Past Foot Forward

Twenty years ago, I was watching Pixel Perfect on Disney Channel. The film followed in the footsteps of Smart House and gave us food for thought about artificial intelligence. It also took a leaf out of the Cheetah Girls’ book and showed us four young women performing music together. One of those talented Pixel Perfect women is Tania Gunadi, actress, voice-over artist, and drummer extraordinaire!  

Tania grew up in Indonesia and was the only person in her town to win a green card lottery. She explained that after arriving in the US and studying to become an accountant (as her mother wished), Tania was the youngest candidate for acceptance at one of the world’s top three firms, pending an important exam. Her passion for acting quickly changed her life. Portraying Cindy in Pixel Perfect is one of Tania’s many Disney Channel credits that earned her a famous “wand ID.” In addition to roles on Even Stevens, Go Figure, Girl Meets World, and more, Tania helped launch Disney XD by starring in its first-ever original series, Aaron Stone. She works hard for every role, even if it means learning to ice skate in just one day after an instructor says it’s impossible. Tania tells us about her life in the entertainment industry, and what it’s like to be part of the Disney Channel family.

Enjoy my conversation with Tania Gunadi! This interview has been edited for length.

Allison: One of my favorite Disney Channel shows is Even Stevens.

Tania: That was my first ever acting job on TV.

Allison: You played Allison, who was initially Twitty’s girlfriend, and I rewatched your two episodes today. I love your arc on that series. It’s just so cute. And it really brings his character out of his usual routine to have a girlfriend. So I would love to hear about your audition story for that show.

Tania: Even Stevens was what really changed my career. 

My family wanted me to be an accountant. I came to America because I won a green card lottery. Coming from Indonesia, which is a Third World country, it was very hard to win. The chances are literally zero. You [could] apply for the green card lottery by sending as many envelopes as you want. Of course, the rich people in Indonesia would send literally thousands. You’re going to laugh at this, but it’s actually expensive to put postage, and then you have to drive to the post office. It’s a big deal for Indonesia. And my mom told me, ‘You know what, I don’t want you to ever go to America. I want you to just live with me and keep me company.’ And I said, ‘Okay.’ Then my family said, ‘Well, you should at least send one envelope to give her a chance, just in case.’ So my mom begrudgingly sent one envelope, and it’s crazy. In my town, I was literally the only person who won.

[In California, my accounting exam] happened to be [the same day as] the callback for Even Stevens. And I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I have never had a callback.’ It was, like, my first audition for TV. My manager at the time, or my agent, and all my friends, my acting teacher, my mom, everybody told me, ‘Do not go to the callback.’ Because the callback is like twelve girls, and it’s not even a sure chance. 

And so I listened to everybody’s advice and I did go to the exam, but then while I was literally 15 minutes in, I looked around and I said, ‘Oh, my gosh. This is my life, though. I really want the Even Stevens callback, even though the chances are small.’ And I just couldn’t do it, man. I ran and I went to the callback. I did not feel any competitiveness at all. I just felt so natural and excited. When I booked it, it actually was what launched my career, and it’s just so amazing.

Allison: That’s like a movie. Sitting there taking this test and having an epiphany, like, I’m supposed to be here following my dream!

What was the Even Stevens cast like to work with? It’s a show that was so smartly written. It’s funny in a way that it didn’t talk down to kids. It was a very sophisticated level of humor. And then you bring in this sweet, romantic storyline, even just the end of your first episode, where you all are in the foam mattress pit.

Tania: By the way, that foam thing was the audition scene.

I came in nearing the end of the season, and they were already friends, so I came in almost like a stranger. But the people and the kids are very welcoming, and they treat you equally from the beginning, so it doesn’t make you feel nervous. And also, when we have scenes together, there are some shows where if they are the series regular, sometimes when it’s my close-up, they would just go somewhere, and you have to read with, like, a PA. But people at Even Stevens, the kids, even though they’re busy and they have to go to school on set, they were always there for you. They treat you like an equal, and I just loved it, and it was such a great experience.

Also, the producers are all very, very supportive. I mean, they would come in and say, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ and talk about things, and it really feels like being part of a family.

Allison: I love that. A couple years later is Pixel Perfect. Across your work at Disney, you’re involved in projects that centered female characters, that required unique skill sets–and,  like this one, that took big swings in sci‑fi and is now just a little scary to look back on with where we are. So when you reflect on Pixel Perfect, do you remember what you thought of the script and the themes of that movie?

