Come in costume

MANILA, Philippines – For regular folk such as myself, the equivalent of a passable costume is a pair of animal ears. (“I’m a mouse, duh!”) The days leading up to Halloween, which was not so long ago, became a fun yet grueling process of piecing together a costume. But for cosplayers like Alodia Gosiengfiao — who, by the way, has a following of over five million people on Facebook — putting together character ensembles is but a ticker box on her daily to-do list.

Alodia was recently tapped by Disney to cosplay one of their many beloved characters — and perhaps in line with the new Star Wars film coming up next month, Alodia chose to focus her cosplay genius on recreating a character from the Disney Channel series Star Wars Rebels. (She even got to design her own Stormtrooper helmet, which is insanely cool.) Young STAR got the chance to chat with Internet star Alodia about her favorite characters to cosplay, working with Disney, and being brave enough to dream big.

Young STAR: Hey, Alodia! Who are your favorite characters to cosplay?

ALODIA: Favorite characters to cosplay? Hmm… Probably number one on my list would be GoGo from Big Hero 6. It’s so nice to see kids who recognize your character. Also Sabine from Star Wars Rebels, because I’m sure many kids would love to see her in person as well. And they’re both colorful.

You chose to cosplay the character Sabine (Wren, from Star Wars Rebels) for your tie-up with Disney. What about her do you love?

She’s strong. And she’s artistic, which I can relate to.

Since we’re already talking about Star Wars, what’s your favorite Star Wars movie?

I’m actually still catching up on the old movies because it’s been a while since I’ve watched them. But I really like Episode 4: A New Hope. Now that I’m watching it again, now that I’m older and more critical, I realize it’s inspired so many other movies, other video games. It’s the one that started it all.

So what future projects do you hope to begin or pursue?

Definitely, I’d like to do more work with Disney. Hopefully, be an extra in their movies…? (Laughs) I’m a super big Disney fan. I wouldn’t mind if I were there for, like, a millisecond or something. (Laughs) But it would be great to be involved with them. Disney is my childhood. And being here with them is a dream come true for me.

At such a young age you’ve achieved so much. What could you possibly tell young people who are going through hardships and only dreaming to get to where you are right now?

I just want to tell them to never stop dreaming. There are many things I only dreamed of when I was young. And I can’t believe they happened? I never thought they would. Now, it’s like, wow. I feel so fulfilled. So don’t give up on your dreams!

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Catch Star Wars Rebels Season 2 on Disney XD, every Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m., and on Disney Channel, every Saturday at 12 p.m. You can design your own Stormtrooper helmet like Alodia did at www.designyourhelmet.asia.