Exclusive: ZOMBIES 4 Stars Name Their Characters' Favorite Cast Albums

When Zombies 4 arrives this week, longtime fans will be introduced to two new species living in the world of the Disney franchise: vampires and daywalkers. Three of these new characters are played by actors Julian Lerner, Swayam Bhatia, and Mekonnen Knife, who sat down with BroadwayWorld to discuss the movie ahead of its debut.

"Ray is very confident in who he is," said Lerner of his character, a daywalker who harnesses his energy from the sun. "He tries to be the leader and the favorite, so he walks with his chest up and always is first." Knife and Bhatia, on the other hand, play vampires, which required specific physicality for the actors to perfect.

"It took me a few tries to get the 'vamping out.' Paul [Hoen] wanted a very specific way of getting that perfectly without making it look tacky, but still making it look cool... Eventually, I got it down."

"I tried to harness my facial expressions," explained Knife. "That's where my physicality would come in when it came to the acting side of things...Once I figured out my groove, I had the most fun with it."

During the conversation, the trio also shared their own favorite Disney Channel properties growing up, and brainstormed the cast albums or soundtracks that their characters would have on repeat. Watch the video to find out their answers!

In Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires, a new adventure dawns for zombie/cheerleader power couple Zed (Little Shop of Horrors' Milo Manheim) and Addison (Meg Donnelly) when their summer road trip takes an unexpected detour, landing them in the middle of a monster rivalry: Daywalkers vs. Vampires. 

Tensions flare when Zed and Addison find themselves acting as camp counselors between the two opposing supernatural factions. With help from Eliza (Kylee Russell) and Willa (Chandler Kinney), they must convince sworn enemies Nova (Skye), a radiant Daywalker, and Victor (Barton), a brooding Vampire, to try to unite their warring worlds before an even greater threat endangers them all. The new movie premieres on Disney Channel on Thursday, July 10, and will be available to stream on Disney+ on Friday, July 11.