EXCLUSIVE: Sway Bhatia Opens About The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, Succession & More with BB

The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers has continued the legacy that is The Mighty Ducks and we got a chance to chat with one of the stars of the show, Sway Bhatia. Sway plans Sofi, the best player on the Don’t Bother and a child who is facing pressure to the be the best in every aspect of her life.

During our chat, we talked Sofi, working with iconic actors like Lauren Graham and Emilio Estévez, the new season of Succession, and so much more. Check it out below.

Tell me about how you landed the role of Sofi on The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers?
“I auditioned. I got an in-person audition. And I actually originally auditioned for a different character, and it was crazy because I got the first episode and I read the script and I was like, ‘Oh, why am I not auditioning for Sofi?’ And I auditioned and they called me back right away for the role of Sofi, and it was amazing. I had a few rounds of the audition, and I felt it went pretty good.’

Do you feel like you relate more with Sofi? Or do you feel like you relate more with another character on the show?

I definitely feel like I relate more with Sofi, because reading the script, I was wondering why I was getting the other character because I was like, ‘Whoa, Sofie. That’s me.’ But I really relate with Sofie, and I’ve learned so much from not only playing her, but just from her herself. I want to be more like her, she’s such an amazing character. And I know she did some sketchy stuff in episode four. But I tell all my little friends, my little cousins and kid friends, I’m like, ‘Don’t ever do that. Don’t ever forge your parent’s signature, that’s a very bad thing. Don’t do it.'”

You can read the rest of our interview below. If you aren’t watching The Mighty Ducks or Succession, you are sorely missing out. I highly recommend giving them a watch and watching Sway shine on the screen.

Photo credit: Corinne Louie

But I think what was so honest about it, is that is something that a middle school kid does.

Yeah. I love her because she’s so relatable, and she has so many insecurities, I’m glad that they highlight that. Because it’s something that everybody deals with, nobody’s perfect, so you really have to highlight those insecurities, because that’s where all the relatability comes from when the audience is watching it.”

Are we going to learn more about Sofi’s knee issues in the final episodes of season 1 of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers?

“I don’t want to spoil it for you, so I’m going to tell you that something surprising happens to her. I wouldn’t say it’s so great, the whole team is affected by it. The team has to work as one and make this hard decision. And it’s hard, not only on Sofie, but it’s hard on the entire team. But then something good happens. We don’t know where that good thing will take us, hopefully it takes us to season two.”

If we get a Season 2 of The Mighty Ducks, what would you like to see happen to Sofi?

“Besides what happens at the end of Season 1, I definitely want to see what happens to the whole team after what happens in the last episode, I think for her, I kind of want to highlight her background. I also want to see what her younger years were like, because we know a lot about the current Sofi. I want to know more about the past Sofi, and where she wants to go in the future, because we did see where her parents wanted her to go, but we never really saw where she wanted to go. So, I want to see her thoughts.”

I heard that you are on the set of Succession, are you happen to be back?

“I love Succession and everything about it. I learned so much from being on that show. It’s so crazy to think that we’re on season three and I’ve been on it since season one. I basically grew up on that show, and I know the cast really well now, and we all stay in touch.”

What was the cast of Succession’s reactions to you being on The Mighty Ducks?

“A lot of them are actually big Mighty Ducks fans. Me, Kieran [Culkin], who plays Roman, and Sarah [Snook] who plays Shiv, we were talking about the show and they were like, ‘You realize how big the Mighty Ducks means to me? I can’t believe you’re doing a show about it.’ Sarah just so happened to be wearing a Mighty Ducks sweatshirt that day, and she didn’t even know I was coming on set. So, it was pretty crazy that happened.”

So their supportive of your move to the Ducks?

“They’re so supportive of me, and we talk a lot, we stay in touch, and we can’t wait for the world to see season three because, Sophie, Sophie number one, OG Sophie is really coming out. And you know what is so special to me, is that Sophie is my name on both of the shows, so it’s almost like my lucky name.”

Can you shed a little bit of light of what we can expect from Sophie in season three of Succession?

