Several actors have starred in multiple Disney Channel TV shows, but many have also starred in multiple Disney Channel original movies. A Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) is a TV movie that was distributed/released by and originally aired on Disney Channel. For this reason, films like The Lizzie McGuire Movie and Hannah Montana: The Movie, despite being based on Disney Channel shows, aren’t considered DCOMs, as they were originally released in theaters. The theatrical release rule also applies to High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which was released in theaters.
Rewatching Disney Channel Original Movies as an adult may not feel the same as they did as a kid, and while some Disney Channel Original Movies are much better than others, they still have major nostalgic appeal. There’s also a lot of actor overlap between DCOMs. Of course, there are plenty of actors who have starred in multiple DCOMs from the same franchise. However, seeing an established Disney Channel actor starring in a completely different role or guest-appearing in another major franchise was always fun.
12 Raven-Symoné (7 Appearances)
Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, Zenon: Z3, The Cheetah Girls, The Cheetah Girls 2: When In Spain, Kim Possible: A Sitch In Time, Kim Possible Movie: So The Drama
Raven-Symoné is best known for playing the lead role on the Disney Channel show, That’s So Raven. However, before playing the titular psychic on That’s So Raven (who was named after her), she starred in the DCOM, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999), as Nebula Wade. While she did not return for the sequel, Zenon: The Zequel in 2001, she did reprise her role in 2004’s Zenon: Z3.
Raven also played Galleria in DCOM, The Cheetah Girls, in 2003. The film was such a success that a pilot episode was filmed for a Cheetah Girls TV series in 2004, but it never got picked up. In 2005, Raven reprised her role as Galleria in The Cheetah Girls 2: When in Spain, but she did not return for the third installment, TheCheetah Girls: One World, in 2008. Raven also voiced the character, Monique, in the Disney Channel animated series Kim Possible, as well as in two DCOMs based on the series, Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time in 2003 and Kim Possible Movie: So The Drama in2005.
11 Brenda Song (5 Appearances)
The Ultimate Christmas Present, Get A Clue, Stuck in the Suburbs, Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, The Suite Life Movie
Best known for playing hotel heiress, London Tipton, on the Disney Channel shows, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck, Brenda Song probably holds the record for starring in the most individual DCOMs, excluding sequels. In 2000, she starred in the holiday DCOM, The Ultimate Christmas Present. Two years later, she starred in the DCOM, Get A Clue, with Lindsay Lohan. Another two years later, she starred in yet another DCOM, Stuck in the Suburbs. In 2006, Song finally got the lead in a DCOM, playing the titular role in Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior. Her final DCOM role was in The Suite Life Movie in 2011.
10 Danielle Panabaker (2 Appearances)
Stuck in the Suburbs, Read It And Weep
Danielle Panabaker is a rarity in the Disney Channel universe, in that she has played lead roles in multiple DCOMs without ever appearing on any Disney Channel TV shows, even for a guest role. Danielle starred with Song in Stuck in the Suburbs in 2004 before acting alongside her real-life sister, Kay Panabaker, in the DCOM Read It and Weep in 2006. Danielle plays Kay’s imaginary alter ego, Isabella, in the film.
9 Kay Panabaker (2 Appearances)
Life Is Ruff, Read It And Weep
Kay Panabaker played Debbie Berwick on the Disney Channel show, Phil of the Future, and guest-starred on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, before playing Emily Watson in the DCOM, Life is Ruff, in 2005. The film also features fellow Disney Channel stars, Kyle Massey from That’s So Raven, the spinoff, Cory in the House, and the animated series, Fish Hooks, as well as Mitchel Musso, who went on to star in the Disney Channel shows, Hannah Montana, Phineas and Ferb, and Pair of Kings, as well as other DCOMs like Hatching Pete. The following year, Kay co-starred with her older sister, Danielle, in Read It and Weep.
8 Corbin Bleu (3 Appearances)
High School Musical, High School Musical 2, Jump In!
The same year he guest-starred in the Hannah Montana pilot in 2006, Corbin Bleu played Wildcat Chad Danforth in the DCOM High School Musical. High School Musical remains one of the biggest DCOM success stories to date, going from a modest TV movie to an international sensation and full-blown franchise. The following year, in 2007, Bleu reprised his role in the sequel, High School Musical 2. That same year, he played Izzy Daniels in the DCOM, Jump In!, opposite Keke Palmer. While Bleu did return for High School Musical 3: Senior Year in 2008, as mentioned, this is not considered a DCOM.
