You might recognize 16-year-old Dylan Riley Snyder as Milton, the nerdy, super-smart karate kid from Disney XD’s hit show KICKIN’ IT. In the show, Milton and his friends Kim (Olivia Holt), Jerry (Mateo Arias) and Eddie (Alex Jones) are students in the struggling Bobby Wasabi Martial Arts Academy. They were practising in the worst dojo of the chain until Sensei Rudy (Jason Earles) came in to help and recruited a new kid Jack (Leo Howard), who had a reputation of being an excellent skateboarder. Now, Milton, Kim, Jerry, Eddie and Jack are five teenagers navigating their way through school, relationships, homework and the added challenge of trying to keep their dojo alive.
THE MAGAZINE caught up with Dylan on one of his days off to talk about the show, raising cancer awareness, The Man Cave & Olivia and One Direction.
You play Milton on Disney XD’s KICKIN’ IT. Tell us about Milton.
Milton is this awkward, geeky but very smart character. This season, he has started to grow more and become more social and figure out who he really is among this group. He’s changing things up a little bit and expanding his horizons.
What can we expect to see in the coming season three episodes?
You’re gonna see some crazy episodes! We have some cool guest stars coming up and big fights. You’ll see some of the more little character details such as the girlfriends that we have, the dates we go on and what characters end up going where and how our paths take us there. Also, we get jobs and this is a big part of the season. Upcoming, we have Gabby Douglas, the Olympic gold medalist, on the show. I’m really excited about that episode.
Why do THE MAGAZINE readers have to watch KICKIN’ IT?
I think that everybody should try out KICKIN’ IT because it’s a great show with a lot of different themes. It’s never just about karate or never just a kids show; it has something for everybody. Try it out and see if you like it! There are a lot of funny jokes for the adults and references of older movies. We have a fun show that has good morals and lessons to learn.
How much knowledge of martial arts did you have before starting the show?
I believe the term is absolute zero. I did not know karate at all before this show. I had watched some karate movies and I loved watching Jackie Chan and Jet Li…any kung fu movie was my jam. I wanted to take karate – it was on my bucket list before I was 16– so when I got the call for the job I was like, “Oh cool, but I don’t know karate. Hopefully this will work out.” I was super excited. We actually got to train a little bit and then learn about how it worked and how we were going to make it work on screen. It was a nice experience.
Milton loves books. Why do you think reading is important for kids and teens, and do you have a favourite book?
My favourite book is THE HOBBIT by J. R. R. Tolkien. I think reading is good for kids because it awakens an imagination. It can be kind of hard to get your mind thinking and get those wheels turning. So, get into it, whether it’s comic books or the 700-page HARRY POTTER books.
You started acting at a very young age – only 18 months! What advice would you give to kids and teens who want to pursue acting?
Keep going for your dreams. Make sure that you want to do it, you’re out there and ready for it, and then good things will come. Patience is a virtue.
You support the American Cancer Society and a program called Relay Recess. Can you tell us about the work you are doing with them?
I chose the American Cancer Society because my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer about 35 years ago and she’s still with me today – she has won the fight. It’s something that meant a lot to me because I love my Nana. I worked with Relay For Life at my school a few years ago and we’d go and do the field day and walk and every time I took a lap around my field, I felt like I was doing something important for my Nana and cancer. Now that I’m older and I’m on a show, I decided to support and join the American Cancer Society and Relay Recess. The schools are going to have their fundraisers and whoever raises the most money gets a field day where I get to come and join them, hang out with them and do the activities. It’s all about raising cancer awareness.
Also, you’ve visited children’s hospitals with LOLLIPOP Theater Network, singing and playing instruments with sick kids. How does helping others and giving back make you feel?
It makes me feel like I’m helpful, happy… there’s no exact word for it. When I go there, I love hanging out with the kids. They’re really bright; some of them are shy and some are fans of the show. They’re happy to be there hanging out with you and I’m happy to be there hanging out with them. We get to sing with them and teach them a little about music.
Do you play any instruments?
I dabble. I kinda play guitar, drums and piano. I’m learning bass right now because we’ve created a band on set – The Man Cave & Olivia. We put a bunch of instruments together and there was a bass that nobody was playing and I took it. It’s gone pretty well.
We heard that you are a fan of One Direction. Who’s your favourite? Do you have any other guilty pleasures?
I’m a fan of Harry – cool guy. Niall is pretty cool and I also like his name. I like Celine Dion and video games – LEGEND OF ZELDA and MARIO.
What’s next for you?
We have a bunch more episodes of KICKIN’ IT to film and I’ve been working on school a lot because I want to go to college at some point. I’m working with the American Cancer Society, doing the field day and hopefully some meet & greets. I’ve never been to Canada, but it’s somewhere I want to go.
Thank you, Dylan! Catch KICKIN’ IT Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. EST on Disney XD!