At 24 years old, Zendaya [1] has already accomplished so much, but she isn't forgetting where she got her start [2]. While most Disney Channel alums work to shake off the title of "Disney kid," Zendaya openly accepts it. In fact, even after starring in a blockbuster musical, widely popular superhero franchise, and winning an Emmy, she still proudly takes on the title. "The thing is, I am [a Disney kid]. And to a degree, I am grateful for that," Zendaya explained to Carey Mulligan [3] in Variety's latest episode of Actors on Actors. "That's where I started, and I learned so much from that experience."

Zendaya got her big acting break when she starred on Disney Channel's Shake It Up in 2010 and went on to star in a handful of other projects on the network, including K.C. Undercover, which ran from 2015 to 2018. Since then, Zendaya has moved on to more mature projects [4] like HBO's Euphoria [5] and Netflix's upcoming film Malcolm & Marie [6], but she still has a lot of appreciation for her Disney roots. "It's just kind of been this slow progression, and I am happy that it's all been to prove it to myself and not to anybody else, you know?" she added. "I embrace it a little bit. It's part of my heritage to a degree."

Of course, like any other actor, she still has moments of self-doubt. During the interview, Zendaya admitted that she was a bit apprehensive about starring on Euphoria [7] because of her Disney background. "I've always felt that I could bring things to the table: that I could be creative and free to try things, and put out bad ideas," she explained. "Because of the Disney kid thing, I get scared of that kind of thing." But she completely owned the role, and now she's an Emmy award-winning Disney kid! Watch her full interview ahead.