The Defining Performances of Golden-Era Disney Channel

Source: Walt Disney Television

Joy filled the nation in late September when Gen-Z icon Zendaya took home the Emmy for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her stirring work in Euphoria. She beat out veterans like Sandra Oh and Jennifer Aniston for a win that not only made her the youngest winner in the category’s history, but also the second Black actress to receive the award. Beyond the power of her performance, Zendaya’s win had special meaning to many of us who grew up with her because she cut her teeth on the Disney Channel. Her win was not so much a surprise but rather an affirmation that perhaps no modern channel has contributed more to the craft of acting.

The story begins, however, far before Zendaya danced her way into our hearts. Allow me to venture back to another time, a golden era, where a teenage girl had visions, a pop star hid her real identity, and twins ran rampant in a hotel. A time when the greatest performers of our generation were giving weekly master classes in nuanced characterization and physical comedy. In a task of near herculean impossibility, I will attempt to rank the top 10 best acting performances from the Golden Age of Disney Channel (2001-2008). While I understand the passion surrounding this endeavor makes this a highly pressured and dangerous task, I must do it fearlessly in the name of art.

10. Billy Ray Cyrus as Robbie Ray Stewart in Hannah Montana

OK HEAR ME OUT. HEEAAARR MEE OUT. In talking about the best performances on Disney Channel, it would be deeply irresponsible to ignore the contributions of adult actors. So why single out Cyrus? It comes down to a single moment, a moment so glorious, so silly, and so legendary that it is burned in my brain.

The scene: Miley Stewart has told a woman she is Hannah Montana. Upon reflection, she changes her mind and decides she is not ready to give away her secret. She hatches a plan: she will pretend to be a crazed fan who THINKS she’s Hannah Montana, and she enlists her dad to help with the scam. When the woman arrives at the Stewart’s home, chaos ensues. Miley boldly sings Hannah’s songs off-key. Then, to bring their master plan home, Robbie Ray walks out with a mullet on and says “Look, I’m Billy Ray Cyrus.”

When I first heard that delivery, my soul lept out of my body. It was a masterful joke on every level with a sophisticated sense of humor and awareness for both children and the parents watching with them. This moment encapsulates what made Cyrus so indelible on the show - he gamely poked fun at his own real-life persona while also crafting a moving portrait of a single father who would do anything for his daughter. In his silliest moments, he evoked Larry The Cable Guy, and in his most tender moments, he evoked Sam Elliot. With that one line, Robbie Ray Stewart will live rent-free in my brain til my muscles atrophy.

9. Orlando Brown as Eddie Thomas in That’s So Raven

Perhaps no show was more aspirational in its friendships than That’s So Raven. As I get older, I think a lot about Eddie, a lovable jock who supported and amplified the antics of his two best friends, Raven and Chelsea. In Brown’s hands, Eddie was endearing, genuine, and delivered some of the series’ most cathartic laughs. From incompetently counseling Cory on his relationship issues, dancing through the Baxter’s kitchen singing “Go Eddie It’s Your Birthday,” or dealing with the pimple from hell, Brown was playful, joyous, and dynamic. Through all of this, Eddie was the rare young Black male character comfortable in his masculinity and his race while also embracing his silly side. We all fell in love with Eddie, and for that, Brown deserves all the praise.

8. Selena Gomez as Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place

With a career so enmeshed in different areas of pop culture, Selena Gomez has achieved a level of fame that is both astonishing and terrifying. Between her albums, various brands, and social media presence, we sometimes forget that Gomez is actually a great actress. I’d argue that with the right role, she is an excellent one. As Alex Russo, Gomez made magic in more ways than one (roll your eyes I don’t care). While Wizards’ plotlines have largely left my brain, Alex Russo remains a vivid presence. I see her eating an ice cream cone unbothered and tossing it into her locker. I see her taking playful jabs at her older brother Justin’s earnestness. And I see her casting spells recklessly with a sly smile as her dad looks on in horror.