Tania: I was like, ‘What? I get to play the drums?!’ That was the best thing because when I was in Indonesia, we didn’t have much money. My dad said, ‘But you can take any classes you want in music.’ So I tried the guitar and the piano and the organ. And then one day–I feel like I’m always this person–I took the guitar classes for, like, two years, and I was already at the top level, and I was about to perform in two weeks to a huge audience. And then, during my rehearsal, I overheard in another room, somebody was playing the drums. And I was like, ‘What is that?’ I took a look and I loved it, and, kind of like the accounting thing, I said no to the guitar. I gave up right away. I said I wanted to do the drums. That’s what I really want! And so I took the drums classes for, like, a year, and it was so amazing.

My mom and my dad [told me drums were useless]. ‘A guitar you can play, you can do performances.’ So when I saw ‘Pixel Perfect, it looks for a drummer,’ I was like, ‘Yes! I can finally play the drums!’ It was just so fun. I think at the time, I was so young, so I didn’t even think about the meaning of the female-driven script or about the theme and stuff like that. I think at the time, my focus was just having fun and getting to hang out with other girls.

Allison: I love Cindy. I think the Zetta Bytes as a whole are so iconic in DCOM history. How did they put you all together? Was working out the band part of the audition?

Tania: The audition process was so fun. My agent called me and said, ‘Okay, so it’s three of you left. And the acting part, they already like all these three girls, but they want to see if you can really play the drums.’ ‘Cause, you know, sometimes actors say, ‘Yes, I can ride a horse,’ and then you actually can’t.

I was so excited. At first they wanted me to prove it, that I can play the drums, but I told them, ‘Why don’t you guys come to a rehearsal studio in Burbank (which was near Disney Channel)?’ And they’re like, ‘Okay.’ So I was already rehearsing at that studio [with] real drum sets, and it was, like, padded walls. The producers came in and the director, and I played the music really loud, and I played the drums! It was so, so amazing. And then two days later, they said I got the job.

We filmed in Utah. Raviv is one of my favorite actors, by the way. Oh my God, I love him so much. So me and the other girls, they brought us in two weeks early, and they gave us all the music. We all play different instruments, so they hired coaches separately. We would learn all the songs, the best we can. The last four or five days, they’d put us together, and they would play the music, and we would do our best to play as if we’re a band. I did my best to be exact because it was my dream to be a drummer. I want to say that in one of the songs, I actually played without the pad.

Allison: We have the classic Disney Channel audition scene. They do one of these in High School Musical also, where you have the girls coming in to audition for you all as lead singer, and people still remember the one who comes in and is like, ‘My life is a library book…’ Do you remember that?

Tania: My gosh, I just remembered it now that you said it, yeah, that is crazy!

Allison: There’s that one, and then I also love anytime there’s, like, a ‘girls going shopping,’ trying on clothes montage together. I love those fun, girly moments in that movie.

Tania: I love all the girly moments, and you know who had a lot of fun, too, was Spencer [Redford, who played Loretta]. I did not speak to her ever since the movie, so I have no idea how she is, but she gets to do all the acrobatic stuff.

Allison: Yeah, she did a great job making the holographic character believable, for sure. So I would imagine that it was a pretty quick turnaround from this to playing Mojo in Go Figure, right?

Tania: Mojo is so funny. I still have the jersey that everybody signed. It was so fun. 

So I am a great roller skater, right? I love roller skating. I auditioned first and then I got a callback and then I met the director, producers, and then again, [there were] the top three girls for Mojo. And they said, ‘Well, now we have to see if you can ice skate.’ Same thing, like the drums. So my agent called. I’ll never forget this. My agent called me at, like, 9:00 in the morning.

He said, ‘Tania, you’re on the next round, and the only thing you have to do now is, they want to make sure you can ice skate. Can you ice skate?’ 

I said, ‘Is that like roller skating?’

Then he’s like, ‘No, ice skating is totally different. It’s on ice with blades. Can you ice skate?’

I said, ‘By when?’ 

‘By when? What do you mean by when? If you cannot, you cannot.’

‘No, by when?’

‘By tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. They want to meet you at the Pasadena ice rink.’

I said, ‘Okay, I can ice skate.’ I was like, ‘Can’t be difficult, right?’

