Exclusive Interview: Sophia Mitri Schloss, Sara Echeagaray, and Nell Verlaque Talk Big Shot 2

Sophia Mitri Schloss, Sara Echeagaray, and Nell Verlaque are three of the stars of Disney+’s Big Shot.

In Season 2 of Big Shot, Marvyn Korn (Stamos) returns to Westbrook with a new fire, ready to show that his basketball team belongs in D2 and that he’s still the championship-winning, powerhouse coach he was in the NCAA. Marvyn’s latest plan toward relevance is to get his team broadcast on ESPN and his method is to recruit an unlikely player: Ava (Echeagaray), a gutsy beach volleyball phenom whose public tantrum got her ousted from her own sport. Between losing their assistant coach Holly Barrett (Gilsig) to a rival school, new friction amongst teammates, a sudden and unexpected proximity to boys, and off-the-court disasters that no one could’ve predicted, this season, the Westbrook Sirens have even more to prove.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Sophia, Sara, and Nell about Season 2.

PC: Sophia, throughout this series we see this push-and-pull relationship with Emma and her father. How will that continue to be tested in Season 2, and how did you and John [Stamos] create the bond and trust needed to tackle that dynamic?
Sophia: We really get into it in Season 1 for sure. There’s a lot there. There’s a lot of growth that happens in Season 1 regarding their relationship, which is really cool to watch and to play. Season 2 is really a continuation of that. It goes quite deep into their past, and as you said that trust is really necessary and sometimes not always there in their relationship. John is such an incredible person, performer, and scene partner.

I think pretty quickly in Season 1 we created a great rapport outside of our scenes together so that when we got into our scenes it was super comfortable. I know him really well. He knows me really well. I really trust him. He trusts me as well. We had a great dynamic when we got to some of the tougher scenes so that we could always start up conversations. We’d ask each other, “Does this feel real? Where is the direction of this scene going?” All of that felt very natural, safe, and fun. I’m very grateful to have had that dynamic with him. He’s incredible.

PC: Sara, you’re a new cast member joining Season 2 of Big Shot. When we’re introduced to Ava, she has these walls up. Over the course of the season, we’re going to see that chip away. How did you prepare to step into her shoes? What else should audiences know about her?
Sara: Like you said, in the beginning, she’s kind of a bully. She’s a bit of a mean girl. She butts heads a lot with a lot of the characters, especially Nell’s character Louise. That’s partially because she believes she has to be number one at everything and so does Louise.

Because of that, I feel like they challenge each other and clash a lot. But yeah, at the start of the season, it’s basically one tone. She’s very hardheaded, but throughout the season, we’ll get to see her peel back the layers. She’s actually a bit misunderstood. But we get to see so many sides of her, which I think is exciting for viewers to see.

PC: Nell, in addition to the incredible work that you’ve done on screen, you’re also a singer-songwriter. If you had to pick one of your songs that best describes Louise’s journey in Season 2, which would it be and why?
Nell: Oh my gosh. I would say “Landlines” because I wrote it about growing up and the growing pains that come with that. I feel like this season is a test of her getting out and away from her family. She’s becoming more independent. She meets a boy. She’s trying to navigate her future and education.

PC: These characters are so complex and layered. If you could play another character on this show, who would it be and why?
Nell: I want to be Mr. Stamos, so Coach Korn. I want to scream. [laughs]

Sara: I would take Yvette Nicole Brown’s role. I love her role. I love how strong she is as a woman. I love her role so much.

Sophia: That’s such a good question. I’m leaning towards Jessalyn Gilsig’s character, and it’s funny that we all picked adult characters. I love Jessalyn so much. I love that Holly has so much going on and you can always tell what’s in her head. I love Jessalyn. Maybe I just want to be Jessalyn. She’s so expressive. I love her and her characters.

Make sure to follow Sophia (Instagram), Sara (Twitter/Instagram), and Nell (Instagram). Watch Season 2 of Big Shot today on Disney+.