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Denver native Reece Caddell gets her big break on Nickelodeon’s “All That” reboot
The beloved sketch comedy series returns with new episodes in September
From left: Denver native Reece Caddell and Ryan Alessi on the Nickelodeon reboot of “All That,” which originally ran from 1994 to 2005. (Photo by Scott Everett White, provided by Nickelodeon)
As the time between reboots and remakes shortens — we’re looking at you, Spider-Man, “Aladdin,” “Men in Black” and “Charlie’s Angels” — so does the likelihood that anyone will have a chance to forget about them.
Unless, of course, you weren’t born when the original was in full bloom. That’s the case for 13-year-old Denver native Reece Caddell, who was never able to watch Nickelodeon’s massively popular sketch comedy, “All That,” during its original run from 1994 to 2005. The show helped launch the careers of Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”), Kel Mitchell (“Good Burger”) and others, spinning off series, tours and merchandise that still linger in the popular consciousness.
At least for folks old enough to remember them.
“When I was younger, I watched the classic kids shows like ‘Little Einsteins,’ ” Caddell said over the phone from Los Angeles this month, where she has worked on and off since 2014. “Watching ‘Gilmore Girls’ with my two sisters was definitely part of growing up together, and now I love ‘Brooklyn 99,’ too.”
Caddell’s path to a starring role on “All That,” which relaunched in June with a mix of newcomers to the series (such as Jermaine Fowler) and returning cast (Thompson and Mitchell), included making dozens of videos for a YouTube channel with her older sibs called Three Ginger Sisters. That gave her a head-start on the auditions, casting calls and ladder-climbing that most Hollywood hopefuls are expected to endure. Those, in turn, led to commercials and parts on an increasingly high-profile list of TV shows such as “Fresh Off the Boat,” “Schooled” and “Coop and Cami Ask the World.”
So how does a 13-year-old from Denver control her nerves on a show whose first episode featured The Jonas Brothers? Read on for our chat with Caddell — including some helpful context from mom Melissa — and watch new episodes of “All That” on Nickelodeon starting at 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 21.
Q: Your biography says you’ve been acting since age 5. How did you get into it so early?
Reece: My sisters Cam and Maddy began acting first. My oldest sister, Cam, really wanted to do acting, but in Colorado at the time there wasn’t as much of a business as there was in California. So we met Sue Coffee, who runs a showcase for kids called Hollywood Showcase Denver. She’s super amazing and was sending Cam out for stuff.
Melissa: Sue brings agents and managers to Denver, so that’s how we made our original connection. At the time we were focused on our oldest daughter, who was 7, and Reece was literally 5 months old when we were going back and forth (to Los Angeles), so she’s been hauled into audition rooms since she was a baby. We were like, “OK, you’re all doing it! Unless someone hates it specifically.”
Q: You’re clearly comfortable in front of the camera, Reece.
Reece: Oh yeah, I was going back and forth for about seven years before I moved out here.
Melissa: We’d drive from Denver to California for episodic or pilot season, be here six to 12 weeks at a time, and then come back out for pilot season. So eventually we decided to relocate the family as a whole in 2013. And my husband, Casey, who’s a software engineer, started working for Disney as an Imagineer designing theme parks, so it worked out.
Q: Despite all that, were you intimidated to get the “All That” job?
Reece: I used to think I had a pretty good idea of most of this stuff, but then we were just kind of thrown into it. We did a lot of awesome red carpet stuff, so it’s really just been one adventure to the next. You just kept going and going, and while it’s super cool, it’s also kind of confusing at first. I don’t know if I realized how unusual it was, or how my life is unusual in general.
Q: What was your first time on set like?
A: When we were filming the first 13 episodes we’d have Fridays where we’d do a live studio audience, so I was super, super nervous for that. But it turned out it was just like doing regular filming — but with more laughing because a lot more people were having an awesome time than just the producer and writers. Sometimes I get stage fright, but going to auditions I just feel like I’ve been doing it for so long, so I assumed that was a normal thing. It’s good to get a little nervous because that keeps you grounded and a little bit more human. Of course, in a live TV interview I actually forgot where I was from once.
Denver native Reece Caddell co-stars in the Nickelodeon reboot of “All That,” which original ran from 1994 to 2005. (Photo by John Tsiavis, provided by Nickelodeon)
Q: Do you miss Denver?
A: Definitely, I was born and raised there for the first eight years of my life, and it’s a great place to grow up. I miss the museums and the zoo. I used to jump on the trampoline in our backyard, which was a lot of fun. I miss helping my dad shovel snow in the driveway. But we visit whenever we can. We were there for a wedding last year and I got to see all my old friends who lived up the block.
Q: What’s the biggest difference between Denver and L.A.?
A: The biggest difference when we first moved is the oxygen. There’s so much more oxygen in L.A. than in Colorado! I miss snow days a lot. Sometimes we have fake snow days where we just turn up the air conditioning and snuggle up under the blankets, make popcorn and watch TV. My mom will make really, really good food and we’ll close the blinds — because of course we can’t go out. It’s a snow day! They’re like mental health days and we make sure we don’t do anything except chill.
Q: Do you credit your YouTube sketches for getting into sketch comedy at such a young age?
A: That was definitely training for it. My sisters are so hilarious and growing up with them helped (develop) that sketch-comedy muscle. And, oh, the dinner table. Most of time when we have a meal together we don’t eat most of it because we’re laughing too hard and everything’s coming out of our noses. Everyone always has a witty comeback to something. I basically had to be funny to survive in my family. But the great cast I’m working with has helped me grow, and even if I look at the last episode we filmed compared with the first one, I can see the difference. I also love the writing (on “All That,”) and it’s cool to see it come to life with the insane hair and makeup and props.
Q: Do you feel like you’re part of a Nickelodeon tradition?
A: Definitely. (“All That”) was such a pop-culture phenomenon in the ’90s. We have some original cast members and characters, so there’s the same sort of wacky vibe. And people on other shows, like Jace Norman of “Harvey Danger,” have made us feel welcome. That’s how I grew some of my physical comedy, from watching him. Technology has advanced so this new show’s going to be different. There’s a new generation of kids watching and making it, and they have different senses of humor. But it’s so amazing to work with (original cast members) and just see how their minds work. The first time I met Kel he walked into the room with open arms and told us, “It’s not this show that makes you special. You are all special by yourselves.” But it’s also really hard to sitting across from him when he’s working and trying not to laugh.
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More Nick: Nickelodeon Orders Up All That-Inspired Good Burger Pop-up with Team Behind Viral Saved by The Max!
Originally published: Sunday, September 01, 2019.
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