By Zach Johnson
Trevor Tordjman is one happy camper.
The actor, of Disney Fam Jam and ZOMBIES fame, is joining the season five cast of the hit Disney Channel series BUNK’D starting this Friday in “R.V. Having Fun Yet?,” airing at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT. He stars as Parker Preston, who—surprise, Lou!—owns 15% of Camp Kikiwaka! Ahead of his debut, Tordjman talked to D23: The Official Disney Fan Club about Parker’s arrival and his dynamic with Lou (Miranda May), as well as what to expect later this season.
D23: How familiar were you with BUNK’D before you were cast?
Trevor Tordjman (TT): I’d heard of Jessie, of course, and I’d heard of BUNK’D being a spinoff. But I didn’t know it well, so the first thing I did was log onto Disney+ in Canada. I was bursting with laughter. I was like, ‘These people are hilarious! I thought I was funny.’ I was a bit nervous coming on, because I thought, ‘These guys are so funny.’ But it’s so great.
D23: Did you know any of the cast members already?
TT: I didn’t. I’d just seen them briefly at events. Before my first day on set, [Raphael Alejandro] and I shared a dressing room for the Christmas special we filmed for Disney Channel, so I got to know him and his mom and we connected. They said, ‘You have to come over for dinner.’ I was like, ‘You’re like my family away from home!’ They’re so cool. It was really cool getting to know him and then the rest of the cast once I once I got onto set.
D23: Tell us about what your first day on set was like.
TT: Yo, I had a mix of emotions! It started with a COVID test; I got that out of the way. And then I hopped in with all this energy. We had a table read and then we jumped into rehearsal. They’ve got a well-oiled machine going over there at BUNK’D; they know what they’re doing. But when we began with rehearsals, I was like, ‘Oh, is this right? Is this good?’ It took me a second to get back to my usual flow of just going with the flow. That’s usually how I am, but because I was the new kid, it took me a second to get into that. The cast was so cool, so welcoming. [Will Buie Jr.] got me a gift. Miranda had reached out to me before to say, ‘We’re so excited to have you.’ I was like, ‘Wow, this cast is truly special.’
D23: What’s the BUNK’D set like when cameras aren’t rolling?
TT: In between takes, I’m just getting to know the cast. I’m so excited to be working with them. I saw [Israel Johnson] skateboarding the other day, so I’ll be like, ‘Why are you so good at it?’ He’s doing kick flips and stuff. I’m just trying to hang out with them as much as possible because I love them. This cast is so nice. And they’re great gift givers! We filmed on my birthday. I showed up in the morning and my door had candy taped to it. I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh! I didn’t even know you knew it was my birthday.’ I hadn’t even told anybody.
D23: What can you tell us about Parker and how he comes to Camp Kikiwaka?
TT: Parker came all the way from Canada, eh. I don’t have to worry about my accent at all. [Laughs] He comes from this rich, famous family, so he’s super confident. He just struts into the room with a deed showing he owns a percentage of the camp and it throws Lou off. He’s like, ‘All right, let’s make some changes now.’ And she’s like, ‘What?’ Really, Parker wants to be accepted, but he’s going about it the wrong way. He just wants love and he wants to fit in. You get to see that arc happen after you first meet him, which is really cool.
D23: How does Lou react to having to share part of the camp with Parker?
TT: They have to learn to work together. That’s what I love so much about Parker’s storyline. You’ve got someone who knows what she’s doing and has been doing it for a long time, and someone who thinks he knows what he’s doing. Parker learns a lot from Lou, and you get to see that growth. There are a lot of really cool scenes with Parker and Lou together, and fans will get to watch them evolve. I think the audience is going to love that.
D23: Parker arrives in a tricked-out RV that has everything from a bowling alley to a spa. If you were going to live in an RV, what luxuries would you want to have installed?
TT: They hit it right on the nose. If I could have an elevator, a hot tub, etc., I would choose all of those things. But if I could only choose one thing, I would pick a ping pong table. I’m a big ping ponger. And I’d also want to have a stocked fridge and cooking utensils. If I’ve got a fridge stocked full of food, I am happy. Throw some falafels in a frying pan? I’m sold!
D23: Right off the bat, Parker gives many of the counselors and campers nicknames, such as ‘Lou-bedo-bedo’ and ‘Noah-Boa.’ Did you have any fun nicknames growing up?
TT: My mom called me ‘Trevy Tulip.’ She loves tulips. And ‘T-money’ was my alter ego rap name. Other than that? Just Trev.
D23: Parker also shows off his dance skills when he creates fun moves like ‘The Lou’ and ‘The Parker.’ Given your dance background, will we see more dancing in his future?
TT: I love to dance. I’ve been dancing my whole life. When I saw that it was in BUNK’D, I was so excited, so I hope. I want a musical episode, OK? Now that we’re talking about it, that’s what I want to do. I just love musicals. And if we don’t, I always try to throw a little dance flavor in there. Like, I’ll do a spin or a slide or something. So, hopefully there’s more!
D23: What can you tease about Parker’s journey for the rest of season five?
TT: You can see a lot of growth in Parker. He came from a super easy, super rich lifestyle before coming to camp. It’s so funny to see him out of his element and to not fit in at first, and there are a lot of laughs that come with that. So, you’ll definitely have to check it out!
