You might know spunky brunette Lilimar (Hernandez) from Nickelodeon's Bella & The Bulldogs, a comedy about a girl who joins her high school football team. Now, she’s back on TV -- and this time, she has magic powers.

 The 17-year-old Cuban—who was raised in Venezuela and Miami—recently joined the cast of Nickelodeon’s Knight Squad, a new live-action series about a magical school for knights-in-training.

We chatted with Lilimar about the new show, her rise to fame, and the message she has for other girls.

Tell us about Knight Squad.

It’s something so different for Nickelodeon. It’s set in this contemporary renaissance-y time, and there’s monsters and magic and knights and sorcerers. It’s something the whole family can watch.

What is your character, Sage, like?

She’s one of my favorites I’ve ever played. She’s just evil. She wants to win. Sage is so passionate about being a knight and beating everybody. It’s so funny how she’s the most evil at the entire school and is so good at manipulating people, but she also has a soft spot for her best friend and is such a loyal friend. She has a caring side.

What’s the best part of working on this show?

It’s a very fun set, we do stunts almost every week, and the cast gets along really well. With stunts, I’ve been really happy with how far I’ve been able to go. They trained us before the first official week of filming. As we go and do more stunts and keep learning, every time we have a break, I try to go train with somebody. I do everything but the really complicated stunts. Combat and sword fighting, that’s all us.

Did you always want to be in the entertainment business?

Yes. Since I was little, I spent a lot of time on the dance team, and I was in chorus and I played violin and piano. And whenever I could act, I did. I really like performing, but when I was around eight or nine, I said “I think I know what I want to do,” and ever since then I’ve been acting.

How did you get your big break with Bella and the Bulldogs?

It was unplanned. I was in Miami, and I was auditioning for commercials and soap operas, and one day Nickelodeon decided to do an open call to find some talent. That’s how they discovered me. I actually didn’t to go, initially. I told my mom, “It’s 45 minutes away, it’s not going to work out.” When I little, I always wanted to be on Nickelodeon shows, so when I was told, “You got cast,” I was screaming, and my mom was screaming. The whole Hispanic household was having a massive party!

Do you have a dream role?

I hope to pursue feature films. My ultimate goal would be to win an Oscar, but that’s years into the future! I want to keep acting, and keep learning.

Who are your role models?

I’ve always looked up to Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro as well as Meryl Streep and Audrey Hepburn. And I love Angelina Jolie’s acting style.

You came to the United States from Venezuela when you were in elementary school. What was that like?

When I first started school in the United States, I didn’t have the language down quite yet. A lot of kids made fun of me, and I thought, “I don’t know if I can do this.” But my mom and my family were really supportive. They were like, “No, you’re not going to cry about this. You’re going to work hard.” They would sit down with me and watch all these “Learn English” videos to assist me, and to teach themselves. I’ve always communicated well with my family. My family has always tried their best to guide me and help me feel confident. I’m so grateful they gave me all the guidance they could.

With Knight Squad and Bella and the Bulldogs, the message seems to be that girls can do anything boys can do. What does that message mean for you?

It’s definitely nice to have girls grow up with that and not seeing the same princess character. It makes me so happy that when I’m there, I don’t feel like I’m limiting myself. It’s great to have these characters for kids to look up to and for boys to see women in that light, that girls and women can be strong and do whatever they can do. They learn that respect, and girls learn that respect for themselves.

Do you have any other projects we should look out for?

I did a CW show called Life After First Failure. You can watch it on the CW app. That was a very different character, very rebellious, more adult humor. We shot it in Portland.

I also started my own collection with Jeans.com! (You can check it out at www.jeans.com/collections/lilimar-x-jeans-com.)

You interact a lot with your fans. Why is that important to you?

I love my supporters so much. I’m very active on social media because I like sharing all the things I like and projects I’m doing. I’m thankful.