HOLA! Interview

'Goosebumps' stars Ana Ortiz & Galilea La Salvia talk paranormal encounters & making movie magic

"Goosebumps: The Vanishing" is an anthology series on Disney+ and Hulu

Senior Writer

FEBRUARY 13, 2025 11:26 AM ESTFEB 13, 2025, 11:26 AM EST

Goosebumps has an enormous cultural imprint. Created by author R.L. Stine in the early ‘90s, the book series took a chance on children’s interest in horror, catapulting it to the stratosphere. As of this writing, over 400 million copies of "Goosebumps" have been sold worldwide, with the books translated into 35 different languages. To get a sense of the franchise's ubiquity, "Goosebumps" is the second-best-selling book series of all time. The first is “Harry Potter.”

“Goosebumps: The Vanishing” is the new entry into the franchise's TV adaptations, which dates back to the 1995 show. Airing on Disney+, the series is an anthology, with each season inspired by different books. “The Vanishing” takes the meat of its story from three key texts: "Stay Out of the Basement," "The Haunted Car," and "Monster Blood.”

The series follows teenage twins Cece and Devin, who are spending the summer with their dad, a divorced and retired botany professor. The two then get involved in a mystery of missing teens that dates back to the '90s.

Ana Ortiz plays the role of Jen, a detective investigating a mystery of disappearing teens

We spoke to Ana Ortiz and Galilea La Salvia, two key cast members of the season. Ortiz is someone you’ve likely seen and loved on the small screen, with roles in “Ugly Betty,” "Devious Maids," and “Love, Victor," with her work shining due to her tangible portrayals of Latin women. La Salvia is only 22 years old but has developed an acting career that spans over a decade.

In an interview with HOLA!, the pair discussed their experiences making the series, the charms and difficulties of acting with green screens and practical effects, and their real-life paranormal experiences. They also talked about acting opposite David Schwimmer, a surreal experience that included performing car stunts and getting to see him covered in gruesome prosthetics.

Official Trailer | Goosebumps: The Vanishing | Disney+ and Hulu

Congratulations on the new season of Goosebumps. How fun was it to make this new chapter? Did you guys have any favorite memories while on set?

Ana Ortiz: It was so fun. I think one of my favorite memories was getting to know this young cast. I think that any time you see kids who are so talented and who throw themselves into their work is amazing. This wasn’t an easy gig! A lot of the time you’re working with imaginary monsters and blue screens and you have to run and scream. Watching everyone commit to it was excellent. Specifically Galilea. She’s a treasure to me and a breakout.

On the funnier side, I have some great memories of driving David Schwimmer. I had to do some stunt driving and, as a New Yorker, I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was like 23. And then here I am, driving this iconic actor around, right by the river. I think at one point he was terrified that I was going to drive us both into the East River. So that was fun for me (laughs).

Galilea La Salvia: We had so many fun days on set. The locations that we shot at were crazy. On one of my favorite days, we had to shoot in the subway in a moving train car. And it was so surreal being in there with no one else around. It felt like a liminal space. Exploring New York was also amazing.

Was there anything in particular that drew you guys to your characters? Something that resonated with their stories and your own?

AO: Definitely. I think Jen is a real homegirl. She's a Latina, she’s a New Yorker and that’s something that we share. We joke about it, but being a Latin mother, especially a Puerto Rican mother, you’re just naturally a detective (laughs). You just know what's going on. That came very easily to me, the sniffing out the clues. And getting to play horror. I've never had that opportunity and Latinos are the biggest audience for horror but I don't feel like we're really represented, you know? So for me, it was really exciting to have that experience and see all of the special effects and hopefully create more opportunities for us.

GL: I totally agree with Anna. Horror is an incredible genre and you get to play so much while making it, it’s amazing. Something that drew me to this character was the way Frankie cares for her relationships. I thought that that was really interesting. When I first read the script, you may think it’s like the stereotypical love triangle, and while that's very fun to play, I thought this was different. It’s not so much a dilemma between which guy she wants to choose, it’s more like what the decision reflects on her life and the type of future that she wants.

AO: Also, for Gal, it was your idea to have the scenes at home be in Spanish.

