Local actors, 12 and 14, gear up to play pranks in Disney XD show

Earlier this year, two Las Vegas Valley youths were chosen for the cast of the Disney XD show “Walk the Prank” — sort of a “Punk’d” for kids — and the show was recently renewed for another season.

Centennial Hills resident Cody Veith, who plays Chance, and east valley resident Brandon Severs, who plays Dusty, landed leading roles pranking unsuspecting people. Episodes have included a visit from an alien, a gorilla at a school, a pool monster, and scaring a babysitter with the Pigman.

Before this, they were in a 30-second local TV ad for Providence Master Planned Community, known as the “Sandlot Commercial.”

Veith, who turns 14 soon, attends the online public school Nevada Connections Academy. Disney designated him as the star of the show.

“It’s definitely a huge step for my career,” he said. “It was something I had to adjust to. … Being a series regular, you have to work hard.”

When filming, the two actors are in Los Angeles for four months. A family member stays with each.

They are given the premise of the prank and advised how to react, but because of the unknown — that is, the innocent person being pranked — the actors have to rely on their improvisational skills to further the joke.

Veith’s favorite prank is “Candy Ice,” where a new security guard was handcuffed to a fixture as part of a magician’s illusion. But then chaos erupted in the store.

“It was pretty crazy. I was (loading up) buckets and buckets of candy, and the dude was just in shock, going, ‘What’s going on?’ The funniest part of the whole bit was when he was trying to explain (to his employer) what had happened,” Veith said.

The Disney actors don’t just have to react to what’s happening. They wear ear pieces and get direction from the crew at the same time.

Veith said his preparation at boutique entertainment company Hollywood Access Inc. helped.

“The (classes there) helped so much so that I wasn’t a complete rookie at the whole improv thing,” he said. “The teachers, I can relate to them. We learn so much, and it’s so much fun.”

Las Vegas-based Hollywood Access Inc. has about 100 students enrolled, ages 4 and up, with 35 percent working on locations. Brandon , 11, has been with the agency for three years and Veith for two.

“There were many times they’d go out for a job and wouldn’t get it,” said Sabra Smith, one of the principals of the agency. “Even if they don’t (get roles), we tell them, ‘If this is what you want to do, keep training, keep showing up at the workshops and keep believing, and it will happen for you.’ ”

Smith said she’s spoken to industry professionals who said actors from Las Vegas “don’t exude an air of entitlement. They’re fresh faces.”

Brandon is one of those faces. He is home-schooled and said “Pranked” is the biggest thing he’s done. He said it’s different because it blends on-the-fly pranks with scripted sitcom-style acting.

“And there are kids pranking adults, not adults pranking the adults,” he added.

His favorite episode is “Wigging Out,” where one of the actors got a really bad haircut and so the others as a sign of support. Of course, none of the cast actually got horrible haircuts — that was the prank.

“I got to wear a really fun wig,” Brandon said. “I’ve learned how to have fun with friends while the camera is rolling. It all goes back to training.”

He’d said like to continue acting and have a role in a film, preferably a comedy with Tyler Perry.

“I love how he plays different characters in his movies,” Brandon said.

Visit disneyxd.disney.com/walk-the-prank.

To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.