The 15-year-old actress was discovered by casting directors on Instagram and they brought her in to audition.
Sofia plays Andi Mack’s BFF Buffy Driscoll, who is very athletic and competitive in everything she does.
“We didn’t have a Buffy until two days before we started shooting the series,” Andi Mack creator Terri Minsky shared about her casting. “We saw a lot of auditions full of vampire-slayer toughness, but very little of the best friend. [Casting Director] Amber found Sofia Wylie’s hip-hop dance videos on Instagram, and brought her in for the role. She was the very last person to audition for the role, and it was hers.”
Creator Terri Minskytold Variety a bit about the series finale, which airs tomorrow, July 26th.
“I didn’t want to end with a cliffhanger. I believe people will miss Andi and her friends and her family,” she shared. “To me, the finale is a way for them to tell our audience, ‘We’ll miss you, too, but you don’t have to worry about us: We’ll be fine.’”
The Paper Crane Project, created by fans, was on display at the event. It’s made of 1000 paper cranes, categorized and separated into strands of 10, each with a handwritten message from viewers around the world who expressed their appreciation for the series and its commitment to thoughtful, inclusive and entertaining stories that reflect their lives.
Asher Angel‘s character Jonah Beck is an expert at Ultimate Frisbee on Andi Mack, but in real life, not so much.
During the 16-year-old actor and singer’s post audition talk, he dished that that was the only sport he didn’t like and didn’t even want to learn.
“Between his name and his smile, Asher Angel seemed like a no-brainer for Jonah Beck. But in the post-audition banter, Asher said he loved sports, every sport…except ultimate frisbee. He didn’t know how to play it, and he had no interest in learning,” Andi Mack creator Terri Minskyrevealed. “This was immediately after reading the scene where Jonah Beck, the captain of the ultimate frisbee team, teaches Andi how to play frisbee. S, who directed the pilot, threw up her hands and plaintively wailed: ‘Dude!’ (But the role was still his, of course.)”
Leading up to the Andi Mack series finale, JJJ is bringing you with stories on how each character was cast. Stay tuned for the rest of the week for Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Sofia Wylie!
As Andi Mack comes to a close this week, we wanted to take a look back at how the actors got their roles on the show.
Throughout the week, JJJ will be sharing each of the core four’s casting stories, kicking off with Joshua Rush as Cyrus!
Joshua takes on the role of Cyrus Goodman, who is Disney’s first LGBTQ+ character. Cyrus first came out to Buffy in the season two premiere, revealing that he had a crush on Jonah Beck, at the same time as Andi Mack.
While Joshua was auditioning for the role, he was actually already booked as a lead in another Disney Channel pilot.
“He came in with a list of questions about my plans for Cyrus’ storyline, which I had to answer before he would even consider auditioning. I don’t know if he ever actually read the sides. He was already Cyrus. The other pilot was never made. (Belatedly, I’m feeling very guilty about that.),” creator Terri Minskyshared about his casting.
In the episode titled, “Arts & Inhumanities”, Andi learns about a life-changing opportunity; Cyrus (Joshua Rush) counsels Amber (Emily Skinner) about her relationship with Jonah (Asher Angel); Buffy (Sofia Wylie) has an awkward meeting with Marty’s (Garren Stitt) ex.
By the looks of it, Andi is looking into possibly going to an art school, as there is a banner with the name, Shadyside Academy of Visual Arts, in the background.
There are only FOUR more episodes of Andi Mack‘s third and final season. The series finale airs at the end of this month on Friday, July 26th.
Tune in to an all new Andi Mack TONIGHT (July 5) at 8pm ET/PT on Disney Channel!
Lilan recently opened up about their relationship, and what Peyton did this past Mother’s Day.
“The cutest thing is during the most recent Mother’s Day she sent me a message, ‘Happy Mother’s Day to my fake mother. I miss you, and I love you more than you’ll ever know.’ I’m going to get teary-eyed. I didn’t know that when I signed up for a TV show, I’d end up with a new family member, but we are clearly friends for life,” she told Parade magazine.
“My connection to her came on so organically where I just feel like this was somebody that I have to protect and someone I feel so close and fond of, and I want her to do well, and I’m going to help guide her in any way I can,” Lilan continued. “Peyton is representative of a new generation that has self-confidence in her identity in a way that I don’t know if I had coming up as an actor. She is a critical thinker, and she knows very much what she stands for and this started at an early age. So, that’s really incredible to see.”
Andi Mack is currently airing it’s final episodes Fridays on Disney Channel. The show will end with the series finale on Friday, July 26th.
