Niko Ceci Talks I Woke Up A Vampire, Being A Young Actor, And Future Projects
With all the vampire films and TV shows coming out lately, where’s one for kids to enjoy? The answer is within Netflix’s hit show I Woke Up A Vampire starring Kaileen Chang as a 13-year-old vampling and Niko Ceci as her human best friend Kev Gardner. When she suddenly discovers she has supernatural powers, she has to learn to navigate her new life. Ceci is a rising young actor whose roster includes work in Clifford the Big Red Dog, Blues Clues & You, Odd Squad, The Secret Museum, and more. He spoke with Pop Culture Planet’s Paola Cardenas about I Woke Up A Vampire, his ambitions, and what to expect next from him.
Much like us, Ceci has always been very fond of supernatural stories, which is what drew him to the show’s script. “I’ve always been a Harry Potter fan. I love fantasy shows and movies so I remember always telling my agent if any audition like that comes through, make sure to send it over because I would love to work on a show like that,” he told me. “When my agent got the breakdown for I Woke Up A Vampire and sent it over to me, she’s like, ‘This is so perfect for you,’ so I just really fell in love with the script and that fantasy element of it.” Ceci also added that the show is unique and in its own separate genre due to the horror aspect targeted for a kid audience.
As his biggest role to date, Ceci recalls the amazing moments from being on set. “My experience on I Woke Up A Vampire was just so amazing. I have never worked on a show where I had this big of a role so being able to get the real experience and work with the same people for six months and get to know everyone on the crew and the cast was just so amazing because we all became one big family,” he explained. “It was like living my dream. The actor's dream is to be working every day on set and my favorite part was doing stunts and green screens. It was just such an amazing experience.”
Of course, what would a kids show be if they didn’t stir up some pranks on set? “The funniest moment was I remember me and Kaileen, alongside the makeup team, pranked the producers. We got these red clown noses. […] Before we started rolling on this scene, we put them on, and we did the entire scene with a straight face,” he laughed. “The producers looked so confused ‘cause they’re like, ‘Is this supposed to be happening right now?’ They were like, ‘Can we check with makeup if they are supposed to be wearing these ‘cause it really doesn't make sense?’ That was probably my favorite memory ‘cause they were just really confused.”
Another highlight for him was diving into the stunts. “My favorite part to film was when I’m on the rooftop and I get blown off because that was such a fun day. There were so many different special effects and stunts,” he said. “It was just so cool to film that scene and look at it after once the show released because it was so different.”
I Woke Up A Vampire has many different blended characters such as werewolves, fairies, and gorgons. Though his character is one of the only humans on the show, Ceci does have a blended character in his mind that he would love to be. “I would have to pick half-human half-merman because I just love the ocean,” he said. “I love Aquaman. The new Little Mermaid live-action movie I’m a huge fan of. I think that would be really cool.”
Aside from acting, Ceci has also found a love in music. “I really fell in love with dancing and singing when my parents took me and my sister to the theater for the first time to watch the Ross Petty show. It's over here in Canada. I remember being in complete awe looking up on the stage being like, ‘This is what I want to do.’ I was always into the classic movies like The Wizard Of Oz and Annie and I was always singing along with the TV and dancing,” he said. “So my parents caught on and they started putting me into dance lessons and singing lessons. From then on, I just never looked back and that’s what I wanted to do. I just really love the arts. I feel like it's an amazing way to express myself through dance and singing and music. You listen to different songs based on what mood you’re feeling and it’s just something that I love to do.”
The love Ceci has for performing keeps him grounded amidst his rising stardom as a young actor. “It’s kind of a full circle moment because when I was a kid, I would look up to some of the younger actors like Zendaya and all of the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon and Netflix stars. I was like, ‘I wanna do what they do one day.’ To be in their position and have some kids look up to me, it's such a great feeling,” he shared. “But at the end of the day, we’re all people and we all share common interests so it’s very fun. I love to perform. I’m not that big to the point yet where people are constantly noticing me, but that’s the goal. I love the arts. It’s not all about the glitzy glam part.”
Many actors also set out to become producers, screenwriters, and directors such as Emma Stone, Jordan Peele, and Margot Robbie. Attending an arts school, Ceci has gotten involved in that process as well. “I love to direct little films at school. I already have started to dabble in that and I love writing scripts and writing music too so I definitely would one day want to produce my own series and have full creative control over that. I think that would be amazing and so fun.”
If you’re wondering what ideas Ceci has for a potential series, it would be a show like Glee that allows the “mixing all of the arts together and have a mishmash of everything.”
Stay tuned for music announcements on Ceci’s Instagram and stream both seasons of I Woke Up A Vampire now on Netflix!
