‘Purple Hearts’ Star Sofia Carson Says This ‘Stranger Things’ Character Was a ‘Jerk’
Sofia Carson is a singer and actor who has appeared in the Disney Channel series Austin & Ally as well as the Descendants movie, its sequel Descendants 2, and Descendants 3. Carson also played Ava Jalali in Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists.
Now she stars in the Netflix film, Purple Hearts with Nicholas Galitzine, which has become the streaming service’s No. 1 movie. Here’s what Carson had to say about the challenges of filming, plus how much she loves Stranger Things but thought one character was a “jerk.”
Carson says filming ‘Purple Hearts’ was her ‘greatest challenge as an actor’
During an Audacy Check In with Mike Adam, Carson spoke about several topics including her new film and why playing the character of Cassie was a “challenge” for her.
“Cassie in Purple Hearts has definitely been my greatest challenge as an actor. It was really exciting because I was able to come onto the project not only as an actress, but as executive producer, and writing the soundtrack as well,” she told the host. “It’s been five years in the making, and I poured my heart and soul into it. Cassie is this badass, fearless, brave, young woman who is defined by no man and no institution — to be saved by no one but herself. She goes on with this unexpected, deeply emotional love story.
“[The] most important [thing] with this film and with this story was it was inspired by true stories of contract marriages that take place in the military because people are in desperate need of money or health insurance, and so we wanted to make sure that everything was treated with complete and utter honesty. I studied and did a lot of research on what it’s like to be friends with a diabetic because Cassie is a Type 1 diabetic, which makes us so proud because they’re very underrepresented in film … We tried to be as specific and true to these stories as much as possible.”
Carson’s favorite ‘Stranger Things’ character and who she thought was a ‘jerk’
Carson also discussed Netflix’s megahit Stranger Things.
The actor said she just got through the last season of the show and called it “mind-blowing.” She was then asked who her favorite character is in season 4. Carson replied that it was Sadie Sink’s character (Max Mayfield). However, she quickly changed her answer to note that her all-time fave is Gaten Matarazzo who plays the character Dustin Henderson.
The Audacy host stated that he rewatched the series from the start and recalled that he previously “hated” the character Steve Harrington, portrayed by Joe Keery, because he was a “jerk.” Carson agreed saying: “Steve was a jerk,” before adding, “but he redeemed himself.”
The superstar who has always inspired Carson
Staying with the topic of what she’s been watching on Netflix, Carson said she really enjoyed the Jennifer Lopez documentary titled Halftime and revealed that the star has always been an inspiration for her.
“She always was [my inspiration] growing up. J.Lo did a concert in Puerto Rico over a decade ago, and I had the DVD and I would watch the concert after school and dream of one day being able to do something like that,” Carson recalled. “I’ve always admired her, because she’s also an actor, producer, singer, Latina, philanthropist … Just because she’s a woman, and Hispanic, she had to keep fighting for respect.”