So I called the Pasadena ice rink and I said, ‘Hey, guys, I need to hire a private coach, and I want to hire for an hour or two. I need to learn how to ice skate.’ I went there at 1:00 pm or something. I put on those skates. Oh my God! I was like, ‘What? This is not roller skating at all.’ I couldn’t even stand. We tried it on the ice, and I was scared to death. We tried so hard, Allison. I wanted to cry. But I stayed there all evening, and by the next morning, I was like, Lord, please, I just need to be able to go one round without falling.

That morning, I remember there were a couple of other girls auditioning. I saw them, and they were great. I was the last girl, and I remember saying to myself, ‘Well, you know what? The other girls can ice skate, but they didn’t show characters. They didn’t play Mojo. They just ice skate.’ So I came up with an idea [to be Mojo]. While I was [skating], I yelled out my lines and I was like, ‘Come on, let’s go!,’ just acting everything out as I go around. I was able to do one round just like that. The instructor was there, and you could tell that he thought I was crazy. It was so fun. Even the best ice skater (Jordan was the one who knows how to actually ice skate,) nobody can be as good as ice hockey players in two weeks, no one can do it. 

After [landing the role and getting] two weeks training, they ended up hiring doubles for everyone. I was actually very pleased.

Allison: Disney Channel Original Movies are continually nostalgic for millennials like me, who got to see them at their height. When you were in Pixel Perfect and Go Figure, the brand was already really well-established. DCOM premieres were events to look forward to. What’s it like thinking back on it, to be part of this legacy?

Tania: It’s so heartfelt, especially [around the holidays], to reflect. My favorite thing is Disney. My favorite channel is Disney—I want to cry! It was the first channel that gave me the opportunity. Even Stevens. I mean, I didn’t really speak English well, and I had to go to voice coaches to be able to say all the lines of Even Stevens. They gave me a chance when I didn’t understand the American culture. I always go back to Disney Channel, [Even Stevens], Pixel Perfect, Go Figure, Aaron Stone, and then I went back to do Imagination Movers, Penn Zero, several others. And now I’m in StuGo. It’s a new animated series where I’ll be one of the main characters. I just love being on Disney. It’s so true.

…what attracted me to the movie industry, is whenever I’m on set, I cannot find something that is better than this, to see everyone work together and co-creating at its best.

Allison: With Aaron Stone, you were part of the launch of Disney XD, the first-ever Disney XD series, 15 years ago in February. To be honest with you, I definitely succumbed to, I guess I would say, the gendered binary Disney was sort of designing with XD. I didn’t watch it too much. I stuck with the Disney Channel girl-geared programming. Disney XD [was] clearly marketing more towards the boys. But I hope that Aaron Stone, especially with this anniversary coming up, will land on Disney+, so it’s easier for people to watch. 

How did you become involved in this show, playing a character with a double life? What was it like to launch an entire new cable channel through being a part of that?

Tania: It’s so amazing. I remember that day when we went to Comic Con to launch this, and I believe it was my first Comic Con with the Disney Channel. It was J.P. [Manoux], Kelly [Blatz] and David [Lambert] and me. I think Bruce [Kalish] was there, the creator. Then there was Gary Marsh, the president of Disney [Channel] at the time. I have never been so inspired. I told Gary so many times. I saw him speak to all these people, and something, the way he said it and things that he said, it was just so eloquent, I was so proud. That was a moment. You know how in life you have ten defining moments or moments that you always remember? I will never forget that time at the Comic Con. It was something that just made me inspired to stay in the movie industry. Maybe, I’m hoping that someday I can be a producer. I wanted to be like Gary. That’s what I wanted.

[With Aaron Stone], it was just so nice to be able to book something that seemed so far-fetched. 

And playing a double agent, that’s like a dream role, to be able to play a regular schoolgirl during the day and then a superhero at night, like a badass sidekick. [My character] was the weapon specialist. Literally for weeks, I was practicing all these things. Because I’m a girly-girl, right? I love glitter and all that. So now I have to channel, into a character, what does it feel like to be a sidekick? [I did] all kinds of research. Also, all the action stuff, I had two body doubles to do the sword fight, to jump, and all these things. They gave us a lot of training with the stunt team, and we actually became best friends, me and the stunt team, because I lived in Canada with them. So usually after we’d film on the weekends, we’d hang out, go to the mall, and it was one of the most fun times, working with them. 

Thank you, Tania, for sharing your experiences on Disney Channel with us! Tania’s Instagram is @taniagunadi29. Follow her there, and follow @pastfootforward for all the Disney Channel nostalgia.