Born in Southern California, Cassidey Fralinstarted acting at the age of 8. Before long she could be seen on Black-ish alongside Anthony Anderson and The Big Bang Theory starring Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki. Her big break was when Cassedy landed a recurring role on Disney Channel’s hit show Sydney to the Max where Cassidey’s comedic ability shines as Young Aisha alongside such Disney stars as Jackson Dollinger, Ava Kolker, and Ruth Righi. This dynamic performer can also be seen in Maroon 5’s music video “What Lovers Do” with over 538 million views as well as BET’s movie “We Belong Together” and “Always and Forever” now streaming on Amazon. A true triple threat Cassidey is a trained singer with a soulful voice and a talented dancer whose passion for performing is evident. Cassidey is interested in social justice, medicine, and enjoys working with charities that help the elderly and young children. When not working, she spends her time reading and immersing herself in the Korean language, music, and culture.
How does it feel to achieve success at such a young age?
Honestly, I feel humbled and awed by the number of people who’ve engaged with Sydney to the Max, especially since the show has tackled such important topics – it feels like a big responsibility to not disappoint those fans in the future, which is nerve racking yet very thrilling. My goal is to avoid letting what success I’ve achieved get to my head and to just focus on doing what I love while also gratefully acknowledging all the cool opportunities that have come along thanks to Sydney to the Max – I’m really thrilled to have gotten to do this, but I consider myself successful so long as I have the chance to practice acting.
What excites you about working for Disney?
I’m really excited about working for Disney because it’s such a major platform — I know that as a kid I loved classic Disney Channel shows like That’s So Raven, Shake It Up, and Boy Meets World, and it’s really exciting to think about other kids feeling the same way about Sydney to the Max. And given the strides that Sydney to the Max has made with regards to representation of Black people and Black joy in the industry, it’s especially gratifying to know how many kids and families we’re able to reach.
What has your experience been like working with celebrities like Jackson Dollinger, Ava Kolker, and Ruth Righi?
I was really lucky to join a show with experienced Disney actors like Jackson, Ava, and Ruth — having come in in the third season, I can’t tell you how helpful it was to have them model for me how they balanced school and work and how they navigated the TV world as child actors. Even following their Instagrams taught me a lot about how to interact with fans, how best to use the platform, and how to share our show as impactfully as possible!
You’re a multi-talented artist with a knack for both singing and dancing. What brings you more joy, singing or dancing?
That’s a tough question to answer! I’ll say that singing and dancing both bring me huge amounts of joy, it just depends on my mood – dancing is great for when I have a lot of energy and I just want to express that energy and make everyone feel as cheerful as I do; I also love to focus all my energy on making a slow, emotional song sound as beautiful as possible. However, it’s always fun to snap my fingers to an upbeat song and to do a more understated dance that relies on technique – so I guess I really have no preference.
You’re quite admired for your comedic abilities in Sydney to the Max; how do you feel in your role? Do you find any similarities between Young Alisha and Cassidey, or are they two completely different people?
I felt really fortunate to play a character so similar to myself – Alisha’s sense of humor is very similar to my own, and we both care about school, surgery (I’m a card-carrying Gray’s Anatomy stan), and making friends with our friends’ parents haha. That made it very easy to inhabit and empathize with her and to connect with the other actors. For example, Jackson Dollinger, who played young Max, became one of my closest friends on set — we joke about how, like how our characters, we became fast friends who always have each other’s backs — and I think our onscreen and offscreen chemistry strengthened each other.
To know more Cassidey Fralin don’t forget to follow her on Instagram @iamcassidey
