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GL: Tell us a little about who Ben is.

Mitchell: Well, Ben is becoming king soon, and his first idea is trying to fix the inequality and create justice and peace throughout the land. He sees the Isle of the Lost where all these evil characters were locked away, and thinks, "These kids have been born into poverty, they’ve been born into evil, they’ve never even seen Auradon, the mainland, the rolling hills and everything," and wants to give them a chance at redemption. Ben has a very strong sense of morality. He knows what he’s doing, he understands every one of his actions. Ben's doing trying to be the best he can.

GL: What was it like developing Ben as a character?

Mitchell: This is actually the most fun I had with a character! I got to watch Beauty and the Beast over and over again and call it study, which was was awesome. When you see Ben, you see a lot of Belle. I really wanted to tap into the inner part of the Beast, too. As if he were Belle on the outside but channeling Beast on the inside.

GL: The descendants feel pressure from their parents to be bad. Does Ben get any of that from his parents, the King and Queen?

Mitchell: Absolutely! We all feel that pressure, whether it’s from our parents, whether it’s from ourselves. You hear it from teachers, you hear it from older siblings. Ben is the exact same. He still has parents. He still has a father breathing down his neck, saying, “What are you doing? How are you going to run the kingdom? Should I be giving you this kingdom? How do I know that I can trust you? Can you prove yourself to me?” Beast was the guy who united the entire land. He’s the first true savior of the land. You don’t go up to bat after someone’s hit a home run. You feel like you’re going to strike out or something! So Ben knows he has to step up to the plate.

GL: How did you prepare to play a prince?

Mitchell: I looked at a lot of Prince William stuff, actually. I researched a lot of Prince William, Prince Charles, things about the way they held themselves, the way they spoke. The way they carried themselves in public is very interesting. Regardless of where they are, you still know they are royalty, and I wanted to bring that same sense to Ben. I needed Ben to walk into a room and for him to have an aura of respect. I’ve probably watched every video of Prince William on YouTube! I’ve watched a lot of princes.

GL: What was it like filming a take on all the fairytales we already know and love?

Mitchell: It was so surreal, I can’t explain it. I went from being in Melbourne, sitting on my couch and playing with my dog, to sitting next to Kenny Ortega, Dove Cameron, and Kristin Chenoweth. They're people I’ve heard of and watched on TV, and then all of a sudden I was standing next to them and they were asking for my advice on things. I’m still shocked by it. I can’t even believe it was me sometimes! But it was so much fun.

GL: There's some chemistry between Ben and Mal, right? Tell us about working with Dove on set.

Mitchell: I don't want to give too much away, but there are definitely some hints of romance. Mal is a very interesting character. Don’t take her character for granted when you watch this movie. Please don’t! Look at her and watch what she does. Listen to what she says, because Mal is a much more interesting character than she wants to let on.

Are you planning on tuning in for Disney's Descendants tonight? Which fairytale kid are you excited to meet?

Photo credit: Disney

by Chelsea Duff | 2/1/2016