Gomez was hilarious in the driest, drollest, and most deliciously acidic way with a wit reminiscent of Aubrey Plaza and Alia Shawkat. She crafted a character who reveled in being difficult, mischievous, and downright rude. As her star continues to persist, I hope Gomez finds her way back to some of those drier character roles. She is a natural comedic actress, and we deserve to see more.

7. Christy Carlson Romano as Kim Possible in Kim Possible

Some people have remarkable runs in their careers. Think of Gena Rowland’s films with Cassavetes in the 70s. Or Viola Davis’ incredible series of August Wilson plays in NYC. Or Christy Carlson Romano simultaneously playing both Ren in Even Stevens and Kim in Kim Possible. Honestly, it is staggering. While Ren certainly has her fans, it is Kim who captured a nation and generation. An ass-kicking, world-saving, cheerleading teenager, Kim was formidable, and she owes Carlson Romano everything. With only her voice, she gave Kim intelligence, poise, and verve, and we never stopped rooting for our teenage crime-stopper. Carlson Romano received a Daytime Emmy nomination for her performance, and if there was any justice in the world she would have taken home the trophy.

6. Annaliese Van Der Pol as Chelsea Daniels in That’s So Raven

In her breakout performance as Raven’s sunny and spacey best friend Chelsea Daniels, Annaliese Van Der Pol evoked Carole Lombard, Judy Garland, and Lucille Ball. How does one do that as an adult, much less as a teenager? Chelsea shattered every stereotype that exists about the quirky best friend. She owned her lack of knowledge with broad theatricality and winning spirit. She was the perfect energetic and comedic match to Raven. Her “Do you carry a lunchbox?!” haunts all of us to this day. And that singing voice! Chelsea is simply the greatest best friend character in the history of Disney Channel. Let’s figure out a way to stream “Alone in the Hallway” and “On Top of Old Oaky.”

5. Cole Sprouse as Cody Martin in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody

With major apologies to the fine actor Dylan Sprouse, I must go controversial and single out Cole. Way before Jughead, there was Cody Martin, the less popular, dorkier, and more sensitive of the Martin brothers. In thinking about how to describe Sprouse’s performance, the first word that comes to mind is “sweet.” Sprouse managed to convey the sensitivity of Cody without making him a stereotype. He made the geek endearing, and he showed a generation of boys that their weirdness was special. Beyond that, Sprouse was at the center of the series’ finest moments. From his transformation into Tyreesha, to his earth-shattering delivery of this line:

Mr. Moseby: How do you LOSE a woman??

Cody: You forget to cherish her.

Cole showed that he had a knack for comedy and character building. He played beautifully across his brother, matching him beat for beat. As both brothers grew older, they remained just as engaging, even when the writing in Suite Life on Deck betrayed them. Through all of this, I must say thank you to Cole for his delightful, relatable, and utterly charming work.

4. Brenda Song as London Tipton in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody

When it comes to versatility, no one touches Brenda Song. From her electrifying and physically dynamic Wendy Wu, to her heartbreaking Natasha in Stuck in the Suburbs, she was always an intensely reliable player in the early aughts. London Tipton, however, remains her crowning achievement. As the vain, dimwitted, and perky teenage heiress to the Tipton Hotel empire, Song was simply divine. Who can forget her confidently telling Mr. Moseby about the term “PRNDL” (pronounced prin-dull) during their driving lesson? Or her gleefully uttering “Yay Me!” after nearly every social interaction? Her cheeky smile, confident physicality, and vibrant delivery stole every scene she was in.

In addition to subverting racial stereotypes and cleverly lampooning Paris Hilton, Song achieved something quite profound: she never made London the butt of the joke and always centered her secret longing for normalcy. Behind the broadness was something intensely personal. This performance could only be given by a phenomenal actress, and I cannot commend Song enough for the barriers she broke.

