Dara Reneé on Working with 'Role Model' Brandy in 'Descendants': 'I Am Starstruck' (Exclusive)

The 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series' star talks with PEOPLE exclusively about getting to work with the 'Cinderella' actress in the new Disney+ film

After playing a Disney princess on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Dara Reneé is getting to star alongside one in Descendants: The Rise of Red.

The latest installment of the Descendants franchise takes fans back to Auradon as two unlikely forces, the daughter of the Queen of Hearts (Kylie Cantrall) and the daughter of Cinderella (Malia Baker), team up to travel back in time to stop a catastrophic event from happening.

Among the star-studded cast — including Descendants alum China Anne McClain and Rita Ora — are Brandy and Paolo Montalban, who reprise their iconic roles as Cinderella and Prince Charming from the 1997 television adaptation of Cinderella.

When PEOPLE visited the set of HSMTMTS season 4 last year, Reneé couldn’t help but rave about getting to work with the iconic singer in the new film, which officially kicked off production in January 2023.

“I am still starstruck,” the 22-year-old actress tells PEOPLE. “I'm going to meet my role model. I literally grew up with her Cinderella and Whitney Houston as the Godmother.”

Related: Where Is the Cast of Rodgers & Hammerstein's 'Cinderella' Now?

Disney's 1997 TV movie first aired on ABC to 60 million viewers and has become a beloved classic over the years for its incredible performances and diverse casting, including Brandy as the first Black woman to play the iconic fairytale character on screen. 

“To just share the screen with such a powerful human being who has changed so many lives for the better, including my own, I just feel so blessed and I feel so grateful,” Reneé adds of getting to work with the actress. “I'm literally going to like hum Moesha in the dressing room.”

Related: Brandy to Reprise 'Cinderella' Role 25 Years Later in 'Descendants' Movie on Disney+

In February 2021, Brandy told PEOPLE she felt "blessed" to be chosen as the first Black Cinderella, noting that the film "was ahead of its time" and "we just need to do more of it."

"I was so just blessed and humbled to be chosen to be that vessel, to be the young girl that other Black girls could see. And just girls in general, just to see that this is possible. I was just so happy to be that person," she said at the time.

"I know for other girls that look like me — Black girls that look like me — it inspired them to dream bigger and to know that they can do anything if they put their minds to it," she added. "I know it inspired girls my age at that time."

Reneé had that same mindset when she portrayed Elsa from Frozen in HSMTMTS season 3.

"To be that person and to actually have people be like, 'Oh my gosh, you look like me. Your hair is like mine,' it just makes my heart so happy,” she told PEOPLE in September 2022.

“To play the first televised black Elsa is wild. It's so funny, my little cousins' favorite princess is Elsa and they would always be sad because they were like, 'I'll never look like Elsa' and now that I'm Elsa, they're like, 'I can be Elsa.'"

Related: Dara Reneé Hopes Her 'HSMTMTS' Song Helps People Struggling with Anxiety Know 'They Are Not Alone'

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In the new Descendants film, Reneé also shares the screen with her HSMTMTS costar Cantrall, who plays the eponymous Red in the Disney Channel flick.

“Kylie Cantrall is such a star and she's such a talent and such a beautiful human being, and I'm so grateful that we got this time to really bond,” Reneé said of Cantrall, who joins the cast of HSMTMTS as a new character named Dani in season 4. “She's absolutely fantastic and I cannot wait for the world to see her as Red and as Dani.”

For Cantrall, the feeling is completely mutual as she refers to Reneé as her “big sister” on set. “I look up to her in so many ways,” she says. “Her talent is out of this world. She’s just such a natural at everything she does and it's so incredible to watch. She's going to be my partner in crime.”

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