GL: Yeah, that too! Our showrunners, Rob Letterman and Hillary Winston, gave us so much freedom with these characters. One time we were having dinner and we were talking about our families and I mentioned that I communicate with my parents in Spanish and they were like, ‘Can we include that in the show?’

I loved that idea and was so grateful for that. Now Frankie is bilingual and that’s something I get to bring to the part. It wasn’t originally written.

One of my favorite things about Goosebumps is the practical effects. What was it like to work with that? Was it a challenge or was it fun to incorporate in your performance?

GL: It was definitely both. It was a very fun challenge and it was different every day. Sometimes you’d act against a piece of tape on the wall and you’d have to pretend. And then other times it’d be like, they’re showing you the monster on the screen but then you have to visualize everything else. And then other times it would be very practical effects, which I really loved, because I got to see cool stuff in front of me.

Honestly, I don’t think I have a favorite monster. There were so many cool moments that we got to experience. There were some people with these arm stilts?

AO: All in black.

GL: Insane! Like, how do you do that?

AO: It works! Even without all the effects, they were still scary. Those stunt people don’t play around (laughs).

The special effects makeup was also incredible. Galilea, were you there when David had this eyeball hanging out?

GL: Yes! Now that the show’s out we can talk about it but I remember walking on to set and just like passing by and I’m like… hold on. I did a double take and was like… Is that David Scwimmer’s head just detached? (laughs). I don’t think I had read that script yet.

Speaking of scripts and memorable moments, was there a particular scene that you read and you thought ‘Wow, this is gonna be amazing to see?’

GL: I think towards the end of the season. I don't want to spoil anything for people that haven't seen it yet but there’s some sort of cool underground room that we enter. I’m trying to be very vague.

AO: Definitely what Galilea is talking about, but also there’s this entire flashback episode and I love when shows do that. When they give you that history. Everything about that appeals to me, seeing the characters as they were. I thought that it was a cool conceit that the writers did. They also did it on this weird videotape-like Betamax thing.

GL: It’s like one of those analog horror videos on YouTube. I remember seeing that episode and being like ‘Yes! This is so cool.’

Goosebumps was pretty huge when I was a kid. I was obsessed with the books and the TV show in the late nineties and early 2000s. Were you guys fans of the series? Do you have a favorite story or one that you still think about to this day?

GL: I think now my favorite is ‘Stay out of the Basement,’ because we worked so closely with it. I read it when I was on set and the ending was crazy. I actually got goosebumps. I also remember seeing Goosebumps at the Scholastic Book Fair, which is such a good memory for me. I’d have a couple of dollars and I’d be so excited (laughs).

AO: For me, I was a little too old for it as a reader, but as a mom… it’s so difficult to get kids, and I can only speak for myself, but to get my kids off of screens and interested in reading. And this series was the one that turned them into readers.

The show touches upon the paranormal and the inexplicable. Have you guys had any paranormal experiences in your life?

AO: Totally. I’m upstairs in my house and downstairs I’m almost positive that there’s a… I don’t know what you’d call it. I think it’s a feminine presence because I kind of see her sometimes out of the corner of my eye. There’s sort of this spiritey thing there. And she’s friendly and cool, I’m not worried about her at all, but I think my husband thinks I’m insane (laughs). My dogs will sort of bark at this area where I feel her vibe is. So, I’m just saying.

GL: Yeah, I don't know if animals have some sort of sixth sense because my dog will also just stare at some point in the room and I’m like… ‘Don’t freak me out. Go to bed, go to sleep, you’re fine.’

If you guys could solve any real-world mystery, what would it be?

AO: Maybe like... The pyramids. How were they built? (laughs). Also, are there aliens? Like, can I find out if there are really aliens out there?

GL: That’s a good one. What’s your take on that?

AO: Do aliens exist? There has to be some other form of life, right? In the universe?

GL: I agree. I don’t think they’re like green with those little eyes.

AO: Do you think they walk among us though?

GL: Hmmm. I don’t know! I’ve seen some crazy YouTube compilations! (laughs).

AO: This is Goosebumps season 3! We got it, right here.