Playing opposite 6’11” Dwight Howard of the Houston Rockets was really big fun for Disney XD teen star Jake Short. “He was great. He’s a big guy doing big motions with his hands and arms and it’s good for comedy. He’s a funny guy, and he’s really nice,” says Jake, who had the chance to go one on one, comedically speaking, with Howard playing a super hero called The Great Defender on the Nov. 4 episode of his new “Mighty Med” series.
The episode kicks off Disney XD’s month-long “Pranksgiving” programming event, in which NBA players Tyson Chandler, Stephen Curry, Kenneth Faried and DeAndre Jordan will also be seen involved in pranks — a full court press of kid-friendly hijinks. Jake notes that Howard has “done quite a few gigs here. He jumps right in with all that Disney energy and all that fun stuff.” On his medically-themed sitcom, “We prank him and prank a bunch of other people, and it creates mayhem in the hospital. It was crazy. We did a bunch of green screen stuff. It was difficult but it was worth it.”