She never felt like she fit in. Then Disney came calling.

It’s the opening number on night one of Disney’s latest Worlds Collide tour, and Kiara Romero is in tears. Not because anything is going wrong, but because everything is going so right.

“I was backstage hearing the crowd for the first time,” she tells Yahoo in our latest Generation Nowinterview. “All my hard work in that moment just felt so worth it, and I just started crying. It felt like my dreams were coming true in real time.”

The tour brings together stars from Descendants, Zombies and Camp Rock. At 25, Romero — who made her Disney Channel debut over the summer as Hazel Hook, Captain Hook’s daughter, in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland — is entering this world at a different stage of life than some of her peers. Malachi Barton and Kylie Cantrall grew up in the Disney pipeline, moving from television <a href="https://comicvibe.com/5-tv-shows-to-watch-if-you-like-below/” title=”5 TV Shows To Watch If You Like Below”>shows to film franchises. Her tourmate Hudson Stone is 14.

Romero sees an advantage in having a few more years under her glittery belt. She’s also stepping into the role of someone she needed to see growing up. Onstage, the Colombian and Puerto Rican actor urges kids to embrace their heritage and natural curls, a message resonating with parents too.

“I straightened my hair every day in high school,” the New Yorker says. “I didn’t like how I looked, and now it is one of my favorite features.” 

Her message goes beyond hair. Bullied from elementary school onward, Romero struggled to make friends as a girl and found an escape in dance. She went on to train at the Joffrey Ballet School, commuting three hours a day because she couldn’t afford the nearby dorms.

“I spent so much of my life feeling like I didn’t fit in and I wasn’t in the right place,” she says. “So it’s so full circle for me.”

Now, she sees girls in the crowd showing off their curls — not to mention a little girl wearing her merch and a pirate hat. Romero gave her a hug during the show.

“With acting, you don’t really get to see the impact you have right away,” she says. “To be out there every night and see all the fans in person is so special.”

Here, Romero talks about life on a tour bus with Barton and the gang, her deep bond with Malia Baker and her first Wicked Wonderland paycheck purchase.

A Latina mom made a Reel of you urging kids to be proud of their heritage and natural hair. She said it healed her inner child. How does it feel knowing your words are having that impact?

It’s become one of my favorite parts of the show. Before the tour started, our amazing creative director, Amy Tinkham, sat down with all of us individually and asked us what we wanted to talk about. To me, being Latina, being Colombian and Puerto Rican, and representing that on that stage is so important. And also my curly hair. I’m glad that Hazel Hook has curly hair too. So the fact that I can be that for someone else means everything to me. When I’m going in the crowd for certain parts, I see girls, and they’ll be pointing out their curly hair. It means everything to me, and it’s healing my inner child too.

Growing up, I was bullied from elementary school, which, looking back, is so young. I definitely had a bit of social anxiety from that. Dance, to me, was my escape. I struggled in school, and then I would go to my dance studio, and that was my therapy.

I had trouble making friends in school, and a part of me always felt like I didn’t fit in. I had this moment two shows ago: After I did that little talk [to the audience about my experiences], I came offstage and just started crying. The fact that I can inspire someone else to not feel alone, or to know that we go through the same things — it’s important for me that they know they aren’t alone.

You’ve become close with your ‘Wicked Wonderland’ costar Malia Baker. How did you click?

Malia truly is like my sister. She’s one of the most genuine, kind people I’ve ever met, and I’m so lucky that Descendants brought us together. When we were filming that movie, we had three months in Vancouver. We started a real friendship, and we’ve continued to get closer. Having someone who has experienced the tour that I can go to is so special as well. It’s very rare in this industry to have someone you can rely on who has been through the exact same thing. This is such a specific experience. 

I think I’m still learning. We’re still at the very beginning of this tour. I’m still trying to adjust to being on a bus and traveling and not having any personal space. We just had a day off in San Francisco. We rented e-bikes and were going around. Just having that freedom, that time, is so important. I’m lucky. I love everyone on this tour, and I really feel like we’re all bonding so much.

The rehearsal period was actually tougher than I expected. It began in July and was very long hours. Right before we started, I was like, “What did I get myself into?” I really felt that way. But opening night made it all make sense. I love what I do. Yes, it’s a daunting task to have to perform 50 shows, but it’s so beautiful because I actually love performing. So I’m just trying to hold on to that and connect with the fans every night. Every crowd gives you such different energy, but that gives me life. Even when I’m tired, I can go out there and see one person with my T-shirt or that pirate hat, and I’m alive again.

Talk about the tour bus experience. I don’t think I could sleep in that situation.

My bunk roommates are Malachi, Dara [Reneé], Alex [Byrd] and then a bunch of the other people. It’s actually quite cozy. There’s a front living area, the bunks and a back living area. Right now, we’re all in the middle of binging Coven Academy, which Sway [Bhatia] and Malachi are on, and I’m so invested. I actually feel the bus noise is like white noise. It’s my sound machine. I have to have my bonnet — me and Dara have our baddie bonnets on — an eye mask and a nice cozy blanket. That’s pretty much all I need. We were saying that we need to get Malachi and Alex some bonnets.

What are your pre- and post-show rituals?

I’m still trying to get into a routine, but I for sure have a ginger shot, and I have a warm-up stretch routine that I do. I’m obsessed with skin care, so after the shows I have to spend 10 to 15 minutes just on my skin, especially after putting so much makeup on every day. That’s my happy place. I’m trying to share that with the boys too. “You guys need a skin care routine too.”

Who do you call after a hard night?

Oh, my parents. My mom lives in L.A. now, and my dad is in New York with my little brother and my stepmom. I have such a good support system. They actually are my best friends, and the older I get, the more I realize how rare that is. I call them every single day.

How old is your little brother, and what does he make of your success?

Ethan’s about to turn 6. It’s interesting because I feel like he thinks all this is normal. I was his first concert. He visited me on set for Descendants: Wicked Wonderland when he was 4. All my friends, he sees them on TV, and he loves them: MK [Mekonnen Knife] and Malachi. He watches Zombies. He’s probably a bigger Zombies fan than Descendants, actually. They’re running up to him like, “Ethan, Ethan.” My bond with him is my favorite thing ever.

Being 25, do you see an advantage in joining the Disney family a little older? Some of your tourmates are still teenagers.

Hudson is 14, and Liamani is 17. I give them so much credit because I can’t imagine doing this at their age. I moved to L.A. at 18, and now I look back and I don’t know how I did that. I definitely feel more equipped to handle the hard days and the criticism and all the things that come with this job and having so many eyes on me. To me, it’s a bit of an advantage. But Hudson and Liamani do it so seamlessly. I don’t know how they do it.

When you aren’t touring, where is home, and what’s your living situation?

I live in L.A. I was leasing a place and I had a roommate I adore. That was such a fun season. I hadn’t had a roommate like that before. Now I don’t really have a home to go back to. I think during the holidays, I’m just going to enjoy that and maybe have a New York moment because I’ve been wanting to so bad. Maybe that’ll be my next adventure.

What did you treat yourself to with your ‘Descendants’ paycheck?

What did I treat myself to? Oh, you know what? I had an ancient computer that I got when I was younger that all my friends would make fun of me for. It was time, so I got myself an iPad, and that was very exciting. 

What’s the dream for you now? If we talk again in five years, what do you hope has happened?

Descendants: Wicked Wonderland was my first big acting role, and what an incredible first big acting role to book. Now to be on tour. I could have never imagined that this one job would lead to all this. Hopefully, in five years, I’m doing a show or more movies — and definitely something with a Latina or Latino director. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.