“Camp Rock 3” Star Malachi Barton Reflects on ‘Pressure’ Growing Up in the Spotlight: ‘It Can Get Crazy’ (Exclusive)

Kelsie GibsonFri, August 14, 2026 at 3:46 PM UTC

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MALACHI BARTONCredit: Disney/Jonny Marlow -

Malachi Barton stars in Camp Rock 3 alongside the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato

After getting his start on Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle, the 19-year-old actor has been making his mark with roles in Disney’s Zombies 4 and the upcoming Coven Academy

The rising star tells PEOPLE about the “pressure” of stepping into the franchises and navigating the spotlight

FromZombies 4 to Camp Rock 3, Malachi Barton is quickly becoming Disney’s new leading man. His success, however, didn’t happen overnight.

With both of his parents in the industry — his mom, Felicia Barton, a former American Idolcontestant, and his dad, Loren Barton, a guitarist and tour manager — the 19-year-old actor knew he wanted to be an entertainer early on.

He recalls an early conversation with his father growing up, when his dad asked if he wanted to be a creator or a consumer, to which a young Barton immediately expressed his desire to be the former.

“I grew up in a household where creativity was a very big thing,” he recalls. “I was able to watch my parents chasing their dreams and making things happen.”

At the young age of 4, Barton was discovered by a studio owner as he danced on top of his family’s rental car to Justin Bieber. The owner later connected him with a friend, who has been his manager since he was 5.

“It was such an amazing right place, right time,” he recalls.

Several years later, Barton would get his big break starring on Disney Channel’s family sitcom Stuck in the Middle, a series that also gave its start to Jenna Ortega and Ariana Greenblatt.

“It was really cool because we got to learn off of each other. It was like a test trial in a way for all of us, because it was our first show. We were just going for it,” he says of his onscreen sisters.

Malachi Barton, Jenna Ortega and Nicolas Bechtel in ‘Stuck in the Middle’Credit: Eric McCandless/Disney Channel via Getty

He adds that he learned so much from watching Ortega behind the scenes. “She is one of the kindest people you will ever meet in your entire life, and she is just an absolute doll of a human,” he says of the Wednesday actress.

“Whether you are a costar or whether you are picking up trash on the set, she’s going to treat everybody equally and is going to love everybody for who they are. I took that from her, just making sure to be kind and have fun with everybody.”

Other actors he found inspiration from were his Zombies 4 costars Meg Donnelly and Milo Manheim, who he says supported him and Freya Skye as they took on the mantle for the iconic franchise.

“They passed the torch on so well,” he says of Donnelly and Manheim, who exited the franchise after the fourth film. “They just welcomed us with open arms. Milo’s like my big brother, and Meg is like my sister.”

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Malachi Barton, Freya Skye, Meg Donnelly and Milo Manheim at ‘Zombies 4’ premiereCredit: VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty

After making his mark on the Zombies franchise, which is slated to return for Zombies 5: Secrets of the Sea next year, Barton is stepping into yet another iconic Disney Channel franchise with Camp Rock 3, which brings back the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato in their original roles.

In the new film, Barton stars as a misunderstood camper named Fletch who forms an expected connection with rising singer/songwriter Sage (Liamani Segura).

Though Barton admits there was a certain amount of “pressure” stepping into the role, the Jonas Brothers, who served as executive producers for the sequel, helped create a comfortable environment on set from day one.

“The first day I spent with them on set we were playing, we were chucking around a football. It was just very chill. It was almost like they welcomed me in as another brother in a way,” he says. “[It’s] so fun to have [them] in my life now as somebody I can lean on. Like, Kevin texted me the other day, and he’s just a great guy. All of them are.”

MALACHI BARTON, LIAMANI SEGURA in Camp Rock 3Credit: Disney/David Astorga

From filming back-to-back projects with Camp Rock 3 and Coven Academy (which is slated to release later this year) and preparing for the upcoming Worlds Collide Tour with his Disney costars, Barton admits the past few years have been a whirlwind.

“It’s definitely been crazier than ever,” he admits. “It’s hard. Like, I’m not gonna sit here and say that it’s easy, because it’s really not. It’s a beast. A lot of fans look at it from the outside and don’t really understand how it is because there is a level of, like, ‘Oh, whoa, you’re living your entire life on screen.’ Like, you walk out of your house and you’re immediately on screen. There’s a crazy pressure that gets put onto that.”

Barton says his faith and loved ones have helped him stay grounded through it all and block out some of the noise that comes with being in the spotlight. “My relationship with God is my number one. I’ve continued to remind myself that the only opinion that matters is His.”

Malachi Barton at Disney’s “Camp Rock 3” world premiereCredit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

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“So many people are gonna have so many different opinions. And all those opinions, because of social media, are just gonna be thrown at you 24/7. So I think it’s so important to be able to do your own thing and keep your mind peaceful,” he continues.

“It can get crazy. But I’ve just been adjusting, and I’m still adjusting, and I don’t think I’m gonna stop adjusting. You never really get used to it. It’s been wild. It’s been crazy. But I’ve enjoyed it because that’s what I signed up for, and I get to interact with fans and people that are supporting me, and that’s such a cool thing.”

Camp Rock 3 is now streaming on Disney+.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”