EXCLUSIVE | Secret Society Of Second-Born Royals' Faly Rakotohavana is the 'opposite' of his character Matteo
If you're missing your dose of superhero films, we got you covered. 'Secret Society Of Second-Born Royals', a film that has faced several delays, is finally seeing the light of day. The film is essentially a superhero film with elements of sci-fi to it as well. According to Disney, the official logline reads: "Secret Society of Second-Born Royals follows Sam, a teenage royal rebel second in line to the throne of the kingdom of Illyria. Just as Sam's disinterest in the royal way of life is at an all-time high, she discovers she has super-human abilities and is invited to join a secret society of similar extraordinary second-born royals charged with keeping the world safe. With guidance from their Secret Society instructor James, Sam and a new class of royal recruits must first learn to harness their new powers at a top-secret training camp before they can save the world."
MEA Worldwide (MEAWW) caught up with Olivia Deeble, who plays Roxana, and Faly Rakotohavana, who stars as Matteo in the film. Speaking about how it feels to know that their film is finally seeing the light of day, Olivia told MEAWW, "It's really exciting. It's super surreal. It was filmed over a year now. It's crazy. It's becoming a reality. This thing that we made, put so much effort and love into, is finally being shown into the world."
All the characters have different personality traits, ranging from overtly cocky to extremely shy. Faly opens up about his character Matteo, who is an introvert. "Matteo is super sweet and kind and super shy. He wants to fit in. He is antisocial. Throughout the film, he gains a sense of confidence. His character arc is really important for kids, as there are a lot of people who deal with insecurity and they are self-conscious. People will see the character and say, 'Hey, I act like that sometimes. I know how it is to be un-included'. He's still super important to the film. He has an importance to him. I feel like it shows that no matter who you are, you are important," Faly says.
Olivia says her character Roxana "is interesting, self-obsessed, and a social media influencer." She adds, "Roxana's journey is to find self-love, not just outwards and inwards. I loved playing her because I think social media plays an important part in today's society. Self-love is about having the pressure of outward expectations on you. She also has an English accent in the film, so I got to work with an English dialect coach, which was awesome."
She also spoke about what drew her to the film. "When the audition first came through, I just fell in love with the character. I thought she was really funny. When I got the actual script, I was just hooked. There were many plot points and the characters had such beautiful arcs. I became emotionally invested in everyone. It's an incredible film that covers so many important topics," she says.
For Faly, it was a bit of a challenge to play such an introvert. "It was the character himself. He's such an opposite to me. He's shy and awkward, and I am pretty talkative. It wasn't difficult, but I've played characters like that before, but not to that degree. It was a challenge to bring the awkwardness to the scene. It was a new challenge for me."
'Secret Society of Second-Born Royals' is streaming on Disney Plus.
