May 25, 2004

Star Struck

SpyKids’ ‘Juni’ visits K.R. Smith Elementary

By Bea Baechle
Editor

Evergreen felt like Hollywood for the kids of Katherine R. Smith Elementary School on May 10.

When Daryl Sabara, who played Juni Cortez in the popular Spy Kids movie trilogy, pulled up to the school in a jet-black limousine, his fans on the playground cheered at the top of their lungs to welcome the young actor.

K.R. Smith was one of only four winning schools in the nation—one in each time zone—to receive a special visit from this popular 11-year-old in conjunction with a school lunch promotion developed by Schwan’s Food Service.

In partnership with Miramax and Dimension Films, the promotion used the high-energy Spy Kids characters and themes to promote proper nutrition and encourage participation in school meal programs.

Meeting a movie star
In two separate assemblies, the confident yet down-to-earth sixth grader told Evergreen students that he attends a public school called Bert Lynn Middle School in Torrance, Calif. Sabara is the only professional actor at Bert Lynn, but because he’s gone to school with many of his classmates since kindergarten, he’s just a regular kid to them.

Sabara’s first acting break arrived when he was just 7 weeks old, appearing as Candice Bergen’s baby in the popular television sitcom of the ‘90s, “Murphy Brown.” Sabara revealed that his favorite of the three SpyKids movies was the first one, because he liked the gadgets introduced in that film the best. He described the special effects as “movie magic,” explaining that many of his scenes using that movie magic are shot next to a piece of tape instead of flying in the air.

When one student asked if Sabara really saves people, he hesitated for a moment before truthfully answering, “I’d like to.”

The talented actor is currently working on an animated series for NBC with John Goodman and Carl Reiner, an animated movie based on the book, “The Polar Express,” and a radio show called “Last Chance Detectives.” This month, he begins work on an independent comedy film called “Lucky 13.”

When asked what he likes about acting, he answered, “I get to travel, make new friends and meet you guys.”
Daryl Sabara, the kid

The K.R. Smith kids bombarded “Juni” with not only movie questions, but also everyday questions about his favorite music, books and video games. His favorite modern band is ColdPlay, but he admitted that he was more of a “Classic Rock kind of guy” who liked Led Zeppelin and The Eagles, earning nods of approval from some of the teachers in the audience.

Sabara’s favorite book “right now” is the Newbery Medal-winning novel “The Giver” by Lois Lowry, and his favorite video games are PlayStation2’s “Stunt Man” and Game Cube’s “MarioCart.” In his spare time, Sabara said he likes to ride his bike and play with his dog. He’s also a black belt in karate.

Sabara’s appearance wouldn’t have been complete without education questions like “What kind of grades do you get in school?” from K. R. Smith Principal Chris Corpus.

“Straight A’s,” answered Sabara, who added that he loves to read. Sabara then asked Corpus, “Can I be principal for the day?” Corpus simply responded, “Can I can be a movie star for the day?”

Before ending each assembly, Sabara introduced his mom and twin brother Evan, who will accompany him on his promotional tour to Montana, Nebraska and New Jersey before returning home.

Although Evan Sabara doesn’t look anything like his twin brother, he is pursuing an acting career, currently appearing as the “spiky-haired kid” in the movie, “Raising Helen.”

Sabara graciously signed as many autographs as his fingers could write and even ate lunch with children. By the end of the day, all the students went home with a SpyKids poster, ruler and trading cards. The school also received 100 sets of the SpyKids movies.

A parting word of advice from Sabara for those budding actors and actresses in Evergreen, “Get the auditions, follow your dreams, don’t give up and try as hard as you can. But right now, school work is the most important thing.”