My Interview with Joey King, China Girl in Disney’s Oz The Great & Powerful #DisneyOzEvent

After attending the red carpet event for Oz The Great & Powerful (which is now in theaters) we were also able to attend and after party where most of the actors attended. That is where I met the lovely and talented Joey King. What a sweetie Pie! Not only was she nice but she was dancing and she’s got some moves!  She was even nice enough to take a picture with me.



While she was having a blast that night as soon as she walked into the interview room with 24 mommy bloggers and I to discuss her role as China Girl in Disney’s Oz The Great & Powerful,  you could tell she was also quite the professional.

Thoughts on the original Wizard of Oz

It’s one of my favorite movies. I grew up with it and I’ve watched it so many times, over and over and over again.

Getting into the character

I think that it was easy. There are parts I’ve done before where it was very difficult to get into that mode where you have to be very different than yourself. But, I am always up for a challenge, and I love those kind of things. This one was a little bit more close to my personality. She’s very sassy, had a lot of personality and she’s very energetic. She’s also a little bit manipulative, not that I’m saying I am.

*I love how she clarified that she wasn’t manipulative, she is a smart cookie! She did mention that she does like to do the occasional prank

Favorite character other than her own (China Girl)

Definitely Finley. Finley was so cute! In the movie he’s so funny. I like that Finley and China Girl bring a certain humor and light to the movie. I really like those two characters, Finley and China Girl. But Finley’s my favorite.

Seeing the final product of her character on film for the first time.

When I saw the movie at the premier, it was the first time I’d seen it. I had only seen about 20 minutes of it before. But it was really exciting for me, because I got to play two characters. I played a little girl in a wheel chair in Kansas, and then I played, China Girl in the Land of Oz. So it was really cool to see how everything came together because they used CGI technology, and they filmed my face and attached my expressions onto China Girl. So it was like I was watching myself but as an animated character.

On knowing the other actors or actresses prior to making this movie

I knew who they were and I loved meeting them, because they became like a family to me, and it was exciting to get to see them every day.

Favorite part about the movie

There’s so many great parts about filming that movie, it was really exciting for me. One of my favorite parts was just getting to work with everyone, like James Franco, Mila Kunis, Zach, Michelle Williams, and Sam. Sam Raimi is an amazing director, an amazing person, and I love the way he works. He’s very precise and he catches every little detail and it makes all the difference. He let us play around with our characters and that made it just feel really more natural. Michelle’s like a mom figure to me. Mila’s like a sister to me. Zach is like a brother to me and James is always teasing me on set and he’s like a brother to me, too. I love them all.

On Michelle Williams being a Mother Figure on set

She was really funny because she has a daughter, Matilda, and she wanted to know things like at what age I was allowed to wear heels. So she was asking me a bunch of things. One time when she asked me “how old were you when you got your phone? ‘Cause I don’t want to give Matilda a phone too early or too late.” And I was, like I got my phone at 10-years-old. She goes “Ten, really? That’s early!” I’m just like “No, it’s not!”

The most fun thing for you about being on set

I was in a little booth and it was kind of fun because James and everyone could hear us through our little headphones. So Zach and I were always like “James, listen to your conscience”. So, we would mess with him and got in their head.

Hanging out on set and with the China Girl Puppet

I got to be on set a lot, which was really cool. So, I got to hang out with her a lot. It was almost like she was a real person. I forgot that she was just a puppet. That was really exciting and neat.

About having a swear jar on set of Oz The Great and Powerful

I donated the money to Meals on Wheels, which is a charity that my grandma volunteers for, and I go and deliver with her a lot. My mom was the one who put the most money in it, which was funny because she swears more than the cast and crew. Everyone had to be careful, but it’s kind of funny when they swear and it was a good way to raise money for that charity.

*The piggy banks name was swearetta

On being a role model for other kids

It’s kind of cool to see that kids look up to me and admire my work. I think that’s really because I get to do these things and do charities and let kids know that it’s fun to do these kinds of things. It’s fun to do charity and stay involved with the world.

Advice for kids that want to get involved in acting

I’ve been doing this since I was four years old, and I’m 13 right now and it took a while to actually get where I am. It’s really exciting that I am here now because it was a lot of rejection, auditioning, and getting so close, but not close enough to where you actually get it. I never gave up and that’s my advice to everyone “Never give up because you never know when, when it can happen.”

Balancing work and being a teenager

It’s a lot of fun for me to come here and do this kind of thing. It’s exciting for me. I love going away and filming and when I come home, I get to see my friends and I get to hang out with them, and do fun things a lot. This is what I love to do.

Her relationship with her Mom

I love hanging out with my mom. My mom and I just went shopping the other day together.

*At one point in the interview we mentioned that we made #ChinaGirl trend on Twitter and she said “I’m so excited right now! That is so cool! I have to tell my mom!”

I am amazed at how well she carries herself for her being 13 years old and I am sure she has an amazing career ahead of her.