Credit: Persona PR
On Wednesday, the 18-year-old Queens native returns as fan-fave high-school student Marisol Fuentes for Season 2 of Mr. Iglesias, the Netflix sitcom starring stand-up comedian Gabriel Iglesias as a kind-hearted teacher. Gabriel also got his start on Nickelodeon, featuring in season six of Nickelodeon's popular sketch comedy series in All That in 2000.
From Filmy One:
‘Mr. Iglesias’ star Cree Cicchino dishes on her big TV summer
Cree Cicchino’s summer TV schedule is fully booked.
On Wednesday, the 18-year-old Queens native returns as fan-fave high-school student Marisol Fuentes for Season 2 of “Mr. Iglesias,” the Netflix sitcom starring stand-up comedian Gabriel Iglesias as a kind-hearted teacher.
Later this summer, Cicchino will co-star in the Netflix movie “The Sleepover,” a comedy starring Joe Manganiello, Ken Marino and Malin Akerman.
Cicchino spoke to The Post about “Mr. Iglesias,” “The Sleepover” and her other TV work.
Does Marisol have a specific story arc in Season 2 of “Mr. Iglesias”?
Overall, the season jumps into the kids’ [lives] a little more, and there’s more of the classroom and Marisol’s relationships. You’ll be seeing a little romance between Marisol and Mikey [Fabrizio Guido]; it’s a bit more real and legit.
Describe Marisol.
She’s quite similar to me in certain ways. I think she’s kind of no-nonsense, and one of the ways she’s most like me is how outspoken she is, politically. On the show she spends a lot of time correcting adults around her or making comments about the state of the nation — which is quite similar to how I act on the set and in real life.
What’s it like working with Gabriel Iglesias?
He’s fantastic. The word we used a lot is “generous.” He’s the sweetest guy and always has time for everyone. He throws a big, beautiful wrap party [at the end of the season] and there are always food trucks on the lot. He’s just like his character, Mr. Iglesias — he wants to take care of us.
You starred on the Nickelodeon series “Game Shakers” (2015 to 2019). How does that compare to “Mr. Iglesias”?
It’s incredibly different. When we shot “Game Shakers” it was extremely hectic. There wasn’t one second of the day where we weren’t doing something. All the [young cast members] were still in school and the episodes were just wild — we’d have a huge animal or a huge stunt or a fall in every episode and the kids talked in crazy, excited monologues. We also didn’t have a live audience. Here it’s so smooth and mellow, with people sitting and talking like normal humans. It’s much less complicated.
Does having that live audience make a difference?
It adds a whole extra momentum. The best nights are when things we didn’t even consider jokes get huge laughs. Sometimes other jokes just aren’t working. Almost every week Gabriel or Sherri Shepherd [who plays Paula Madison] will think of a good joke during rehearsals, maybe something a little risqué, and save it for show night.
Tell me about “The Sleepover.”
It’s four kids at a sleepover. I play Mim. She’s best friends with Clancy [Sadie Stanley], whose mom is in witness protection, which we find out through some crazy shenanigans. We’re alerted to the fact that Clancy’s parents are missing and we go on a big, crazy irresponsible adventure to track them down. It’s the wildest real-time experience anyone will have in one night.
Where did you grow up in Queens?
Glendale. I left when I was 12, when I started on “Game Shakers.” I go back in the summer and for holidays, and my family comes here [to LA] because it’s so nice and calm. I’ve totally lost my [Queens] accent. I’m devastated, though it comes back over the holidays when I’m with my family.
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From AMNY:
Queens native actress Cree Cicchino talks career beginnings and starring in Netflix film and comedy series
When asked about how she got into acting, 18-year-old Cree Cicchino says that it happened kind of by accident.
While growing up in Glendale, Queens, Cicchino described herself as an energetic child who was a dancer at heart. When she was 11 or 12 years old, Cicchino’s mother decided to put her into acting classes.
“There was a showcase where a lot of professionals from the entertainment industry showed up,” said Cicchino. “After the showcase, I got my first agent and manager. About 9 months later I booked my first project and that took me out to Los Angeles.”
At the age of 13, Cicchino landed a role on Nickelodeon’s live-action comedy “Game Shakers.” The show, which was executive produced by Dan Schneider (the mastermind behind a number of Nickelodeon programming), centered around a pair of seventh graders who made an app for a school project that ended up taking off.
For Cicchino, adjusting to set life came pretty quickly.
“It was so bizarre. I was sitting there thinking, ‘I should be in Queens in a public high school right now’,” said Cicchino. “But you get used to it pretty quickly.”
“Game Shakers” ran for three seasons and landed Cicchino nominations for Best Young Actor – Television at the 2017 and 2018 Imagen Awards for her work on the show. Not long after, she booked a new show on Netflix called “Mr. Iglesias,” a series starring comedian Gabriel Iglesias that explores what his life could have been like had he not gone into comedy.
Iglesias stars as the titular character, who is a history teacher at the show’s Wilson High School and has a class of misfit yet gifted kids. Cicchino plays Marisol Fuentes, a smart and determined student (who is probably Mr. Iglesias’ dream student, according to Cicchino) that grew up as the working daughter of a single mom and works three jobs to help her family pay their bills.
“She’s an incredibly smart and gifted student who is burdened by her circumstance,” said Cicchino. “She’s determined to not let her circumstance limit her future.”
Cicchino says that the change from Nickelodeon to Netflix was like night and day.
“With ‘Game Shakers,’ it was hectic – doing school on set, show promos, working 6-day weeks. Plus, since it was Nickelodeon there was a lot of slime,” said Cicchino. “Netflix is way more calm and there’s more room to play around with the show. There’s also a live audience, which was new.”
Netflix is also distributing the movie that is CIcchino’s first venture into film, “The Sleepover.” The film centers around a family who learns that their mother has a criminal past and is in the witness protection program. Four kids then go on an adventure to get to the bottom of the family’s past.
Cicchino plays Mim, the main character’s best friend who thinks that she’s going to a regular sleepover but gets pulled into the craziness that ensues.
“Mim is that character in horror movies when everyone else wants to check out the noise in the basement and she’s like, ‘Nope,'” said Cicchino. “She would mostly prefer not to do what she ends up doing in the film.”
Making the transition from television to film was interesting and fun, particularly shifting from being on a set for work to moving on-location.
“It was cool going from multi-cam on TV to single cam, and having a full, four-wall house to shoot in. Being on location was fun. There is a lot of ‘hurry up and wait’ with film, so there was a lot of sitting and hanging out with the rest of the cast,” said Cicchino. “They’re both super fun, but since I’ve done more TV, I’m itching to do more film.”
Cicchino hopes to explore other avenues of film and television, but for right now she is focusing on acting and building her career there. However, in these uncertain and historic times, Cicchino thinks it’s important that she uses her platform for advocacy.
“This is a historic time right now with the Black Lives Matter movement,” said Cicchino. “I’m still learning. A lot of people are finding their voice and I want to use my platform for advocacy.”
Season two of “Mr. Iglesias” is set to premiere on June 17, 2020. “The Sleepover” is expected to release this summer.
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Additional source: QNS.
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