7 Selena Gomez (2 Appearances)
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, Princess Protection Program
Disney darling, Selena Gomez, has guest-starred on some of the most popular Disney Channel shows, including The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, The Suite Life on Deck, Hannah Montana, Sonny With a Chance and its spinoff, So Random! She also played the lead role of Alex Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place and the 2009 DCOM based on the show, Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie. That same year, she played Carter in the DCOM, Princess Protection Program, opposite fellow Disney Channel star, Demi Lovato.
6 Demi Lovato (3 Appearances)
Camp Rock, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, Princess Protection Program
Demi Lovato played the lead role in season 1 of the Disney Channel short series, As the Bell Rings, before making her DCOM debut in Camp Rock in 2008 alongside Disney-signed boyband, the Jonas Brothers. Lovato played the lead role of Mitchie Torres opposite Joe Jonas, who played fictional pop star, Shane Grey. Lovato reprised her role in the sequel, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, in 2010. After landing the lead role of the titular Sonny on the Disney Channel show, Sonny with a Chance, in 2009, Lovato played Rosalinda “Rosie” Gonzalez in Princess Protection Program alongside real-life best friend, Selena Gomez, later that same year.
5 Christy Carlson Romano (4 Appearances)
Cadet Kelly, The Even Stevens Movie, Kim Possible: A Sitch In Time, Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama
Romano made her Disney Channel debut playing Shia LeBeouf’s older sister, Ren Stevens, on the Disney Channel show, Even Stevens. She also played Ren in the DCOM based on the series, The Even Stevens Movie, in 2003. In 2002, Romano starred alongside Disney darling, Hilary Duff, in the DCOM, Cadet Kelly.
That same year, she started voicing the titular vigilante on the animated Disney Channel series, Kim Possible. Romano went on to voice Kim Possible from 2002-2007, including in the DCOMs, Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time in 2003, and Kim Possible Movie: So The Drama in 2005. She also played the role of Poppy Blu in the 2019 live-action DCOM, Kim Possible, based on the animated series.
4 Aly Michalka (2 Appearances)
Now You See It…, Cow Belles
Aly Michalka made her acting debut as Keely Teslow on Phil of the Future in 2004, only a year before making her film debut as Alyson Miller in the DCOM, Now You See It… The following year, she starred alongside her real-life sister, AJ Michalka, in the DCOM, Cow Belles in 2006), in which they play sisters onscreen, as well. Aly & AJ were also a musical duo signed to Disney’s record label, Hollywood Records, from 2004 to 2010.
3 Nicholas Braun (2 Appearances)
Minutemen, Princess Protection Program
Long before playing Cousin Greg on the Emmy-winning HBO series, Succession, Nicholas Braun had a Disney Channel moment. Braun played Zeke Thompson in the 2008 DCOM, Minutemen. The film also starred fellow Disney Channel stars, Jason Dolley (Cory in the House, Good Luck Charlie, Read It and Weep, Hatching Pete), Luke Benward (Good Luck Charlie, Girl Meets World, Girl vs. Monster, Cloud 9), and Chelsea Kane (Jonas franchise, Fish Hooks, Starstruck). The following year, he starred alongside Gomez and Lovato as Edwin in Princess Protection Program in 2009.
2 Zendaya (2 Apperances)
Frenemies, Zapped
Before winning two Emmy awards and becoming one of the biggest stars of her generation, Zendaya dominated Disney Channel in the 2010s. She played lead roles on the Disney Channel shows, Shake It Off (as Rocky Blue), and K.C. Undercover (as the titular spy, K.C. Cooper), and guest-starred on the Disney Channel show, A.N.T. Farm. As for DCOMs, she played Hailey Brandon opposite her Shake It Off co-star, Bella Thorne, in 2012’s Frenemies. Two years later, she played Zoey Stevens in Zapped, originally titled Unleashed.
1 Dove Cameron
Cloud 9, Descendants, Descendants 2, Descendants 3
Dove Cameron played both the titular roles on the Disney Channel show, Liv & Maddie, and has guest-starred on the Disney Channel show, Austin & Ally. In 2014, she played Kayla Morgan in her first DCOM, Cloud 9. The following year, she starred in the first movie of the Descendants DCOM franchise, playing Maleficent’s daughter, Mal. Cameron reprised her role in both the sequel, Descendants 2, in 2017, and the third installment, Descendants 3, in 2019.
