Niles Fitch, 19, has risen to fame as teen Randall Pearson on This Is Us, and now he’s making history. The actor stars as Prince Tuma in Disney+’s new original movie, Secret Society of Second-Born Royals. Tuma is actually Disney’s first live-action Black prince, and the significance of this role is not lost on Niles.
“It feels amazing,” Niles told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY during the movie’s press junket. “It’s not even the fact that I’m doing it, but it’s more the fact that people are going to be able to see that on the big screen. When I think about my experiences the first time I was really able to see that was Black Panther. I remember how that positively affected me, and I love Chadwick [Boseman]. To know that I’m in a position to where I can, you know, in a way be that representation for a young Black boy that may not be able to see himself on teleivion all the time or on the big screen all the time… that means the world to me.”
Tuma ends up joining a Secret Society for second-born royals and soon realizes that he has the superpower of mind control. Tuma and his teammates must work together to put a stop to the movie’s villain. Despite their superpowers, these are teenagers who are still trying to figure out their place in the world.
“I’d say Tuma is trying to understand his footing in the whole team aspect of the film and trying to understand how to use his power,” Niles continued. “I think that’s what we’re all having to deal with. I don’t even think there is a certain place we have in the society because I feel like throughout the movie that’s what we’re learning. We’re learning our place because we’re teenagers. We’re young. We don’t really know it.”
Niles stars alongside Isabella Blake-Thomas, who plays January. She’s also a member of the Secret Society and has an amazing superpower of her own. “My superpower is borrowing other people’s powers, which means if I touch them I get to temporarily use their power and kind of take it from them , which was lots of fun to try on set because I got to experiment everything and really get to try all of the stunts in every way shape or form,” Isabella revealed.
The movie also stars Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Noah Lomax, Olivia Deeble, Faly Rakotohavana, and Skylar Astin. Secret Society of Second-Born Royals is now streaming on Disney+.