Even though he's only 24,Milo Manheimhas been a singing Disney zombie for so long that the youngsters who grew up watching him are now his costars. That was extremely helpful going into"Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires"because Manheim and fellow returning mainstay Meg Donnelly didn't have to explain the franchise vibe: catchy tunes, group dancing, fun monster stuff, good times had by all. But Manheim wasn't expecting so many of the new kids to be old-school "Zombie" fans. "They were clearly like, 'Oh my God, that's Zed and Addison!' " Manheim recalls. "To know that we've made such an impact is really crazy." Join our Watch Party!Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox In the latest "Zombies" (streaming now on Disney+), gridiron-dominating zombie boy Zed (Manheim) and his human/alien cheer captain sweetheart Addison (Donnelly) go on a road trip the summer after their busy freshman year of college. They wish they could spend more time with each other, and they do, although it winds up being trying to bring peace to two new warring factions: Daywalkers and Vampires. Manheim, who's also an executive producer on the film, has been a staple of the "Zombies" world since the first 2018 movie, and his star's been on the rise since. He competed on a season of "Dancing with the Stars," starred in the movies "Thanksgiving" and "Journey to Bethlehem," and currently plays a high school football phantom on the teen supernatural show "School Spirits," which starts production on Season 3 soon. Plus, he just wrapped a stint playing Seymour opposite Elizabeth Gillies' Audrey in the off-Broadway revival of "Little Shop of Horrors." The California native, son of Emmy-winning actress Camryn Manheim, discusses the new "Zombies," his "Little Shop" run and what's next. Question: In recent years, you've either played or been around zombies, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, a man-eating plant and a holiday-themed serial killer. Are you just drawn to horror and the supernatural, or have you just followed the best characters and projects so far? Milo Manheim: I don't know why the industry seems to pull me in this direction. Not that I disliked horror movies or paranormal activity TV shows or anything, but I never watched them. The best part of this all is that I have totally opened my mind and found what makes them so awesome. So maybe the universe was trying to teach me something. I have no idea why I'm always like a dead football player or something that has to do with the afterlife but I'm not complaining. What's new this time around playing Zed? Zed has always been a leader, but the biggest change is he's no longer the young 'un. He has now kind of taken on the, I don't even want to say father figure, but that's kind of what it is. He is inspiring the next generation to pick up where he left off. But outside of the movie, having all these new young kids that reminded me so much of my experience on the first movie, I really wanted to step up to that position. I am looking forward to seeing how they take hold of this franchise. Was that emotional for you and Meg, to pass the torch on to the new folks because it has been such a big part of your life? We did a lot of crying before, during and after shooting the movie. But I will say before we started the movie, I was nervous. I was scared, and a small part of me didn't want to pass the torch because I'm like, "We've done this thing, we've created it." But literally immediately after we had our new cast members, it was like, "I can't wait for them to take this torch and run with it and burn the flame even brighter." What did you learn about yourself playing Seymour in "Little Shop" eight shows a week? Not to toot my own horn, but I learned that I am a better singer than I thought I was. I went into this show seeing the names of the past Seymours in the dressing room –Darren Criss, Jeremy Jordan,Jonathan Groff– and being like, "I don't know what I'm doing here." I sort of told myself, "Milo, don't worry about the singing. Seymour doesn't have to be a good singer. He just needs to serve the story." And I really focused on the comedy of it all and the physical aspect. And then as I went through the show with Liz, I really grew my confidence as a singer and just a performer on stage. Did the show fuel your passion to do more musical theater or to be on Broadway? It fueled everything. It fueled my drive, my excitement, my passion. It also fueled my fear, for sure, but that's the best part of it. There was one show where I had a nosebleed on stage, and I ran off and I put a tissue in my nose. We fixed it really fast. After the show, I went up to a cast member and I was like, "Ugh, this is why I hate theater." And she goes, "No, this is why youlovetheater." Seymour getting a nosebleed would be in character. I know. (Laughs) It's very obviously kind of a nerdy look to have a tissue in your nose. But also it happened before the plant opened up, so I was like, "I started bleeding too early. Come on, Milo!" Zed's now in college, and you're now moving to a phase in your career where maybe you're not playing teens all the time. What are you most excited and most nervous about? It's probably the same thing. The nerves and the excitement go hand in hand. I don't necessarily have a "this is what I want to do" mindset. I have a "let's see what comes my way" mindset. I'm a big believer that things will work out and the universe sort of will push things your direction when it's time. I'm just looking forward to stepping into different shoes, whatever they are. I've already done so many different things. I mean, I played Joseph as in Mary, Jesus and Joseph. I played an (expletive) boyfriend in a horror movie. I'm a zombie in a musical franchise. I hope it's continuously weird and diverse in the things that I do. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Zombies 4' star Milo Manheim learns to love horror, nosebleeds
