Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Big Shot’s Darcy Rose Byrnes

Triple threat Darcy Rose Byrnes is defying gravity in all facets of her career. Whether she’s crafting over two hundred original songs or starring in projects like Sofia the First, Darcy Rose is a dynamic talent who can do it all.

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with this rising star about discovering her passion for the arts, her new series Big Shot, and how she was approached to write an original song for the show!

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Darcy Rose: Apparently when I was a baby, I would stare at you until you looked at me. Then I would smile. It was something that has always been a part of my life and what I always wanted to do. My first audition was in the womb. I couldn’t see my life any other way.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Darcy Rose: I would say working on Sofia the First—that whole project in general and in particular the director, Jamie Mitchell—because my character, Princess Amber, was so complex. Roles like that are few and far between, especially when you’re the age I was when it came along.

Jamie took me under his wings. He talked to me like an actor. He would very often let me in on his decisions and let me know why he was doing certain things in certain ways. I got an inside look at a director’s mind. That was very influential.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out?
Darcy Rose: There are so many. I would say the most recent one was writing music for Big Shot because I wasn’t expecting to do it. It was something that I wanted to do, but I didn’t think they would take the chance on me because I hadn’t written songs for anyone else before. So I didn’t think that would happen. That was a dream come true.

PC: There are so many different layers to your artistry. You act, sing, write, and dance. Is there one that comes more naturally to you? Is one more challenging?
Darcy Rose: For me, they all blend together. I don’t really see them as different disciplines. When I learn something academically or as a hobby, it usually finds its way into my songwriting. I love languages, for instance. I love learning words that can’t be translated into English and will often put those words into a song.

I actually spoke Gaelic in Sofia the First. That had been a little side hobby of mine. I was learning Gaelic on the side, and then it ended up in the show. So I don’t really think of these disciplines as being separate from one another. As far as most difficult, I would say all of them. Once it’s easy, that’s when you’re not challenging yourself anymore.

PC: Great answer. You’re one of the stars of Disney+’s Big Shot. The series has been incredibly well received. What do you think is resonating most with audiences?
Darcy Rose: People find the characters and stories really relatable. They can see themselves in these characters and in their relationships. Having a show that’s so girl-centric and powerful is something that people want to see. Getting to see it done in such a natural and truthful way is refreshing.

PC: Like you were saying earlier, not only did you star in the series, but you were also musically involved. How did that come about?
Darcy Rose: That’s a great question. Around the third episode, I was talking with Dean Lorey and John Stamos about the future of my character, Harper, and Mouse played by Tisha Custodio.

At that point, it wasn’t quite clear because it was very early on in the relationship. John was asking where it would go. Dean said he thought that Mouse and Harper should play music together at some point because that was what Tisha and I had been doing on set in our trailers prior to lockdown. When he said that, I said, “I think Mouse should write a song for me.” Dean laughed and said, “A song written by Mouse? That would be three lines and only facts.” [laughs] We all laughed it off.

I was like, “Okay.” I sang him another song of mine that I had already written. Then I went home and I wrote that song that Dean had joked about. Tisha and I recorded it together. We sent it to Dean. During quarantine, I got a text from Dean mentioning that they had written that song into episode 8. He asked, “Do you want to write the musical that we haven’t written yet?” and here we are!

PC: Did you feel any pressure when Dean asked you to write the music?
Darcy Rose: I don’t think “pressure” is the right word. I remember when we were shooting episode 4, he told me that there was going to be a musical and that Harper might make an appearance in it. A little voice in my head said, “I could write it.” Then the other part of my brain went, “No, no, no, you haven’t done that before.” Everything that I get to do is a win. Then Dean asked me to write the music. It was a shock and extremely exciting, especially because the song I had written for Mouse, “Everything to Me,” was a folk song. It was simple, and the lyrics were deliberately very choppy.

At one point, actually, Tisha asked me to make it a little bit more convoluted because she said that Mouse wasn’t as good of a writer as I was. But I had made a very particular choice in terms of how Mouse would write music. So they looked at the song and asked, “Do you want to write the Broadway musical? Basically what we want for this is the end of act one of Wicked.” I was like, “How did you go from ‘Everything to Me,’ this simple folk song, to a Broadway showstopper? How did you think I could do that? Thank you. But how?” [laughs]

PC: If the series gets picked up for a second season, where would you like to see Harper’s storyline head?
Darcy Rose: I would love to see more music, but that’s completely a selfish wish because I’d like to write more music. I would like to write more music for the rest of the cast. We have some incredible performers in the show that have not sung yet. What I like about Season 1 is the romance between Mouse and Harper and how it evolves. They make each other better people. I want to continue to see that growth and see how they grow together.

PC: Speaking of music, do you think we’ll ever see you release an EP or album in the future?
Darcy Rose: Absolutely! That’s what I’m working on in my downtime. I have about two hundred songs finished. I’m actually plugging away and recording them in my home studio.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Darcy Rose: I wouldn’t say it’s a guilty pleasure. I really love Wynonna Earp. I watched all of it during quarantine. Basically, anything on Syfy. I have watched all of the Star Treks multiple times. I’m the person that my friends text to get lists of which Star Trek episodes they should watch first. Also, Doctor Who, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Legend of Korra.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Darcy Rose: Deadpool—and What’s Up, Doc? Again, I don’t think it’s a guilty pleasure because it’s a masterpiece. What’s Up, Doc? is one of my favorite movies. I watch it once a year. I know every single part. I know every Barbra Streisand line. Here’s another one: I rewatched Newsroom three times during the pandemic.

PC: Favorite book?
Darcy Rose: I’d probably say The Hobbit. I have read The Hobbit multiple times. I don’t usually reread books, but The Hobbit and The Cricket on the Hearth are probably the two that I will consistently go back and reread. I have a cricket on my little electric fireplace in my bedroom because of that book.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Darcy Rose: My favorite play is a three-way tie between The Scottish Play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Much Ado About Nothing because Dogberry was my first Shakespeare role. I was at RADA. Musical, by far, Wicked. I adore The Fantasticks. I adore Into the Woods. I know every single line from both of those shows. Shrek, again, I know every single line. But I’ve seen Wicked eleven times.

I was Glinda for Halloween. I made my aunt who came out to visit dress up as Elphaba. The following year, she came out again, and I dressed up as Elphaba and made her dress up as Glinda. I have the book. I have both necklaces. I have some wands. I have the power, the sign from Megan Hilty, who I was supposed to be the first. I have Barbies. Kristin Chenoweth followed me on Instagram, and I started crying.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Darcy Rose: Jethro Tull. I only started playing flute because of Jethro Tull, especially “Locomotive Breath.” That was one of my mom’s favorite bands. She introduced me to them. It was my favorite single to listen to together. I went to New York to see them live with my mom since it was our thing. I couldn’t stop smiling. I ended up playing flute for Big Shot, for the overture for “Beth MacBeth.”

PC: Dream role?
Darcy Rose: Glinda! I love that role so much. I feel like my entire career has been practice for Glinda because a lot of the roles I’ve done are shades of that one. I read those lines. I see Megan Hilty and Kristin Chenoweth perform that part, and I go, “I know who that person is.”

To keep up with Darcy Rose, follow her on Twitter and Instagram.