KZ: Hi Jahzir! The Witches is your first movie role. Congratulations, that’s so cool! How did you find out that you were going to play The Hero Boy?

J: I did the audition and it took about a week and they sent me an email and they said I got it.

KZ: Were you a Roald Dahl fan before booking the role?

J: I knew Roald Dahl made Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and I used to watch that a lot. I guess you could say that I was.

KZ: What do you admire about the Hero Boy?

J: What I admire about him is that he’s very courageous, he’s brave and he’s just like the leader!

KZ: In The Witches, you play the Boy, and also voice the Boy as a mouse. Did you find that you were doing things differently when you were in the two roles?

J: When I’m actually human, in the first couple of scenes in the movie I’m very depressed and down, but when I turn into a mouse, all that sadness gets flipped upside down. I’m courageous and I’m proud.

KZ: What was it like working with Anne Hathaway?

J: Oh it was great! She was very nice and kind. You just love working around her.

KZ: Did Anne or Octavia Spencer (who plays Grandma) give you any advice?

J: I feel like I picked up experience just watching those two because they made it seem so real, so I felt like I would have to make it seem real too.

KZ: How about Stanley Tucci, did you get to work with him much?

J: Yes in one scene, because there’s only one scene with me and him. He’s a very nice person and he was fun to work around with too.

KZ: The film is set in the 1960s. Did you learn anything interesting about that time period while you were filming?

J: The vibe and the cars, the whole era was different. I actually got to drive in the actual car. I didn’t actually drive but yeah there was this old car and they refurbished it and cleaned it up and all that and it was actually really fun to drive in.

KZ: Cool! We hear that you became friends with Codie Lei Eastwick, who plays Bruno. What did you guys do when you weren’t filming?

J: Yes. When we weren’t filming, he would usually knock on my trailer and I would go and knock on his trailer and we would always love to play videogames together and we would talk. He’s really fun to hang around with. He’s my best friend on set.

Read more of our interview with Jahzir in the January 2021 issue of K-Zone, on sale now!

Check out our interview with Jahzir’s The Witches co-star Anne Hathway, who plays the Grand High Witch!