Kyle Massey is 35 years old now, but more than two decades ago, he was a teenager working on one of Disney’s most popular TV series.
From 2003 to 2007, he played Cory Baxter, the annoying little brother of Raven Baxter, played by Raven-Symoné, on “That’s So Raven.”
He later went from a supporting character to a lead, still portraying Cory in the spinoff series “Cory in the House.” It ran from 2007 to 2008 and ran for 34 episodes. Though both series gave Massey a great start in his acting career, playing Cory also cost him other on-screen opportunities.
The Atlanta native told the truth about what happened behind the scenes regarding what could have been his first big movie.
In an interview with “The Art of Dialogue,” he revealed that Disney made him turn down a movie with Morgan Freeman and Edward Norton because he was Cory.
“I actually booked a movie with Morgan Freeman and Edward Norton and I did a table read for the movie. We was locked in and then Disney I guess read the script and they was like, ‘You can’t do this. You’re Cory.’”
Massey admitted he had to “relinquish” the role, even though he’d already booked the job. He even has pictures with Norton at the table read.
Further explaining what happened, he said, “I had to, like, relinquish the role because it conflicted with the character that I was portraying on the Disney Channel and that was the priority.”
Massey could not name the movie because it still had a “working title” at the time. The filmmakers had not finalized its name.
The studio may have scrapped the movie entirely. No documented film release features both Norton and Freeman.
Despite not being able to play the role, Massey has a positive outlook on the situation.
He said, “This is how God works. Like I had to turn down that role. But once I turned down that role and I gave my all to Corey on ‘Raven,’ that turned into ‘Cory in the House.’ So everything always just kind of works out.”
“Sometimes the big letdown is not a letdown,” Massey added.
Fans online expressed shock after learning that Disney had forced Massey to give up the role.
One person said, “So he is saying Disney wouldn’t let him be in a movie that either didn’t get made or flew so under the radar he can’t even remember it! Ok. From what it sounds like even if he had done this supposed movie it wouldn’t have done much for him anyway.”
Another fan who felt similarly wrote, “Whatever this movie was supposed to be.. It never happened.”
Two supporters wrote, “I loved him on ‘That’s So Raven!” and “‘Cory In The House was the s–t.”
Before booking “That’s So Raven,” Massey came close to landing a role on another Disney show. “Even Stevens,” which starred Shia LaBeouf and Christy Carlson Romano, ultimately went in a different direction.
Massey auditioned for Beans, the quirky, pestering neighbor of the Stevens family, but Steven Anthony Lawrence won the role.
But he later got to play Cory.
Massey also auditioned for Beans, the quirky, pestering neighbor of the Stevens family. However, Steven Anthony Lawrence ultimately landed the part.
After “That’s So Raven” ended in 2007, Massey took on the lead role in its spinoff, “Cory in the House.”
He recalled that he was in Utah filming a Disney movie called ‘Life Is Ruff’ when he suddenly confessed to his mom, Angel Massey.
“I’ll never forget my mom and I, we’re going over lines on the bed and then while she’s like reading my lines to me, I just looked at her, and I was like, ‘You know, I don’t want to stop acting,’” he recalled.
His mom reminded him that even though “That’s So Raven” was over, he was still working on a movie.
He said, “And then the next morning, they call me about ‘Cory in the House,’ you know? So, it’s like as soon as I start to feel something, the universe reacts. And I’ve learned to just trust it wherever it takes me, you know?”
After ‘Cory in the House,’ Massey went on to do voice acting in the animated Disney series “Fish Hooks.”
Other projects he starred in over the years include “Gotham,” “Being Mary Jane,” and “Millenials.”
