East Los Angeles high school cheer squad captain Lina Cruz (played by Christina Milian) and her buds set sights on winning the Spirit Championships with the team’s fiery fusion of Latin and hip-hop moves. But Lina’s world soon gets turned upside down after a sudden move to Malibu—and to a school with a less than stellar squad—with the fam.
She’s ready to transform Malibu Vista High’s Sea Lions cheer squad into a championship team, but will have to get past the award-winning Jaguar squad and their captain, Avery, first. Add to that a budding romance between her and Avery’s brother Evan (played by Cody Longo) and you’re bound to have some drama.
We got 21-year-old cutie Cody on the phone and had him dish on everything from his new role to why he’s a softie at heart.
Malibu Ken
“[My] character [Evan] is not your typical Malibu kid. He is kind-hearted, comes from a wealthy family, but doesn’t have the arrogance that a lot of the Malibu kids in this movie carry. He appeals to Lina because he’s down-to-earth and about himself, not about where he lives.
The BIO Fam…
“We all had a blast together [while filming]. The girls especially had [a] bond because they had a month and a half of prepping and practices for the cheering. It turned into a big family. Between takes we would all just joke around with each other. That made it easier to shoot what we needed and have that chemistry with each other.”
…And his own
“I’m the second oldest [of seven kids]. In high school, I dated one of my [older] sister’s friends when I was a freshman. But it was never a huge problem. I thought I was mature enough to handle it at the time, or maybe her friend was just so immature that she was going to date a freshman when she was a senior. Being able to go one year of school with my older sister was really cool. I remember [she] was this big, popular senior and I was this new, little freshman. I felt cool because all the bigger football players would pick on me, but then also bring me in.”
A man of many talents
“I’ve been playing the piano my whole life and can play by ear. Never taken a lesson. I taught myself the piano.”
A clue on co-star Christina Milian
“Christina is a great girl. Her mom and two sisters all still live together so she’s really close with her family. And they’re all involved in her business and support her so much. I had a blast with her. She was actually the biggest kid on set.”
A tearjerker
“[One of] my favorite movies is Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet—the one with Leonardo DiCaprio. Anything with Leonardo DiCaprio I’m like all over, you know? I’m obsessed. I’m a romantic at heart. You should see me watching The Notebook and Blood Diamond. I cried. All of my friends who are girls make fun of me for it.”
Be sure to catch Cody when Bring It On: Fight to the Finish lands in stores Tuesday, September 1.
Wanna learn more about Cody’s co-star, Vanessa Born?
CLICK HERE to find out.