“I found out I’m getting a little bit of a bigger part later on in the season, so I don’t know what happens to her then because I haven’t found out yet. What I’ve seen is that, she’s starting to realize what her family is. I feel like in season one and season two, they were kind of in the background just smiling, not really knowing what’s going on. But now that we’ve kind of matured a little, we know who her dad is. We know he’s not the best person in the world, and we know our family is a little, let’s say, rich, maybe. I think both me and the guy who played my brother, [Quentin Morales] we’re both more aware of the world now. And we’re aware of who we are and what the Roy family is, and what it means to be part of that family.”

What do you hope to see happens for Sophie on the show?

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen in the end, but hopefully she has more of a storyline. And let’s hope that if and when we have a season four, maybe she comes in even bigger then.”

In your opinion, do you think OG Sophie from Succession and Sofie from The Mighty Ducks would be friends?

“That’s a good one. I feel like Succession Sophie would want to learn hockey from Mighty Ducks Sofie. That would be so awesome if they became friends or something. That would be really cool. I’ve never played a two-person role, but that’d be awesome.”

What would you say is the biggest difference between filming Succession and filming The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers?

“I think for me, definitely the biggest difference is one’s a series regular role, and one’s a series recurring role. But more than that, I learned a lot from the Mighty Ducks about the specifics of filming and really being part of the filming process. When the directors ask you, ‘How do you think we should do this scene? Where do you think this should go?’ I’m really involved in the whole filming experience. That was definitely the biggest difference, being very involved in not only pre-production, but like post-production and doing things like ADRs where we do voice overs for our scenes. ”

Was there something you took from your time on Succession that carried over into The Mighty Ducks?
In Succession, we improv a lot, so I think I took that over into The Mighty Ducks where I was asked my own opinion of what we should do in the scene.”

Which one was harder, learning how to play or hockey or filming the helicopter scene in Succession season 1?

“I’d have to say sitting in a helicopter, just sitting in the helicopter and having to imagine I was in the air because we were in a green room. But having to make up that we were in the air and there was the loud blades going on, I have to say, sitting in a helicopter was harder.”

Did you have a trainer prep you for the hockey scenes in The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers?

“Sofie is such a strong hockey player, so she had to learn some crazy shots. In episode three when she did all those half shot goals, I was like, ‘How is Sofie so good? Man, I wish I was that good.’ But I did a lot of the shots where I was making the shot, I just didn’t use the puck. But I was making the shot and we got about a month of hockey training from NHL players, so it was pretty awesome learning from professional hockey players. We also played a bunch of games on the ice, and all the cast really bonded there because we all had to act as a team. It was a great bonding moment.”

What have you learned from the iconic actors and actresses you have worked with on Succession and The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers?

“I’ve definitely gotten advice from all of them, but more than advice, it’s just watching all of them act. From Jeremy Strong to Emilio Estévez, I just learned so much from watching them becoming their characters. Especially for somebody like Emilio, he’s such a legend to the industry, and I’ve obviously watched all the episodes of Gilmore Girls and Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, so I mean, working with the Lorelai Gilmore [Lauren Graham] was so incredible, and watching her really become that single mom, was so incredible.

And working with Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, and Brian Cox, and watching them become this rich family. Watching Jeremy Strong become that awful person, when in real life he’s just the sweetest guy ever. It’s awesome working with all of them. I’ve learned so much from just watching them become their characters, and watching them act.”

What can fans expect from you for the rest of 2021?

“You can obviously expect Season 3 of Succession. I’m not sure when it’s coming out, but maybe it’s coming in 2021. And you can expect the last two episodes of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, which is going to be so exciting. I’m graduating middle school. I’m going to high school this year, focusing a lot on that. You can also expect a lot of original work as well.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your original works?

“I do a lot of parodies where I rap. I rewrite songs and make them into rap. I’ve been focusing on that and I’ve written a few of my own songs as well. Maybe I’ll be releasing those sometime soon, or sometime this year, but a lot more original work, and finding ways to give back and bring awareness to Asian American, I think that’s something a lot of people are dealing with right now. It’s a hard time in many ways.

But I’m using my platform for the better, and staying inspired by Kamala Harris, and I’m hoping to inspire others just the way she inspires me. And I hope to be a role model to young girls, and young girls of color especially.”