Kylie Cantrall Reveals How She Bonded with Onscreen Mom Rita Ora on “Descendants” — and the Advice She Gave (Exclusive)

Cantrall tells PEOPLE she immediately hit it off with Ora, who plays her mother, the Queen of Hearts, in 'Descendants: The Rise of Red'

Kylie Cantrall was in great company when she joined the Descendants franchise for the new spinoff Descendants: The Rise of Red.

Playing the titular character, the actress and singer, 19, stars as the rebellious teenage daughter of the Queen of Hearts (Rita Ora) who goes on a magical journey through time to stop a pivotal event in present day.

Speaking with PEOPLE exclusively, Cantrall recalls being a huge fan of the original franchise, which first premiered when she was in fourth grade. “Descendants was such a cultural phenomenon,” she notes of the Disney Channel Original Movies starring Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart and the late Cameron Boyce.

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“The really special thing about Descendants is that I feel like it's such a timeless idea and a timeless concept that it can work generations later and a few years later,” she adds. “I'm just so happy to be even a fragment of the next chapter.”

While Cantrall is no stranger to the Disney family, having previously starred on Gabby Duran and the Unsittables and the final season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, this marks one of her first starring movie roles. Thankfully, she had a great group of cast members beside her for the journey, including her former HSMTMTS costar Dara Reneé.

“It was just so comforting knowing that she was going to be there and that I had that buddy to go into it with,” Cantrall says of Reneé, who plays Ursula’s younger sister and Uma's aunt Uliana in the film. “She's the most special person and makes everyone around her feel so loved and special, so it felt great.”

Of course, Cantrall was also excited to work with Rita Ora, who plays her mother the Queen of Hearts in the film.

“Never in a million years would I have thought that she'd be playing my mom one day in a project,” Cantrall says, adding that she was a big fan of the singer before working together. “It was so surreal getting to work with her. I mean, she's this pop star boss woman, so I think she was able to bring that aura to the Queen of Hearts character.”

However, she notes that Ora was the complete opposite of her character offscreen, calling her super sweet and warm. She says, “I definitely look up to her in so many ways.”

She adds that Ora actually gave her some motherly advice while they were on set. “She's really, really funny,” she recalls. “She gave me some good boy advice with her little British accent. She's like, ‘Boys are a waste of time. Don't trust them.’ I've held onto that ever since.”

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Descendants: The Rise of Red is currently streaming on Disney+.

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