Our interview with ‘Kirby Buckets’ star Jacob Bertrand

We met actor Jacob Bertrand when he was visiting Manhattan recently. He stars as Kirby Buckets on the Disney XD show “Kirby Buckets.”

How old were you when you started acting?

I think I was 5. My first audition was an Oscar Meyer commercial and I was blessed and ended up booking it. I was like 5 years old, kindergarten, didn’t have my two front teeth. My line was “Grandpa, Grandpa you got to try this.” I was talking about little Oscar Meyer meats and stuff. I’m 16 now, so I’ve been acting for 11 years.

Do you pick the drawings that are in the show?

A lot of the drawings are done by a separate animation studio, but I can draw some of them. They have a whole team of people who are drawing everything for the animation of Kirby Buckets. I wish I was that good at drawing, but unfortunately not amazing.

What was your experience like on the first day on the set?

First day on set was really cool. There’s definitely a lot going on because we’re a single camera, so we have these two huge cameras that shoot everything. Cameras are moving around, there’s a lot to get done, but it was really cool. I love being on set. Acting is like one of the coolest jobs in the world. It was a total blast.

Since your show premiered in Australia and New Zealand, what were your favorite things about the countries?

I’ve never been to either of them. I’ve always wanted to go. I hear the waves in both are awesome because I love surfing and everything in the water. I’d love to go. I love all my fans and the support they give me all around the world, but I would love to head over there.

Would you rather be a singer or a musician?

That’s a good question, I like that question. I think I would rather be a musician. Just because I play guitar and I love playing and I’m not too much, I don’t consider myself an amazing singer, I’m more just like I can hum along. I’ll play and have someone else sing. I love being a musician. It’s some of the coolest jobs in the world — like rock star, actor and director. But yeah, I love being a musician.

Do you think your family in the show carries weight to your real family?

Definitely. My sister in the show, Olivia [Stuck], she plays Dawn Buckets. We’re like best friends on set and that’s kind of how me and my sister are. When we’re in the show, me and Dawn have kind of a rivalry and we kind of don’t like each other very much. But then off set when we’re just hanging out, we’re best friends. That’s kind of how me and my sister are. Sometimes we’re really angry at each other and then other times we’re like best friends. It’s kind of the same thing.

Is one of your real dreams to become a professional animator?

I think that would be so cool. One of my buddies is really into animation, and all the work that it takes to do animation stuff is totally insane. You have to have a lot of talent and really know what you’re doing. I think that would be really cool. There are so many different avenues of this industry that you can go into and each different one is super cool.

What is your favorite cartoon character on “Kirby Buckets”?

Probably Tri-Butt. Just the name alone is pretty funny. He’s got three butts, he thinks he’s king of the world. I really like Tri-Butt, usually funny. I really like Macho Taco, he’s one of my personal favorites, the wrestling taco. I think that’s pretty cool. Tri-Butt and Macho Taco are my two favorites right there.

Do you like to play in animated movies or in movies where you play yourself?

Anything animated is really nice because you can show up like in your sweats, sweatshirt and you’re in a booth and you’re just hanging out with the director and just going over your lines. So it’s definitely a little bit more laid back. You get a little bit more freedom, but then live action you’re on set, there’s a lot more, I’d say it’s a little bit more hectic. It’s just different environments. I think, for me, I think I like doing more live-action movies more. I think I prefer that just a little bit more just because I used to do a lot of different animated TV shows and stuff, like “Bubble Guppies.”

Do you and Olivia Stuck [Dawn Buckets] ever fight in real life?

I don’t think we’ve ever gotten into a fight. We’re really good friends. We go to Six Flags on the weekends. She’s really cool. I don’t think I’ve ever got into a fight with anybody on the cast. We’re like a family minus the bickering part, I think. We just hang out and have fun, hang out in the green room, whatever.

Which was your favorite movie that you were in, “ParaNorman” or “Jinxed”?

I think I like “Jinxed” just because it’s live action and we shot it in Vancouver and I’ve never been to Vancouver before. It was really cool.

Is there any actor or actress you would like to work with?

I really like Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He’s crazy talented. Joseph Gordon-Levitt or Matt Damon. I love “Good Will Hunting.” I think that would be really cool. Or like a Jason Bourne movie, be a spy whatever, like action kung fu.

What is the best and worst part about being famous?

I think the best part, some of the perks, I just got a gift from Starburst. They sent me 30 pounds of Starburst in little bags in a duffel bag. That’s obviously pretty awesome. A lifetime supply of Starburst. I don’t think there are any cons. I think I was really blessed having these opportunities, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon for giving me this chance to be on the show, be in a movie.

What real-life adventure would you prefer? Amazon rain forest or Outback?

I would probably want to go in the Amazon rain forest. I think that would be pretty cool. It would probably be kind of sketchy with all different like huge animals out there.