“Sometimes there can be pressure for women on the set, even when they’re young,” she continued, adding she feared a dynamic where one is clearly the star and the other is “number two.” Luckily, those fears were unfounded as Duff was a “classy gal” and “so bubbly and fun.” “I was really nervous that Hilary wouldn’t like me,” the Even Stevens star said in a September 2021 video.

On Romano’s wildly popular YouTube channel, she recounted her time on the Cadet Kelly set and revealed she had some qualms about working with Duff. Romano Was “Nervous” About Working With Duff To commemorate Cadet Kelly’s 20th anniversary, rewatch the Disney classic, learn the iconic routine, and lean into the nostalgia with these five behind-the-scenes facts. In fact, a lot was going on behind the scenes, including budding friendships among the cast and real-life cadets wooing the ladies.

While Duff and Romano spend most of the film as nemeses, their relationship couldn’t have been more different offscreen. When onlookers witness their rhythmic chemistry, the two are ordered to perform together at a drill team competition to lead their school to victory. Naturally, the increasing tension between the two results in a spontaneous dance battle. Her rebellious streak incurs the wrath of Cadet Captain Jennifer Stone (Romano), who revels in disciplining Kelly for her offenses. In the Disney Channel Original Movie, eighth-grader Kelly Collins (Duff) is plucked from art school and enrolled in military school, where her new stepdad works as the principal. It’s been exactly 20 years since Disney teen queens Hilary Duff and Christy Carlson Romano made us want to twirl rifles and break out in choreographed dance à la Cadet Kelly.

Cadet kelly movie