Lilan Bowden didn’t know Cameron Boyce personally, but his unexpected death still affected her.

Speaking with PopCulture, the Andi Mack actress opened up about how Cameron‘s passing left “a big hole in the heart of the Disney Channel.”

“There’s so many people. Well when we heard the news, it really was very affecting because… the Disney Channel community is so close,” Lilan shared. “And I thought of all the people I know personally, that it personally affects.”

Lilan continued, “It’s really hard. I really did feel like a member of a family that I’m a part of was gone, and it sent ripples.”

Joshua Rush, who starred on Andi Mack with Lilan, was one of the many who were close with Cameron, and refers to him as a mentor in many ways.

“Cameron had gone through all the fun parts of being a Disney star, and all of the stressful parts, of being a public figure, of having people try to figure out everything about your personal life all the time. He told me about the trade-off that I was making and I am forever grateful to him for his candor in those first moments, and beyond,” Josh shared with People.

He added, “I’ll remember him telling me to pass on what he taught me, and make sure that new people in the channel are ready for what it is and what it means to be a part of it,” Rush says.

If you missed it, the coroner’s office in Los Angeles revealed the official cause of Cameron‘s passing.

Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Sofia Wylie and Joshua Rush hug it out in this sweet pic from the Andi Mack finale celebration at Neuehouse in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (July 24).

The three stars of the Disney Channel series were joined by Emily Skinner, Luke Mullen, Lauren Tom, Trent Garrett, Lilan Bowden and Raquel Justice to celebrate the groundbreaking series.

Creator Terri Minsky told 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.

Peyton Elizabeth Lee and her Andi Mack mom Lilan Bowden share a very special bond!

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.

Andi Mack‘s final episodes are coming up soon and some of the cast is opening up about what to expect.

Stars Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Lilan Bowden, and Joshua Rush dished that storylines will come to a close, and they also reflected back on working on such an impactful show.

“There are so many wonderful storylines that wrap up in such a beautiful way—and I’m talking visually as well as emotionally,” Lilan told D23. “So, I can’t wait for fans to experience that.”

“I’m excited for fans to get to imagine a future for the characters,” Joshua added. “The way the show ends is really wonderful in that Cyrus, Andi, Buffy, Jonah, Bex, and Cece are going to keep living in their own world. I’m really excited for fans to see that.”

Peyton was thankful for the different representations featured on the program. “I think it’s really important that everyone is represented in the media,” she said. “Seeing someone who looks like you or someone you connect with onscreen is very important.”

“Being able to play this gay character has been absolutely incredible. It’s something a lot of older people did not have when they were growing up,” Joshua added. “And for these kids out there who are just having that realization in their own minds and are maybe internalizing it, I’m excited to give them an opportunity to see themselves portrayed. The other side of it is Cyrus being a Jewish character—a strong Jewish character. Because for me, when I grew up, Passover, or Pesach, was ‘Jewish Easter,’ and Chanukah was ‘Jewish Christmas.’ And it’s great to have a character out there who shows that Judaism is its own thing and that we are our own people.”

“It’s wonderful to be on a show that normalizes so many things we don’t see a lot of represented in the media,” Lilan chimed in. “We have the gay storyline, we have an Asian American family on TV, and the show is led by the three female characters. And on top of that, we have learning disabilities, we have a deaf character… Bex is a teen mom! For us to show so many different kinds of issues that real children and families face is so meaningful, because I can tell when I talk to our fans that it means everything to see themselves represented on TV.”

Andi Mack begins airing it’s final episodes THIS Friday (June 21) with the series finale set for July 26th.

Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Joshua Rush represented Andi Mack at the Disney Channel Fan Fest!

The duo were also joined by their co-star Lilan Bowden at the event on Saturday afternoon (April 27) at Disney California Adventure park in Anaheim, Calif.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Peyton Elizabeth Lee

During the afternoon, Peyton, Joshua and Lilan met with fans, talked about Andi Mack‘s final season and even got to check out some rides!

Afterwards, Joshua took to his Instagram to share a super sweet photo with Peyton.

“every once in a while someone like no other comes by and truly touches your life. peyton has done just that. i am so lucky and so glad to have her friendship and companionship through everything. i love you p liz/pepperoni/Liz/🅱️ liz/p e lee/Lee/p-town/p-tonne/Pey/peypey,” Joshua captioned the pic.

Too cute!