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Want the 411 on this cutie before he lights up the TV this Friday as the shy—but talented—Cyrus DeBarge? Read on to find out.

He was closest to co-star Trevor Jackson on the Let It Shine set.

“We came up with this long, elaborate handshake as a way for our characters [Kris and Cyrus] to greet each other. Our subtle goal [was] to get the whole handshake into the film. There are going to be different parts of it, but the [entire thing] is really long.” 

He has a thing for (harmless) meanies.

“A lot of times, when girls really like a guy, they’re aggressive and want to be there. But what they have to realize is guys want to work for a girl. A girl who is kind of mean and pushes us away gives us more to work for, which is more attractive.”

He knows how to carry a conversation.

“Every time my character Cyrus tries to slip in a compliment or be really nice, he gets tongue-tied. But he learns that when he just kind of holds [a normal] conversation is when he is at his best. The best way to ask a girl out is to just go up and start a conversation as if [they were] anybody else.”

Summer’s his favorite season.

“No matter how old you are, there is this freedom that happens in the summertime. You are just able to go out and have a good time, not have to worry about how many clothes you have to wear because it is so cold or anything like that. It’s great.”

He’s lied to impress a girl.

“I was trying to impress a girl this one time by talking about a friend of mine I kind of knew, but didn’t know too well. I was like, ‘Yeah, we hang out all the time.’ Come to find out that it was her cousin. She let me keep talking, but then finally was like, ‘None of that is correct.’”

Be sure to catch Let It Shine when it premieres this Friday, June 15, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Disney Channel.

by Patricia McNamara and Kelly Gieron | 2/1/2016