Kiori Mirza Waldman And Recent Role In “Ice Cream Man” And Teases Her Sophomore Single

A double-threat on the rise!

We have a feeling that we’re going to be seeing a lot more about Kiori Mirza Waldman. A rising singer-songwriter and actress who was a total scene-stealer in the recent horror hit Ice Cream Man, she is quickly becoming someone to watch out for!

Recently we had the pleasure of chatting with Kiori and talking about balancing her career with her academics, facing her horror movie fears, and more!

Congratulations on your role in ‘Ice Cream Man’! Horror movie sets always sound chaotic in the best way. Do you have a favorite behind the scenes story from filming?

K: “Every day was a blast on set, but my favourite scene to film was when Charlie Zeltzer (Jared), Shiloh O’Riley (Tommy), and I were in a small room surrounded by zombified kids. To escape, Charlie had to use a fire extinguisher to spray the kids, but he ended up spraying me, Shiloh, and even some of the camera crew! We were all laughing like crazy. It was such a fun time.”

Your character Mia was fearless when she teamed up with the rest of the unaffected kids! If this happened in real life, do you think you would be just as brave?

K: “I’d like to think I would be! Mia is definitely way braver than I am in some situations. I feel like I’d be so terrified at first that I’d probably curl into a ball, but if my friends, family, or cats were in danger, I think I’d surprise myself.”

Are you a horror movie fan? If so, do you have a current favorite horror movie that you would recommend?

K: “I’m actually too scared to watch most horror movies, but I really appreciate the acting and the creative process that goes into making them. I have watched Thanksgiving, though, which was a super fun- and terrifying- experience, so I definitely recommend it! Horror movies are also so much fun to watch with friends.”

You just graduated from eighth grade! How do you balance your exciting professional career with your academic success?

K: “Education and learning have always been really important to me and will always be my number one priority. To balance acting with school, I try to get as far ahead as possible so that when I’m busy, my schoolwork feels more like review. When I’m on set during the school year, I use a lot of my free time to keep up with my work.”

In addition to being an actress, you are also a rising singer and released ‘LOV5’ last year! When did you first realize that you wanted to pursue music?

K: “I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember. I’ve been singing and playing piano since I was really little, but songwriting was when music started to feel like something that was really mine. My first song was actually about how fluffy my cat is! I love being able to take something I’m feeling and turn it into a song.”

We hear that you are releasing your second single this summer! Can you tease what listeners can expect?

K: “Yes! I’m releasing a new single called “thirteen,” and I actually wrote it when I was thirteen. It’s about feeling like you don’t quite fit in and trying to figure out where you belong. I think a lot of people have felt that way at some point, not just at thirteen, so I’m really excited for people to hear it.”

Make sure to stream Kiori’s debut single “LOV5” and watch her shine in “Ice Cream Man”, available now in theatres!

Photo Credit: John Bregar

Je’Kayla Crawford– Founder and Director– Je’Kayla has been a journalist for years and decided to start a publication of her own, New Scene Magazine, back in October 2020. When not helping her team and working on their print issues, you can find her watching a movie on Netflix or baking using a viral TikTok recipe.