Janice LeAnn Brown has made a name for herself as Billie, the new leading wizard carrying the legacy and franchise of Wizards of Waverly Place forward in its hit sequel series, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. Janice LeAnn Brown steps up to the plate as the franchise's new witty, sarcastic, and easily falling-into-troubling situations protagonist. Not only is Billie finding herself becoming a part of a family, but she also must face the dangerous reality of a prophecy that falls directly on her shoulders. Janice LeAnn Brown discusses Billie's growth throughout the first season and what she hopes to see from Billie in future episodes.
Culturess: In what ways do you think Billie has grown since moving in with the Russos?
Janice LeAnn Brown: I think Billie has gotten a lot more comfortable, not even just with the Russos but also within herself. I think that she's definitely learning things. She's learning to be, I guess, a little bit less selfish. She's learning a lot of wisdom from Justin, Roman, Milo, Winter, and she's learning friendship, and she's learning a lot of things. Imagine you've grown up your whole life, but you've never been in the actual real world. Obviously, the real world is definitely different from the wizard world. So, she's learning all these new things, and it's just all very new to her. But I'm honestly so proud of her because I think that she's definitely handling it well, and she's picking up on the pace pretty fast, and she's learning, I guess, kind of how to love.
Culturess: Billie has a prophecy hanging over her head. How do you think that influences her outlook on life?
Janice LeAnn Brown: I think that makes her feel very sad because, at the end of the day, she loves the Russos. She's starting to have a love for the world and everything. She doesn't want to ruin what they've known. She doesn't want to do that for them like they've been treating her so well. I think that really puts a lot of pressure on her, and she definitely feels like she has to isolate herself to keep that from happening, and she's trying to bottle up all her emotions, trying not to kind of let anyone really in because she wants to protect them as much as possible.
Culturess: There have been a few references to Billie's life previous to her moving in with the Russos. Is there anything in Billie's backstory that you would like to explore more?
Janice LeAnn Brown: Yes, actually, there is. There was this one episode where she had to wear headgear to sleep, and someone from her past, she had a nightmare about them, and they would call her Brace Face Billie. I think that made her very insecure. I kind of want to explore that little school thing because it was Lucy from Wiz Tech that was calling her Brace Face Billie, and I want to explore a lot more of younger Billie from when she was little, with little headgear. I feel so bad. I kind of want to see how younger Billie handled that.
Culturess: What was the audition process like for Billie?
Janice LeAnn Brown: It was a roller coaster. At first, I thought I completely blew it. I thought in the callback, I was like, 'well, I messed that up,' because I kept stuttering over my lines and because in my work in my craft and everything kind of, as you could say, like a perfectionist. If I keep constantly stuttering over my lines, then I'm gonna get mad at myself, like I definitely put a lot of pressure on myself, more than I should. But that audition process was definitely an emotional roller coaster for me because, first, I thought I blew it. Then they called being like, 'Hey, we want to do a chemistry read,' and I was like, 'What? How? That's not possible.' But it was definitely fun in a way, though, because just that excitement, I guess, of not knowing, really. So I would say emotional roller coaster.
Culturess: How do you think Wizards Beyond Waverly Place continues the franchise legacy?
Janice LeAnn Brown: I think it definitely carries that same family love that it did on the original show and the reason I say that is because the reason why the original show was so loved was because there was also that type of love off-screen. There was that family bond between the original cast, and they were just there for each other, and I feel like it's kind of the same way for my cast now, and we just are really there for each other, and shoot if we ever need to just ball our eyes out, I love how we're just like there for each other, and we're supportive and everything. I think that love really showcases on screen. So I think that's kind of how it's carrying on the legacy.
Culturess: What types of storylines do you look the most forward to?
Janice LeAnn Brown: I look the most forward to the ones when, this probably sounds so mean, but I mean this in like the best way possible. But, I don't know why I always get so excited when I know that there's gonna be a huge learning lesson for Billie like maybe Justin might get mad or something, but I think it just really shows that she's learning. I think the fact that she's showing that emotion towards the Russos just shows that she cares, and how much she really genuinely wants this family, and the fact that they constantly, always forgive her, no matter how bad she must mess up. Those are the types of storylines that I really look forward to.
Culturess: You've gotten to work with many people who worked on the original show. How did that help you build your character and feel more connected to this pre-established world?
Janice LeAnn Brown: The thing that really helped, especially with Miss Selena and everything since, you know, I'm kind of like trying to quote unquote, I guess, "fill her big shoes," and it's a very big shoe to fit because she did such a great job at playing Alex. I think I was putting so much pressure on myself about being like, you know, the lead. I'm like, oh, what if I'm not good enough? What if I what if people don't like me? I was so worried about what others might think rather than just really trusting myself and just having fun, and I think getting to have that advice from the original cast, just is truly so special to me because since they've already done it before, they know how it feels and especially since they built this up. Without them, we wouldn't be here, and they just give me so much strength really to just keep going in this. And they just really make me feel really at ease. And they're so patient. They're very patient, so patient. And it's just coming from a place of genuine love and respect, and I love that so much.
Culturess: Billie does not have to lie to anyone for long about having magic. How important was it to her character to be surrounded by people that she could trust early on?
Janice LeAnn Brown: I think it was highly important because, at the end of the day, I feel like Billie is kind of a loose cannon anyway. I feel like the fact that she was able to say such a big secret to people she kind of had just met, the fact that she trusts them enough to say all those things, and the fact that they were such great people about it, and they didn't go rat her out, or they weren't mean to her. They're guiding her in love and teaching her the Russo way, and I think that's just so beautiful, especially since you know she may not even be blood-related to them, but they treat her like they're her own, and I love that.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place and Wizards of Waverly Place are available to watch on Disney+.