The Saved by the Bell reboot is currently available to stream on Peacock and ComicBook.com has been sharing recent interviews with the cast this week. We spoke with Dexter Darden (Devante Young) about his character’s future, Mitchell Hoog (Mac Morris) about his on and offscreen relationship with Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack Morris), and Haskiri Velazquez (Daisy Jiménez) about the importance of Latinx representation. Next up is Belmont Cameli (Jamie Spano), who talked about getting to play the son of Elizabeth Berkley‘s Jessie Spano and his hopes for their family’s future.
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ORIGINAL SAVED BY THE BELL
ComicBook.com: I read that you didn’t grow up watching the show, but you did binge it to prepare. Now that you’ve seen it, is there’s anything from the original or anyone that you’d like to see come back?
Belmont Cameli: Ooh, good question. The “Rockumentary” episode, where they do “Friends Forever,” is one of my favorites because it’s got that original Bayside absurdity where it’s essentially a Zack Morris fever dream, and they do this whole song and dance. I love how the original wasn’t afraid to just get totally weird at some points. I think it would be really fun for the cast to do something like that. We’ll have to see in the future if that can come back, but that’s what I like that the new show emphasizes – It’s such a weird world and it’s not afraid to go anywhere. And “Rockumentary,” the original episode, was a good example.
THE SPANO FAMILY
CB: You have the cool job of getting to play Jessie Spano’s son. Did Elizabeth Berkley give you any advice for playing a Spano?
BC: She did a little bit, yeah. I got to meet Elizabeth in the audition process. It was super cool. She was in the room for both of my in-person auditions at Universal. And just before the audition, she made it feel incredibly welcoming and she was so gracious. And then once I booked the role, we had some time to spend together and talk about what life would have been like for the Spanos growing up and Jamie’s childhood and their relationship, their dynamic as mother and son. I got to spend some time with her husband and her son in real life, which was cool. And I got to see how she was as a mom in reality. Yeah, she had some advice for me. But ultimately, Jamie is a product of Jessie Spano as a mom. So he has a lot of those wonderful Jessie Spano qualities that everybody loved in the original, but he also is his own individual. So it was very cool working with her.
CB: Is there anything that you’d like to see happen with Jamie’s storyline in the future?
BC: I am looking forward to seeing how Jamie’s parents devolve or evolve. Their relationship is a little hairy, especially at the end of Season One. So I think Jamie and his family are going to have to reach a couple obstacles, maybe some difficult truths that they’ll have to come to terms with. And then, yeah, just seeing the triangle play out and where Jamie’s heart will fall and who he’ll be with. But mostly I’m curious to see how Jamie’s family dynamic plays out. I think there’s a lot of ways to go about it. Of course, Slater and Jessie are throwing a couple of sparks around. So who knows?
THE ART OF JAMIE
CB: I really love that Jamie isn’t a typical jock. He’s sensitive, he doesn’t blink twice at being friends with, or even dating a trans girl. I think that’s a great role model for younger people to have. I’m wondering if you went into it with that mindset?
BC: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Jamie sees people for who they are and none of the accessory or extracurricular pertain to his perception of his friends. He is very straightforward with his love and his loyalty. And I really respect that out of him. On paper, Jamie should be a jock. But he really is kind of the antonym of what he appears to be, which is a beautiful thing. He’s very straightforward with his intentions and he covers all of his bases emotionally with his friends. That’s something that he got in spades from his mom. And I just think it’s a very admirable thing.
CB: I’ve been asking everyone this question, but your answer is actually the only one that matters. I’m taking a poll. Are you team Jamie and Aisha or team Jamie and Lexi?
BC: Oh god. Oh no. I don’t even want to answer it. Well, I can’t tell you prospectively who I think will end up together. Because I, right now, am just enthralled by the triangle itself. I think that Jamie and Lexi have a really wonderful story. They’ve been lifelong friends and there’s a serious connection there. And that’s a really beautiful thing that Jamie has been alongside her through everything, thick and thin. But I also think that Jamie and Aisha have a wonderful chemistry and they learn a lot about each other as they go on. I can’t give you an answer.
BEHIND-THE-SCENES
CB: Do you any fun behind-the-scenes stories that come to mind?
BC: There’s so many. There was one day when myself and Mitchell [Hoog] were in costume as freshmen at Bayside for Lexi’s E Story, where I had braces and Mitchell had pimples and the middle part, and we looked totally ridiculous. We’re not always in character on set, but that day we totally were. I was walking around with a fidget spinner all day, playing games on my phone. We had so much fun in character that day. And we were trying to pitch to Tracey [Wigfield], our showrunner, Mac and Jamie as babies, as a spin off.
BEYOND THE BELL
CB: I’m from ComicBook.com, so I ask everybody if there any comic franchises that you’d like to be a part of or any superheroes you’d like to play one day?
BC: Well, yes, absolutely. Batman has always been my favorite superhero and the DC world is my favorite. I am not a huge Marvel fan only because I haven’t seen most of them. My brother is, so I watch along with him, but I’m not a die-hard committed Marvel fan. I love the Batman character and the story. I cannot wait to see what Robert Pattinson does with it.
Maybe someday, if there’s a future iteration of Batman, that would be the dream. It’d be so cool. Or anybody in that world of Gotham, really. To play the Joker would be a dream as well.
CB: Do you have any other projects coming up or anything else that you want to talk about?
BC: Not at the time. Right now, I’m back home, spending some time with family before the new year begins. When January hits, I’ll get back to auditioning. Which I love because it’s my primary form of learning and growth. And so I’m looking forward to seeing what projects are on the horizon and how I can continue to keep the train moving.
