Whether you recognize her voice from the iconic line “What’s the sitch?” in Disney’s Kim Possible, recall her days as Ren Stevens on Even Stevens or if you’re one of the 707K Instagram fans following her consistent creative content, you’re familiar with Christy Carlson Romano. But now, the actress, podcast host, mother and wife is joining the ranks of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, premiering on Wednesday, January 8.
Special Forces takes household names and has them endure some of the roughest, most grueling challenges from the Special Forces selection process. Your favorite celebrities— among them actress Kyla Pratt, actor Stephen Baldwin and surfer Alana Blanchard—are put to the test with only one goal: survival.
First for Women recently spoke with Christy Carlson Romano to get the inside scoop on her preparation for Special Forces and take a walk down memory lane to reflect on her Disney days. Whether you’re a longstanding fan or excited to get to know her on Special Forces, get ready to dive in.
FFW: So, let’s start by talking about your new show Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.
Christy Carlson Romano: It is very different. I have never done reality TV before, and I was excited and enthusiastic about doing this particular show. My husband is a Marine veteran, and so I knew I had a leg up to train fast. I told him, “You know, I’m not physically fit to do this,” but he said, “We’re gonna train you the best that we can, but the most important thing for you to remember is that your mental state is more important than your physical state” … And he was, like, “Christy, I think mentally, you’re gonna knock it out of the park.” So mentally, I was committed and excited for this to be more of an adventure than it was. You know, it was a strange reality show experience, it was both things.
FFW: What was it like preparing for the show?
Carlson Romano: My husband would act like the DS (Drill Sergeant) so that I would know how they were going to yell at me. And I wanted him to do that. That was something I asked him to do, most importantly, but other times he would just be my trainer and he would tell me if you want this, you’ve got to work out. So, there were a few really late nights that I had to still be a mom and take my kids to school, and I had to put them to bed. But then I would continue my day by training after the kids went to bed and be up until, like, 1 am. It was really important to me that I got multiple workouts a day and one of them would be with weighted bags on the hills of Austin, Texas. Where I live, there’s a lot of hills in Hill Country, so I would be with my hunting backpack that was weighted, and I would be running up and down hills, and then I would run on my treadmill, and then I would do weights.
Another part of me working out every day had to be swimming with my clothes on, because this was a water-based year. I swam every day. I treaded water with my combat boots, my full clothing, and I made it up to about 10 minutes of treading water with my clothes on. So, I was ready, as mentally and as physically fit as I could be by the three weeks.
FFW: What made you want to take on the challenge of joining Special Forces?
Carlson Romano: I think I’m tired of talking about the past and I wanted to do a show that would put me front and center with who I am today, and that would show people that I’m mentally resilient. I wanted to show up authentically as myself and truly this show does that for people.
It kind of plugs you back into your community and makes people say, “Wow, she can really do hard things if she puts her mind to it.” I personally am just really proud. First of all, anybody who chooses to do this show is a little crazy, a little wild, but I have a lot of respect for them. But for me to do it, it was about challenging myself and showcasing myself.
FFW: Obviously, there are a lot of mental and physical challenges going into this. What were some of the challenges that you didn’t expect to face, or just something that surprised you along the way?
Carlson Romano: Basically, they asked me what my greatest fear was and I told them— I shouldn’t have done that. I had told them it was a fear of small spaces, and I can’t reveal anything, but essentially they did exploit my biggest fear, but I’m really proud of myself for getting through that…You have that mindset of, like, “I’m going to do this, and no one can tell me no.”
FFW: Was it difficult to get into that mindset?
Carlson Romano: Living with a Marine is kind of like living with your own DS. Something that my husband has told me about was when you join the military, especially when you join the Marines, you have a chip on your shoulder and it’s kind of like a badge of honor, because you know that you have this strength inside of you. When you’re in the military, you get the opportunity to showcase that toughness. I feel like being a child performer kind of makes you extremely mentally resilient in chaos, and I felt very comfortable in the chaos. Now I can show the world that I am tougher than people think I am.
FFW: It’s difficult not to make that connection [to Cadet Kelly] as well. I’m sure the preparation is very different from what you’ve had to do for Special Forces.
Carlson Romano: Actually, they did put us through a boot camp for about a month before we started filming [Cadet Kelly]. They made us do a lot of the JROTC drill team protocols and practices. We got a lot of bruises on our arms from flipping the guns. Shawn Ashmore [who played Brad] and I did a lot of gun twirling, and we got hurt a lot. My combat boots during Cadet Kelly were so uncomfortable that I needed to visit a chiropractor before we started filming.
I did have a drill instructor that was teaching us these things, and I had to learn from him every day for about a month and a half on how to be tough. So, I did actually get a little bit of military training during Cadet Kelly.
FFW: Are there any other exciting projects coming up beyond Special Forces?
Carlson Romano: I am in the midst of working on my memoir. I have a top publisher, and I am going to be working on that for a while. When you’re trying to remember all of the things that ever happened to you, it’s a really daunting task. I have a nostalgia box with all of these crazy things from my childhood. When you’re looking at them and watching videos, it just brings back so many memories.
FFW: Going back to your Disney days for a moment, what are some of your favorite memories from growing up as a child actor? Is there a specific show like Kim Possible that sticks out to you?
Carlson Romano: I think one of the things that sticks out to me with Kim Possible is when we had our toys in the [McDonald’s] Happy Meal Box that had my voice in it. I still have the Happy Meal boxes neatly folded to show my kids. There was also an Epcot ride where you saved the world with Kim Possible. I’m still so grateful for starting my career with Disney. I would never change that…I’m very grateful that they were always throwing projects my way.
FFW: Is it true that you were the one to come up with Kim’s iconic catchphrase, “What’s the sitch?”
Carlson Romano: I was! The creators asked what I would say if I was naturally just saying what’s the deal or what’s up. And I just said, “What’s the sitch?” It just kind of came out,
and the guys liked it. We kind of created it together.
FFW: You have a background in Broadway. Is that something you’d be interested in diving into again?
Carlson Romano: I’ve been focused on being a mom for a really long time, and I do think that theater makes the most sense for me to continue my career as an actress. I also really enjoy hosting, which I think is a natural fit for me. I could definitely see myself trying to do that. It’s just been tricky for me to decide to go back into late nights, long days, being away from my family. But I definitely think that could be in my future.
I churned out content a lot over the last three years, I’ve been busy. We have a studio, and my husband is my producing partner, and we’ve turned around a lot of different podcasts. And now I think we’re gearing up towards more traditional production. We want to do movies here in Texas, so we’re kind of shifting gears.
