BREAKING

InterviewsMoviesTV

Q&A: Jet Jurgensmeyer Talks Working on “Hey Arnold” Reprise, Upcoming Projects & More

Jet Jurgensmeyer is one busy tween this fall!

The 12-year-old actor just premiered his indie film called Cupid’s Proxy starring Valerie Azlynn and Jackée Harry in September and has two additional projects coming up these next few weeks.

On November 24th, fans can see Jurgensmeyer in the Hey Arnold reboot, Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie, and in John Cena‘s Ferdinand, which also stars Peyton Manning, hitting theaters on December 15th.

Celeb Secrets caught up with Jet recently to talk all about his recent projects, his love for singing, and how he balances his crazy schedule at such a young age.

Take a read at the full Q&A below and make sure to keep up with Jet by following him on Instagram at @jetjurgensmeyer.

Photo Credit: The Riker Brothers

CS: You’re 12 years old and already have multiple credentials under your belt and have been deemed a “one to watch.” What got you into the industry at such a young age?

JJ: “I actually started when I was three in Nashville. My parents used to own the Nashville Palace. I started on stage and getting up and performing and playing my guitar and singing. My mom always loved to tell the story of when I was little that I would constantly ask to get up on stage to sing and play my guitar. We had some friends that suggested I should try acting since I might like it, and I ended up loving it. I’ve loved it ever since my very first audition. To start it off, my parents were actually two of the producers on the movie, so that was really fun. I actually knew a bunch of the other cast members in the movie prior to working with them on set so that was amazing to be able to reunite with them.”

You recently were featured in the Indie film “Cupid’s Proxy” — can you tell more more about your experience on set and maybe give an overview of the film? What people can expect?

JJ: “It’s about this 12 year old boy and his elderly next door neighbor who has an advice column. She says that she can’t keep up with the younger generation. She doesn’t like Twitter or Facebook; she actually calls it Faceplant, so she somehow talks my character, Justin, into kind of creating a different newspaper/article called Cupid’s Proxy and that’s when the name kind of comes into play. My character is talking to these younger kids on how to go out on a first date and talk to the people that he might be nervous about talking to, so it’s a funny, family movie and it kind of teaches you a lesson too. I think anybody who watches it will immediately fall in love with all of the characters. One of the twists on it is that while I am in disguise as cupid’s proxy, I’m trying to set up my movie mom with my character’s guitar teacher. So through the mayhem of all of this, that’s what he’s trying to do and in the end everybody comes together.”

CS: Let’s talk about “Hey Arnold”… it’s making a comeback! Tell us about your role and how excited you were to take on this reprise.

JJ: “I play Stinky Peterson. One of the things that I love about stinky is that he is from Arkansas, so he has an accent. I’m from Nashville, so it’s fun when I’m able to turn on my deeper southern accent. One thing that was pretty funny was that when i was up in Canada last year filming Legends of the Hidden Temple, I had the callback for the movie. I knew I couldn’t fly back to LA to do the callback for the creators, so we actually had to Skype in and I ended up getting the part. Skype doesn’t have the best audio, but they believed in me which is really amazing.”

CS: Why make a reprise?

JJ: “It answers a lot of questions that people had when the show ended and I think they were trying to answer those questions. It’s kind of like when Nickelodeon did Legends of the Hidden Temple; there was a big demand for something like that because it was such a hit TV show. It answers a lot of questions about Arnold’s parents, why you never saw them, and where they were. It shows that Arnold’s really hurting because he never got to know his parents. I’m not going to say if he finds his parents or not, but I will say that he takes a sigh of relief at the end.”

Photo Credit: The Riker Brothers

CS: You also will be featured in Ferdinand in December starring John Cena. What was it like working with him, and what can we expect from your role?

JJ: “I am really excited about this because I play young Guapo, so the older version that is being played with my role is being taken over by Peyton Manning. I am the biggest Peyton Manning fan, so when I found out that I got the role, and then I found out that Peyton will be playing the older part.. I looked at them and just went ‘can you say that again please?‘ I also love John Cena and he  truly is my favorite, so being with all of these famous people, is really a big deal and I’m super excited about it.”

CS: On top of being an actor, you also sing! Tell us about that and if you hope to take that career anywhere besides just your YouTube videos.

JJ: “That’s actually how I got my start in the industry. Last week, I went in and recorded my first song which should be out either later this month or next month. I’m very excited about that.”

CS: Since we are Celeb Secrets, can you share a secret about yourself that people wouldn’t know about you?

JJ: “I go to my farm in Missouri all the time. I ride my horse and we go check cattle and that’s another time where I am a kid. That’s probably something that not a lot of people know since I’m in California all of the time. I think my grandpa likes it when he has another helping hand on the farm.”

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity. Reporting by Ali Reid. 

Author

  • Juliet Schroder

    Juliet is the founder and executive producer/host of Celeb Secrets and Celeb Secrets Country. When not reporting on the latest news in pop culture and country music, she enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, watching sports and exploring the latest fashion trends. Juliet holds a B.S. in marketing from St. John's University.

Juliet is the founder and executive producer/host of Celeb Secrets and Celeb Secrets Country. When not reporting on the latest news in pop culture and country music, she enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, watching sports and…

Related Posts

Ad Blocker Detected!

(function() {function signalGooglefcPresent() {if (!window.frames['googlefcPresent']) {if (document.body) {const iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.style = 'width: 0; height: 0; border: none; z-index: -1000; left: -1000px; top: -1000px;'; iframe.style.display = 'none'; iframe.name = 'googlefcPresent'; document.body(iframe);} else {setTimeout(signalGooglefcPresent, 0);}}}signalGooglefcPresent();})();

Refresh