3. Shia LaBeouf as Louis Stevens in Even Stevens*

Before movie stardom and wide-ranging performance art, Shia LaBeouf was an expert clown. Louis Stevens was a comic tornado, a wild child of the highest order. It takes a special kind of actor to deliver something that erratic but still consistent. In theory, Louis’s chaotic energy might have seemed more fitting for a supporting character; yet in LaBeouf’s charismatic hands, Louis was the perfect protagonist - an eccentric and deeply sensitive young high schooler.

In recent years, LaBeouf has been open about his personal traumas, and his recent film Honey Boy shed light on the abuse he experienced at the hands of his father while filming Even Stevens. When I recently rewatched the series, I felt deep sadness thinking about what LaBeouf was going through while playing Louis. It feels miraculous that he was able to create such a vibrant and vital character in the midst of so much pain, yet it also feels wrong to glorify his work because of it. I am so grateful LaBeouf has been able to process and move past his childhood experiences, and I wish him continued peace and healing.

Through it all, LaBeouf received a well-deserved Daytime Emmy for his work as Louis, a character which will continue to bring so many people joy. While he has gone on to more dramatic roles, I hope his clowning days are not over.

2. Hilary Duff as Lizzie McGuire in Lizzie McGuire

How do you properly blurb a character that literally changed pop culture? One cannot emphasize how important Lizzie McGuire and Hilary Duff were to a generation, and yet, I will try. In Duff’s hands, Lizzie was a character who lived truthfully into her awkwardness, confusion, and yearning. Few performances have captured the fresh hell of middle school the way Duff’s did (one has to look to Elsie Fisher in Eighth Grade to find something comparable). Duff played every grimace, tentative smile, and ungraceful movement perfectly and with complete abandon.

Through her animated inner self, Duff captured the unfiltered spunk that exists in every teenager. When Lizzie achieved European pop stardom in her feature film finale, many of us cried. We cried because Duff had taken us on Lizzie’s journey with such honesty and vulnerability that her fleeting moment of self actualization felt profoundly earned. Duff has been fighting valiantly to bring back Lizzie in a spinoff series. I hope she succeeds, because Lizzie has more to show the world.

1. Raven Symone as Raven Baxter in That’s So Raven

It takes VISION to have VISIONS. There are performances that are great, and then there are performances that are miraculous. Raven Symone’s performance of Raven Baxter was undoubtedly the latter. From the Streepian level of transformation (costumes, wigs, accents), to the Buster Keatonesque physical comedy (every fall, every dive, every dance), to the Robin Williamesque dynamism (she could flip from broad to subtle on a dime), it is simply a masterclass in comedy.

By the time she became Raven Baxter, she already had a sophisticated comic arsenal at her disposal due to her prior experience on other television shows. What other young actor could pay homage to Eddie Murphy and Jerry Lewis by playing an entire family of country cousins? Who else could sing and dance so brilliantly in a one woman show called “Sweep”? Who else could become Liz Anya, ERR, Sunshine, Mrs. Baxter, and so many others with such gusto? What truly makes Symone’s performance immortal is the singular character she created.

From modeling her own clothes everyday, to taking charge in her friendships and family, to messing up and making up spectacularly, Raven Baxter always took up space and never apologized for who she was. This is astonishing in any person, but in the body of a Black teenage girl, it is simply groundbreaking. Raven taught generations of kids of color that they could be themselves, and be themselves fully. Her performance remains a reminder of what can happen when we are allowed to live truthfully and in full freedom. Raven is still playing this part and honestly thank god! Raven Baxter is too vital to become an historical footnote.

*This article was written prior to the recent allegations surrounding Shia Labeouf made by FKA Twigs. Due to LaBeouf's continued pattern of abusive behavior alleged by former partners and his own statements on the matter, we at Spynster (including our contributors) do not condone his behavior or actions, let alone abuse of any kind.