A magical experience with “Magic Kingdom”

Cameras and flashing lights zoom in on actor freshman Trevis Zhang. Ignoring the hammering in his chest and coursing adrenaline, Zhang recites the lines he’s been practicing for weeks.

Zhang has shared a passion for acting with his older brother, junior Preston Zhang, since 2020. His most notable accomplishment is playing the role of Chun in the short drama and European Cinematography Award winner, “Magic Kingdom”. The film follows a single father who brings his son, Chun, from Hong Kong to California with the underlying intent of his adoption. Zhang has also been featured in lifestyle magazine Unistar, several ABCmouse.com promotions and a film called “Vitacamp”, which he filmed over the summer this year. 

His interest in acting sparked when he and his brother were asked by the producer of “Magic Kingdom” to audition for that movie. Zhang enjoyed the role of Chun which led to him taking acting classes. 

“Honestly, I was really shocked and surprised [to get the role] since I saw another kid go before me and he looked like a way better option,” Zhang said.

The steps to filming a movie is a process that Zhang would describe as nerve-racking but enjoyable. Support from cast and crew members has helped ease Zhang’s nerves but he still has expectations on how he performs on camera.

“[Filming] was really fun since all the crew members were really nice. I’ve felt nervous on set and always tell myself it’s really important that [I] get it on the first try,” Zhang said.

Zhang didn’t get to this point alone and credits his achievements to his encouraging family members, friends and acting coach. Because of their continued faith and support, Zhang has further developed skills necessary to become the actor that he is.

“My coach has taught me a lot of how to enter a room for auditions, make yourself be known, stand out from the others [and] how to talk more naturally and less awkward,” Zhang said. “My mom and dad work hard to provide the financial things so I can take my acting classes, and whenever I get auditions my mom helps me with a brief overview so I get everything down really fast.”

However, many difficulties come with being in the entertainment industry. Zhang has dealt with trying to maintain good grades while on the job and finding roles to audition for during the actors’ strike, which delayed movie production processes and decreased the amount of available roles. Though he hit his lowest point during that strike, he’s working hard to rise back up.

“I wanted to give up a little bit since there weren’t a lot of auditions. There was a strike, so [the] company [I worked at] got bankrupt and closed down. I’m looking to move to a new agency and restart,” Zhang said.

Acting is a profession that Zhang plans to continue in the future and a process he considers very rewarding. He has high ambitions and is willing to put in the effort in order to achieve it. Despite the struggles Zhang’s faced, he still loves acting, the opportunities it presents and the achievements he’s earned over the years.

“I like meeting new people [while acting] since you can learn a lot about yourself when you are put into social situations,” Zhang said. “Right now I’m just looking to get more commercial auditions so I can get more natural at acting, then move on to theatrical stuff like more movies.”