The original cast of Degrassi High are coming together for a new nationwide tour.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Degrassi Junior High, ET Canada’s Rick Campanelli sat down with original cast members Stefan Brogren, Stacie Mistysyn, Kirsten Bourne and Pat Mastroianni, to speak about their first stop — Toronto’s ComiCon this weekend — before they appear at other comic conventions across Canada on their reunion tour.
Related: ‘Degrassi High’ reunion: Cast members joining together for Canada-Wide ComiCon tour
Speaking about his early days filming the show, Brogren says, “I felt like we were at summer camp with some really cool people that I really liked, and that was going to be it. That fall, the show came out and something happened that I don’t think anyone expected. People became so attached to these characters and the story lines that it became a phenomenon.”
Addressing the realness of the show, which has helped it garner a cult-like following, Bourne recalls, “Even when we auditioned, I remember them saying to me, ‘Do you have any acting experience?’ and I said, ‘No,’ and they said, ‘Good,’ because they really just wanted natural.” Mastroianni adds, “We were a street version of 90210.”
Related: Bus crash survivors revealed in new ‘Degrassi: Next Class’ trailer
For Mastroianni, he claims the show wasn’t only popular because of its teenage audience, but also because of the parents, saying, “I think parents wanted to know what their kids were up to and so half of our fanbase were parents watching the show with their kids, and then sparking a dialogue.”
He goes on, “Being part of the ComiCon tour allows fans to come up to us and tell us what were their favourite parts of the show, how it changed their lives or affected them or helped them.”
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