On Wednesday, Oct. 22 the Hopkins Lecture Series hosted an event titled, “An Evening in Conversation with Bradley Steven Perry.” This event marked the second event in the Hopkins Lecture Series’ Voices of Tomorrow Fall Speaker Series.
Bradley Steven Perry is an actor and podcaster best known for his role as Gabe Duncan on Disney Channel’s hit show Good Luck Charlie. Since Good Luck Charlie ended in 2014, Perry has taken on roles in other Disney Channel shows such as Mighty Med and Lab Rats: Elite Force. He now focuses on indie projects such as the 2025 short film Don’t Forget About Me and his podcast The Sit and Chat Podcast.
Interviewing Perry were the co-chairs of the Hopkins Lecture Series, junior Sofia Gosain and sophomore Olivia Lowry. In an interview with The News-Letter, Lowry explained the process of picking guests to speak to the Hopkins community.
“We were hoping to represent diverse interests of the student body, and we thought representation from the entertainment industry could be really engaging, as well as someone that we know a lot of students know and love,” Lowry said.
Gosain then outlined her vision for the event in an interview with The News-Letter, sharing her hopes for both what would be discussed and the overall student response.
“We’re going to have an open Q & A at the end of the event which I think will be a great opportunity for students and faculty to engage with him. I think [Perry] will share a lot about his experience and how the entertainment industry is changing now,” Gosain said.
Beginning the conversation, Gosain asked Perry about his favorite memories throughout his 20-year-long career. After a moment of reflection, Perry described working with some of Hollywood’s greats. At eight or nine years old, he mentioned working with John Travolta and Robbie Williams, an event whose gravity he was initially unaware of.
Perry then spoke about his feelings on acting in comedies versus dramas, finding his voice in the film industry as an adult and his years in college. Notably, Perry discussed recent changes in cable and streaming television when reflecting on the watching experience. Given that cable television is increasingly surpassed by streaming services, the length and format of TV shows have adapted to fit this form.
“I feel like cable television is just kind of slowly fading away, and it’s sad,” he said. “But the irony is, we have all these different streaming platforms and it’s basically just cable at this point... So, the formatting, all that's changed, and the way you go about storytelling has changed [as well].”
Perry then described the beginning of his podcast and how the rise in streaming caused his shift to cooking videos and his podcast on social media platforms. His foray into cooking videos began during an actors’ strike.
“I started doing the cooking stuff when the actors strike was going on because I couldn’t go out for anything, couldn’t work or anything,” he said. “So I just started doing some cooking videos, because I cook a lot, and then it became a cool thing.”
Following up on this point, Perry discussed how the podcast gave him and his co-host, Jake, the freedom to explore more artistic projects. They were able to use their earnings from their podcast to put it towards a project — he described the importance of the ability to shoot a project for fun during the conversation.
“We’re in post right now, but the satisfaction of just shooting that project, not getting paid a dollar for it, just going and doing it for fun meant so much more than any episodes of podcasts,” he said.
Hopkins students soon lined up to ask their own questions to Perry. From his favorite movies to stories from the set of Good Luck Charlie, students were able to hear personal details from his experiences.
When asked about being put in a “Disney Channel box,” Perry spoke candidly about the hardships of becoming a mature actor while still being recognized for iconic yet young roles in Hollywood. He stressed that this can be a difficult transition, and that he was able to grow from his experience on Disney Channel and his acceptance and appreciation of his roles from childhood. However, he also noted that he is frequently recognized as his role on Disney Channel despite his transition as an actor.
“I think people will always recognize me as Gabe and always call me that.. people get pigeonholed into things, but I think it’s a mindset,” he said.
Another student asked about his advice for taking criticism. Perry responded by describing the differences in reaction to media and putting your all into a project.
“I think if you could just remind yourself why you love doing it and find your own ways to do it on the side instead of relying on somebody else to give you the job that can help a lot,” he said.
After Perry spoke, many students shared their perspectives on the event and hearing Perry talk. In an interview with The News-Letter, sophomore Sasha Kapoor described her motivations for attending the event.
“I grew up watching Bradley Steven Perry so this really made me feel nostalgic and happy,” Kapoor said. “I think that [the Hopkins Lecture Series] has had some really diverse people — I never expected them to get an actor or people in the entertainment industry.”
Other students shared her excitement. Sophomore Huy Lam described his experience at the event in an interview with The News-Letter.
“I watched Bradley when I was younger in a lot of his films on Disney Channel so I really wanted to see him in person,” he said. “I think that this was a special occasion [for me] — usually I would not go to these lecture series.”
Gosain explained the role of student input in deciding speakers for events in her interview with The News-Letter, highlighting how decision-making for speakers has changed as the Hopkins Lecture Series itself has evolved.
“We’ve moved and shifted towards representing a more holistic set of interests. Last semester and last year we’ve seen great feedback from Hopkins students when we had events representing those in the entertainment or comedy sectors,” she said.
The next guest in the Voices of Tomorrow Fall Speaker Series is comedian and actress Mary Beth Barone on Nov. 5.
Lana Swindle contributed writing to this article.
