Sofia Carson making bold moves, closing a year of milestones and dreams come true [Exclusive]

Being a part of this film was the easiest part. Yes, I was approached to read for Nora shortly after ‘Purple Hearts’ was released. I remember reading the short description of the film and then the log line, and it immediately captivated me. 

Telling the stories of extraordinary women has always been paramount for me in my career and the roles I choose to play. I wanted to ensure I wasn’t playing a damsel in distress in a male-driven action movie. And I loved very much that Nora was never that. 

She’s a bold, brave, fearless young woman who knows exactly what she wants out of life. She’s the youngest Head of Operations at LAX. Her boyfriend is stuck in life and has stopped believing in himself, but she knows who he is in his heart and pushes him to be more.

Nora gave so much heart. The movie had such action, stakes, and danger, while Nora and Ethan had their love. I felt the heartbeat and heartfelt moments of the film, and I loved that! I loved bringing that to life and working alongside Jason Bateman, Taron Egerton, and Danielle Deadwyler. It was a unique experience.

Well, a lot of nerves! The stakes were high. Working with actors of that caliber is beautiful because it forces you to step up extraordinarily. And also, you learn so much from working alongside your co-stars. 

It was extraordinary to work alongside an actor of Taron’s caliber and watch Jason Bateman do his magic. I was a sponge and absorbed it all. It’s just incredible that I was even a part of this cast. I’m so grateful and so honored.

This was my first action movie, and it was a big-budget action movie. We took over an entire airport in New Orleans and turned it into LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). So we lived in New Orleans for five months and visited the airport basically every day as if it were LAX. 

To me, the newest aspect was the stunts. The stunts are extraordinary in this film. Working with stunt coordinators, I had a whole week of shooting my big sequence, which involved running through LAX and being chased by the sniper. So all of that was really special to witness. 

Also, the different kinds of cameras and equipment, angles, and vision required to bring to life an action movie are very different from those of a drama, romance, or comedy. So, it was a very cool world to step into.

Absolutely! I was always a big nerd in school, and I carry that with me in everything I do. I’m a massive over-preparer and studier—if those are the correct words. And my first question to Jaume Collet-Serra, our director, was, ‘Can I meet a Director of Operations?’ because it was a job title I wasn’t entirely familiar with. 

So, I shadowed the Director of Operations of the New Orleans Airport for a few days, asked her many questions, and lived the day with her. We even got to do the rounds on the tarmac because often, a big part of their job is driving through the tarmac multiple times a day. So that was very important to me, just for the mental preparation of how Nora got to where she was at that point in the film. 

Now, every time that I travel and go through TSA, I think of it differently because, you know, their days can be so extraordinarily hectic, especially on days like Christmas Day. So every time I walk through an airport, I think of my time shooting this film.

99% was at that airport. It was pretty extraordinary. I was in the cockpit of the airplane that was used. I remember using a green screen once, and it was not that exciting. It’s a scene where Taron Egerton and I are on the bus heading to work. That was shot on a green screen. But the scene of us on the tarmac, all of that is real.

I don’t think I’m a nervous traveler. Luckily, I haven’t felt overwhelmed or had that bug. I also travel a lot for work, so if I did, I had to get over that quickly.

Yes, it’s a really good question because oftentimes, it’s very hard to shake the emotions of the day. Now that you mentioned that to me, my mood was definitely affected because it was stressful, scary, and fast-paced. And often, even though the mind knows you’re playing a character, the body can’t tell the difference.

So often, yes, it was hard to shake, but you also had the joy of being able to call cut and then laugh with your co-stars and laugh with the crew. So it’s a combination.

It’s the literal definition of a dream come true: to sing with Andrea Bocelli and to have released music. When I was a little girl, I dreamed of being lucky enough to be an artist. I would listen to Andrea Bocelli and tell my mom that the day I was fortunate enough to sing with him would be when all my dreams would come true. And this year, I got to live that dream many times, which is extraordinary. 

I was invited to perform with Andrea at his 30th-anniversary concert in Tuscany this summer and to be a part of the concert experience, the film that’s in theaters now, as well as his duet’s album that’s iconic. 

This Christmas, we will be performing together again, which is one of the greatest honors of my life, and I’m forever grateful. Singing with him is everything and so much more than I could have ever imagined. There’s something just so magical that happens when we hold hands and harmonize together, and it feels like heaven.

Thank you for noticing. Yes, I’ve been trained classically since I was 11, but I’ve never sung opera. However, singing with Andrea, I tapped into that muscle and that part of my voice. So in ‘Moon River,’ and whenever I do my live performances with him, especially in ‘White Christmas,’ I’ve been tapping more into that kind of operatic part of my voice. So thank you for noticing!

The greatest honor of my life is being an ambassador for UNICEF. It’s the most significant role that I’ll ever play. I was very lucky to travel with them earlier this year to Tanzania, where I went on a field trip with an incredible team and watched the work that they’ve done around girls’ empowerment and girls’ education. 

Anytime I have the privilege of traveling with UNICEF, It’s extraordinary to witness firsthand the life-changing power of an education. I can’t stress enough that my work, platform, and education save the lives of young women worldwide. Now that we are witnessing so many rights of young women being stripped in different parts of the world, it feels more paramount than ever to use our voices in everything and do everything we can to be the voices of young women worldwide. And I’m just forever grateful to UNICEF and the work that they do. They are heroes! 

This year, I have three films coming out in the next few months, beginning with ‘Carry On,‘ and then two films next year, which I filmed this year. The first film is called ‘The Life List,‘ which is a film that I shot in New York alongside Connie Britton, who plays my mom. And it’s a beautiful coming-of-age drama-comedy, and I play an extraordinary young woman named Alex Rose. I can’t share much else, but it was one of the most incredible gifts to be able to tell this story. It’s based on a beautiful, beloved book, and I can’t wait to share it with the world. 

I just finished shooting ‘My Oxford Year,‘ a beautiful romance based on a beloved novel I filmed in London and Oxford this fall. I can’t wait to share it with the world next year, too.

One of the following films I have coming up that was announced recently is a small independent film called ‘Last Night At The Lobster‘ with Wagner Moura. I’m excited to be stepping into that world soon. Apart from that, I’ve always wanted to do a period piece. That would be special. 

I would love to work with so many extraordinary female directors out there right now. Continuing to challenge me as an actor this last year was such a gift that I got to use my muscles in so many different ways, and just continuing to do that for myself is a gift. So I’m so looking forward to what the future holds. 

I will be spending the holidays with my family, as we do every single year, and I really look forward to that every year, and this year, especially!