Rising Child Star Alejandro Estevon Angel On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry
An Interview With Elana Cohen
Be ready for rejection, a lot of it. There are going to be a lot more “no’s” then there are “yes’s” so you have to be ready to not give up, it’s part of the process.
As a part of my series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Alejandro Estevon Angel.
Alejandro Estevon Angel is best known for his role as Star Child in the Blockbuster Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 with Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista. His incomparable talent will soon be seen in the August release of Harold and The Purple Crayon with Zooey Deschanel and Zachary Levi. Other notable credits include American 11 with Sarah Shahi, The Baby Dro Show Presents: Extreme Obstacle Challenge for Kids as well as a lead role in the upcoming film The Pearls with Garret Dillahunt. Known to his fans as Baby Dro, this Atlanta native has done several National Commercials for brands such as Chevy, Kids Foot Locker, and Delta Airlines. When not working or dazzling the photographers on the red carpet, Alejandro can be found on YouTube and Twitch streaming Fortnite and Roblox, practicing Jiu Jitsu, or playing sports.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in Atlanta, GA and was raised by my single mom and my big sister. I am black and Mexican (Afro-Latino) but was predominantly raised by my Mexican side of the family. I have a big family and we love to party, celebrating every little achievement and holiday. My family is big, loud and full of personality just like me.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
My mom tells me that the movie Shrek is what brought me down this specific career path. She says I watched that movie hundreds of times and memorized the whole script and always acted out the movie as I watched it. She says I even changed my voice like the actors. I started modeling as a toddler because I was super cute, or so I’ve been told, and eventually started acting around the age of four. I love it so I’ve stuck with it.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your entertainment career?
The most interesting thing that happened to me in my career was meeting a lot of my favorite YouTubers at the 2023 Kids Choice Awards. I met the famous YouTube families FGTEEV, The Royalty Family & Ninja Kidz. They were all very nice and I took pictures with all of them. I also saw Mr. Beast, I can’t believe I was in the same room as him! It was super cool, I never thought I would get to meet so many of my favorites especially on the same day.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I first started acting, I used to talk with a British accent sometimes or tried to change my voice when auditioning. I thought I had to sound a certain way but turns out the producers would tell me just to be myself. It was actually very funny because people would be so confused about where I was from, and one time somebody asked me and I said I was from New York City. My mom started cracking up and told them she didn’t know where I got that from and everyone else laughed too. I have learned to just be myself, that always works out for me best.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
The most interesting project I’m working on right now is my YouTube channel. I’m working hard to grow my audience and following. I have almost 200,000 subscribers. I am a gamer and I live stream gameplays. I even let some of my subscribers join in on the fun. Kids are always asking me how they can be big YouTubers and I give them tips and tell them to stay consistent. I encourage them to follow their dreams, and I think since they see that I did it they believe they can do it too.
Most young people your age don’t have to balance work and school. Can you tell us how you manage to balance your schoolwork, auditions, and time on set?
Homeschooling makes it easy for me to balance school and acting. I’ve never been to regular school because I booked my first major movie when I started kindergarten. Because I can do school anytime during the day, that leaves a lot of room for me to do auditions and be on set. Also, when I’m on a set for a long time they have school time during set, and we have a teacher on set.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
This is probably my favorite question, the person who helped me most along the way, is the person who gave me life, my mommy. She’s the one who brought me to where I am and let me be who I am and encourages me to “do me”. She’s the one who pushed me to be a model and actor and she’s the most wonderful person I know. I don’t know what else to say but I am forever grateful for the best mom ever. She gives me everything and helps me with everything and is my support system.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?
1 . Be yourself. If someone is going to like you, it’s best they like you for you.
2 . Be ready for rejection, a lot of it. There are going to be a lot more “no’s” then there are “yes’s” so you have to be ready to not give up, it’s part of the process.
3 . There’s a long journey ahead. Everyone thinks it’s overnight, when reality is you have to put in a lot of work for a lot of years and even then it might not go the way you want. I’ve been acting for four years and still have a lot of goals I want to reach.
4 . Training is forever. No matter how good you are, never stop learning. I used to think a few acting classes here and there were all I needed. Now I know, you must keep training, especially when you’re not working. You have to stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready!
5 . You have to love what you do. Acting never feels like a job, it’s normal for me, but I do know some kids that I started with that gave up along the way. It’s important to like what you’re doing, because it’s a long process and you have to feel good about what you do.
You are a person of enormous influence. How do you think you can use social media as a platform to be a positive influence to your fans, and for society at large?
I want to be a big YouTuber to help underprivileged kids in other countries, especially in Mexico. I want to be like Mr.Beast and have a philanthropy non-profit company to be able to bless others. I think it’s important for kids to see these kinds of things to encourage them to want to be better people and help others as well.
If you had the ability to choose to work on any TV show or film, or work alongside any co-star, or with any director, what or who would that be, and why? You never know who might see this article, especially if we tag them. :-)
If I had to choose to work alongside anybody it would definitely be Dwayne Johnson aka “The Rock”. Everybody knows that’s my favorite actor and I would love to meet him and act with him in one of his movies. He’s just such a cool dude, I love his bald head and want to be strong like him when I grow up. He’s funny, and I’m funny too, I’m sure we would make a really funny movie together.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can follow me on Instagram @itsbabydro and subscribe to my YouTube channel @BabyDro
This was very meaningful, thank you so much!
