We just had the opportunity to speak with actor Nick Robinson, from the ABC Family Series “Melissa & Joey” and the upcoming Disney Channel Original Movie “Frienemies.” Nick is 16 years old (he recently got his license!) and plays Ryder Scanlon on “Melissa & Joey,” which returns to TV tonight at 8pm!

Nick’s character Ryder is “an ordinary kid who is put in this extraordinary situation,” says Nick, “He used to live with his parents, but his dad is on the run because of a ponzi scheme and his mom is in a minimum security prison, and his whole life turns upside down and he goes to live with his aunt played by Melissa Joan Hart.”

It turns out that Nick is similar to Ryder in a number of ways: “Ryder likes to play sports, but he’s not all that great at them, which is kind of like me. I can’t relate to him living with his aunt, and his mom and dad being in prison, that’s where the acting comes in, but he’s shy around girls, kind of like me. You kind of have to model the character a little after yourself.”

When we asked Nick what a typical day on the set of “Melissa & Joey” was like we couldn’t help but laugh when he said that the cast loves to play pranks on each other! We had them all pegged as the kind of actors who would love to joke around on set! One prank that Nick mentioned was that everyone chipped in to saran wrap Joey Lawrence’s door, but he caught it just in time before he walked through it!

Nick says he’s been lucky to work with Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence since they have both been in the business so long. Nick said, “They have careers in which they navigated Hollywood and they didn’t go down the typical child star path, and so they really stayed true to themselves. So that’s really the advice they passed on to me: stay true to yourself, stay humble, stay grounded.”

Nick is originally from Seattle, where he still lives today, and he got into acting through theater. Nick told us a bit about his start, “I started by doing theater. I kind of realized I wasn’t that good at sports, so I wanted to try different things. I enrolled in a program called Broadway Bound in Seattle, it’s a children’s theater up there, and I really enjoyed it so I kept pursuing it.” Nick stuck with acting on stage for a while until a couple of years ago when he decided to get into acting in front of the camera.

It’s no surprise that Nick found himself acting on a TV show since he loves watching TV! He’s a huge fan of “30 Rock,” “The Office,” “Archer,” “Party Down,” and “Parks and Recreation.” But if he had to pick any of these shows to guest star on, Nick would pick “30 Rock” for sure!

In addition to working hard on ABC Family’s “Melissa & Joey,” Nick recently filmed the Disney Channel Original Movie “Frenemies” in Toronto. Nick was on the set for five weeks, which he said was interesting because “it was kind of trial by fire because I’ve never done a film before, so it was a whole new experience, and it was amazing. I was kind of learning on the job, and the whole cast and crew were great. It was a really fun set to work on, especially since you would go on a different set every couple of days.”

Nick received some advice from Disney stars Bella Thorne and Zendaya Coleman while on the set of the movie: “They were great. There’s actually a dance scene in the film – they were kind of giving me advice, I’m not much of a dancer, but they’re really great!”

Nick revealed that this season of “Melissa & Joey” includes a number of awesome plot lines and guest stars. He said the cast is dynamic and everyone is really starting to find their own character. He urges all of you to tune in tonight at 8pm on ABC Family, and he gives a shoutout to all of his fans! Be sure to let Nick know what you think of the new “Melissa & Joey” episode after you watch it tonight by Tweeting him @NickJRobinson.