me to say, “Hey are you that little girl from That’s So Raven?” Being on the reboot with Raven would be a dream!
Lifeline is produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, how is it working on a project coming from such a Hollywood heavyweight?
What really drew me to Lifeline was the creativity of YouTube Red and of course, being a part of a project that The Rock is executive producing! I really admire Dwayne Johnson not only for his work ethic, but for his constant positive attitude. He’s very inspiring! I can’t wait for people to see Lifeline – we all put in a lot of hard work to make the show very unique and thrilling to watch.
Who is your character in Lifeline and what is she like?
In Lifeline, I play Norah and she can be complicated at times due to her rough upbringing! At a very young age, she witnessed her father’s death and was thrown into foster care with an awful family. Norah goes through a lot of mental and emotional growth throughout the series, as she has so many unanswered questions in her life. It’s always an adventure with her. I really love Norah because she is punk-rock, headstrong, and kick-ass all while maintaining her big heart. I think my fans are going to be rooting for her!
So many television shows and movies take place in alternate universes now. Why do you think that is? Do you think people like to escape reality?
I definitely believe that the evolution of technology has helped people to not only develop hyper-reality movies and shows, but to understand them as well. Everything from super-realistic video games to Instagram has made it easier for the world to see alternate universes. I’m always excited to see the latest high-concept projects that are coming out, especially Lifeline.
Spirit: Riding Free is coming soon, right?
Yes, look out for my DreamWorks animated Netflix series Spirit: Riding Free. My character’s name is Pru and she is an amazing, sassy black-girl equestrian! Episodes are available now and more will be out on September 8.
