Disney Star JOSHUA RUSH Gives His Best Acting Advice.

Photo Credit: Lesley Bryce / Graphic by: RPP

It's highly likely that you recognize Joshua Rush. The young actor has been consistently landing high profile projects since his career kicked off at just 10 months old. A Texas native, Joshua and his family moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of acting. Since then, he has consistently nabbed roles in all entertainment mediums.

On TV he is known for playing ‘Young Chuck Bartowski’ in the series Chuck, and as ‘Little Sylar’ on Heroes. He has also appeared on Bones, CSI: NY, Criminal Minds, Medium, Children’s Hospital, Private Practice, and See Dad Run.

Rush has been cast in elite film projects as well. His starring role in Parental Guidance alongside Billy Crystal, Bette Midler and Marisa Tomei, stole the holiday season (and our hearts) back in 2012. He also starred in the independent film Saving Lincoln, the film Break Point alongside Jeremy Sisto and David Walton, and in Sex, Death & Bowling with Adrian Grenier.

Also widely known for his voice-over work, Joshua can be heard in hit shows like: Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, Gravity Falls and Netflix's The Adventures of Puss in Boots. On the big screen, fans have heard his voice in Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas, Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Escape from Planet Earth.

Today, Rush voices Bunga in Disney's sequel series to The Lion King called The Lion Guard and can be seen in the newly released horror film Emelie. We caught up with the talent to discuss his career and advice for aspiring performers!

RP: How did you get into acting?

JR: My mom was really the one that got me in, when I was too young to talk! She noticed I liked to be in front of the camera, and I started off doing local modeling, then it expanded to theatrical roles around Houston (where I grew up) and it just kept growing and growing! Eventually we moved to LA, and well, here I am I guess!

RP: So exciting! Do your family and friends think it's cool that you're in all of these awesome films and television shows?

JR: They’ve been really supportive and happy. A bunch of my friends, family and I always get together to have release and viewing parties. My family and friends are always really excited when I tell them I’m working on a new project.

RP: I first saw you in the film Parental Guidance. I was watching with my family and we all thought you were great! How was it working with acclaimed talent like Billy Crystal, Bette Midler and Marisa Tomei?

JR: They were all so incredible. They’re such accomplished actors that I was pretty starstruck at first, but over the three months we shot Parental Guidance, the whole cast got really close, so it was a lot of fun.

RP: What actor would you most love to work with in the future?

JR: Daniel Craig would be cool, because, well, James Bond! My dream role is to be James Bond, and he’s expressed that he’s not sure how many more movies he wants to do. In slides Josh! (hopefully).

RP: Ha! That would be a dream come true. Congratulations on the film Emelie as well! Your performance is getting great reviews. Since it's a horror film, what kinds of things did you have to do for the audition?

JR: It was a pretty usual audition, in context. I had some sides (scenes from the script), and had to tape them. After we sent the tape was when things got crazy. Within the next day, I had a Skype session to talk about the role (I don’t think we ever even got to doing the sides) with the director, and in two days I was on a plane to Buffalo to go and film the movie! It was a crazy rush job, but I’m glad I could rush in!

RP: Well, you are Joshua RUSH. Sorry, that was a bad joke... How was the shooting experience and working with the Sarah Bolger who played such an evil part?

JR: Sarah is TERRIFYING. Not in real life, but she really took on the role of Emelie so well. She’s an incredible actress, and while she’s such a scary person on screen, off camera she is really funny and great to hang out with.

RP: Were you ever really scared during a scene? If so, how did you come out of it?

JR: Not me specifically, but during the filming of the scene where [SPOILER ALERT] Emelie mixes the poison/sleeping medicine for the kids to drink, Sarah screamed a terrifying, murder scream to get herself ready and in to the character. Thomas Bair, who plays my little brother Christopher in the film got so scared by her scream that he cried! After that point, she screamed in a pillow to dampen the noise.

RP: What's your favorite scary movie to watch?

JR: The Babadook is a personal favorite. The way your feelings about the characters change throughout the film and the utter creepiness factor makes it one of the best made in my opinion. I have heard The Conjuring is good, though. That one’s on my list.

RP: You have done a lot of voiceover work as well in your career. How does your performance differ with those types of roles?

JR: It’s so similar, yet so different. One thing I’ve noticed that is different between me and my coworkers on my VO shows who do exclusively VO, is that they move significantly less around the mic, whereas I like to take off my shoes when I walk in to the booth so that I can run and jump. It’s a little thing I’ve noticed that shows the difference between me, an actor who does VO and on-camera, and an actor who does just VO.

RP: What's been your favorite VO experience thus far?

JR: The Lion Guard, which has been an almost 3 year journey, and one of my first VO shows, has been an incredible ride. The crew, cast, and the people working at the studio know each other so well. It’s been amazing, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

RP: I imagine playing Bunga in The Lion Guard must be fun. It is Disney, after all!

JR: The movie was amazing, and the show is incredible too. As I just said, we’ve all got to know each other so well, and it’s so much fun to walk in to a "Lion Guard" session.

RP: What is the best piece of acting advice you've ever received?

JR: My acting coach, Lisa Picotte preaches that if you lose a part you were really excited about, you’re allowed to grieve the loss for one day. Then, it’s off to the next, because if you are too sad to focus on the next job, you’ll miss the biggest opportunities.

RP: We like to end these on an inspiring note. What is your best piece of advice for aspiring young performers?

JR: The advice above. If I had grieved about one part I lost, I wouldn’t have booked Parental Guidance. Same with Puss In Boots, and Lion Guard. Nothing that I’ve accomplished today would have happened if I had moped about one part too long. It’s always on to the next, no matter how much it sucks.