PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I absolutely love interviewing young talent. They’re so inspirational and have their whole lives ahead of them. That’s why I was honored when someone reached out to me about a young and brilliant actress and performer, Jonni Shandor. She may be young, but she knows what she wants and she’s determined to make it happen. Learn more about her love for horror, upcoming indie horror projects she is starring in, who she would like to work with, and more!
PopHorror – It’s great to talk with you, Jonni. How long have you had a love for performing?
Jonni Shandor – I remember going to my mom’s work when I was 5 and she worked at a big biker bar and Sundays were family day. There were so many bikers there and they had 2 stages, one inside and one outside for karaoke. The bar she worked at had different biker family nights too. I got to go to work with her a lot and perform songs I liked that were rock songs and also songs from musicals I liked. There were always so many people in the audience and I just really loved the applause and screams I would get. It made me feel like a rockstar and have a love for the stage.
PopHorror – That’s amazing! How old are you now?
Jonni Shandor – I am 8 years old.
PopHorror – So young and so talented! What is your favorite movie of all time?
Jonni Shandor – Sleepaway Camp
PopHorror – Heck yeah! What was the first horror movie you ever watched?
Jonni Shandor – It was either Night of the Creeps or A Nightmare on Elm Street.
PopHorror – You’re my kind of lady! You’ve done several plays. Which one is your favorite?
Jonni Shandor – It’s really tough to say because I’ve gained so much from each one but I think the most fun I’ve had performing in was Nuncrackers: A Nunsense Christmas Musical.
PopHorror – You have some upcoming horror films you’re playing in. Can you tell us about them and who you will be playing?
Jonni Shandor – In Parallels, I play a character called young Amelia. She is one of the main characters but in a flashback scene when she is just a child.
In The Embalmers I play Kali who is this oddball new neighbor kid who moves in next door to the siblings. I am very excited to be in these 2 movies. I’ve read the scripts and they are so fun!!! And I cant wait to start filming!!
PopHorror – I’m extremely excited about both of those films especially knowing you’ll be in both of them! You refer to yourself as a Scream Princess. What does that mean to you?
Jonni Shandor – I am too young to be a Scream Queen and I want to be known for my passion for horror and I want to do any horror movie I can be in. So instead of being a Scream Queen, I am a Scream Princess! My dream role would be a child serial killer in a really well-done horror movie.
PopHorror – Make it happen, girl! I know you can do whatever you set your mind to! I know you love performing, but do you think you’ll ever want to direct a film?
Jonni Shandor – Oh YES!!! I would love to! I already have so many ideas for scripts!
PopHorror – You’re truly amazing and inspirational, Jonni! Tell us about your YouTube and how you got involved with that?
Jonni Shandor – My youtube channel is called Monkey Vader which you can find at www.youtube.com/c/monkeyvader.
I got the name because my mom and dad have been calling me by my nickname Monkey since I was born. In my imagination, I used to be married to Darth Vader between the ages of 4 and 6, before we got divorced. So I named my YouTube channel Monkey Vader and my dad helped me set it up. It started with me doing outdoor type things with my dad and baking videos and I was about 4 or 5. Then I started doing unboxing videos.
I slowly grew into what my passion is now and with my channel, I film myself a lot or my mom films me. When I get really good, we can edit it and make it look really nice and professional. So now it is mostly some baking videos, stories, I talk to my monkey fans, but it consists of mainly book reviews and movie reviews, most of them are scary movies, indie movies, and new movies. My mom also helps me put up karaoke and the cosplays I do.
PopHorror – That’s amazing. I will soon subscribe to your channel! If you could work with anyone in this business who would it be?
Jonni Shandor – ALICE COOPER! Also, one of the movies that I love a lot, I love all the cheesy gore, and I’ve watched several times is Terrifier! I am so excited about the sequel and I have met David Howard Thornton and Damien several times and they are so nice to me. I would love to work with them and be in a Terrifier sequel. That would be so fun to kill people with Art!
PopHorror – I hope you get everything you want in life, Jonni. You deserve it. You’re one your way to being one of the most popular Scream Princesses out there and maybe one day a Scream Queen!
