Young actress Yara Shahidi beat thousands of hopefuls to star as Olivia Danielson alongside Eddie Murphy in the family comedy, Imagine That. We chat to her about her starring role and burning pancakes.

Were you surprised you were cast in Imagine That?

Yes, I was. I didn’t know until the last day how many girls auditioned. I had no idea girls worldwide came to audition. I had to audition 12 times. I had a script and would have to read it how Olivia would read it. The casting director would read the other lines. The final audition was with Mr Eddie.

Were you nervous?

Not really. Mr Eddie reminds me of my uncle Kevin. They have the same energy. They start jokes the same way. They almost look alike. I was trying not to laugh in the final audition because he reminded me so much of uncle Kevin. The scene we were doing was not a funny one. It was serious so that was hard not laughing.

Was it fun to star in the film?

It was. Mr Eddie is a great actor, very funny and has a lot of energy. Everybody on set was really nice. All of the scenes were a lot of fun too. I loved learning how to sing and making pancakes with Mr Eddie. I got to burn the pancakes on purpose too (laughs). Luckily I didn’t have to eat it. Mr Eddie didn’t want to eat his either.

Olivia has a great imagination and imaginary friends. Do you have them too?

I don’t have imaginary friends, but I can always imagine I’m a totally different person than who I actually am. I imagine I’m a scientist or an historian and I’m in college, not fourth grade.

What do your friends think about you being a movie star?

They think it’s pretty cool. They don’t treat me any differently just because I’m in a movie.

Did Eddie make you laugh when filming?

Yes. All the time. There’s a scene where he has to dance in front of everybody and I have to keep a straight face and look upset at him. I was trying not to laugh.

Did Eddie give you any gifts after filming?

He sure did give me some gifts. On the last day, he gave me this huge basket of gifts. It was so large I could have slept in it. It had an ice cream maker, photo frames, a bowling set and tonnes of other things. It was huge. It was for me and my brother so we shared it.

Catch Yara in Imagine That, out now on DVD