Stumble’s Anissa Borrego Dishes on Inspiration and Krystal’s Heart

Most comedies have the mean girl who thinks she’s better than everyone else, especially when it comes to high school, but Stumble breaks the mold.

Anissa Borrego plays Krystal, a cheerlebrity who loves her fans and loves her sport. Over the course of Stumble Season 1, we’ve watched Krystal join the team, suffer an injury, go on a reality dating show, and invite a member of the squad to live with her. 

She is a smart woman with a lot of heart, and that’s what we got into as she chatted with us at TV Fanatic.

TV Fanatic: I love Krystal on Stumble because people underestimate her. She’s not as dumb or as much of an airhead as she initially seemed. She’s so smart and focused. What’s it like for you to break away from the usual stereotypes of cheerleaders in comedies?

Anissa Borrego: I am loving it, just having fun with Krystal, and to show up. When she does a routine, she does it great, and she got there from her hard work. You may not see the work, but you know that she shows up and she’s very successful. She’s a hard worker, and she’s very inspiring.

She isn’t just a cheerleader. She’s done the reality show, and we know now that she’s at least bilingual — and I wouldn’t put it past her being able to speak more languages — what’s that been like for you to have all these layers?

I love that I’m always learning something new. She’s a businesswoman, and she’s so casual about it. I can only imagine the success she’d have if she weren’t so casual. She’d be unstoppable, so I’m excited to see where she goes next.

The world is her oyster.

Really, and that’s how it is for our pro cheerleaders — our real pro cheerleaders on our squad. The world is their oyster, and they are so business-minded and talented.

They come to set, and then they fly out and go on set, and then they fly out for a competition, and then they go on set. It’s a perfect example, and I draw a lot of inspiration from the pro cheerleaders on our Buttons squad.

I was going to ask you where your inspiration for Krystal came from.

I have a few different sources, because she is her own character. I looked at Gabby Butler, who kind of coined the phrase, “Cheerlebrity,” and I watched her on social media. 

I looked at her YouTube videos and watched how she engages with her audience and her fans, also just how she functions in her videos. I also watched Battle Camp to see how she operates.

Also, our pro cheerleaders, because Krystal has many qualities that they share. It’s lovely that I get to work with them and have such a strong source of inspiration close to me every day on set.

She’s got a lot of heart. I like to go back to the episode where people are starting the social media trend of hurting themselves, and Krystal tells them ot stop. She’s pretty, she’s smart, but there’s also heart, so what’s that like to show off to the world?

Krystal comes from a loving place, and she wants the best for everyone. I like to think the same thing about myself, and my dad always told me to be a peacebuilder, so I feel like Krystal does it in her own way, but she tries her best to help others.

She wants to be a good person, and that is something very important to her. That’s one of her most important values.

I will say the set on Stumble Season 1 looks like so much fun. What is it like?

We have way too much fun outside of filming. Everyone is bringing their A-game and playing. It’s such a safe space that everyone just experiments and tries the silliest improv. This show is such a playground, and every department is having a good time. We have FOMO when we’re not there.

I bet that helps your careers, too, having that safe space to ad-lib and grow.

It’s great for your career, and it helps you explore your character even more. When everyone’s improvising, we’re just living in it, and it’s just so much fun.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Stumble airs on Fridays at 8:30/7:30c on NBC.

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