Eric Andrew Hickok was born and raised in the small town of Fair Haven, New Jersey. He spent the first 13 years of his life there before his family moved to the central Florida area, where he currently resides.
Eric was lucky enough to attend the Osceola County School for the Arts (OCSA) as a Theatre Major through High School. This opened the door for him to move to New York City and develop his skills in Musical Theatre at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA)
Eric's first job was working as a Merchandise Host at Walt Disney World when he was 16 years old. By 18, his dream came true when he became an entertainment performer throughout different venues in the parks!
Eric helped bring those worldwide famous Disney Characters to life.
As well as, have his picture taken with a lot of them!
Over a twelve-year career, Eric had the opportunity to dance and perform in hundreds of parades, stage shows, and filmings. He also met many incredible talents and celebrities.
In addition to his crazy schedule at Disney, Eric also had the pleasure of doing voiceover work, puppetry and acting at Universal Studios Florida for four years!
Eric currently works full-time in Hospitality for the Hilton.
Singing is Eric's greatest passion - particularly musical theatre! You can find him jamming out to The Phantom of the Opera, Into the Woods, (and the Swan Princess!) while driving in his car or just anywhere he can!
Eric loves to perform in local theatre, having recently played roles such as Bert in Disney’s Mary Poppins and Lord Farquaad in Shrek: the Musical.
Another thing Eric loves is hugs!
The Swan Princess is the very first movie Eric remembers seeing in theaters. He was four years old at the time and his grandfather took him and his siblings to see it. Eric's Mom was a ballerina when she was younger, and so she would play the Russian Ballet’s Swan Lake on VHS for him. Seeing this gorgeous fairytale come to life through animation was a dream, and Eric instantly fell in love with Odette, Derek, Jean-Bob and the whole gang! Being a child of the ’90s, Eric and his brothers had to have the next two sequels on VHS tape. Eric has also been delighted to see the franchise continue to grow and enjoys seeing each new film!
Of all the Swan Princess characters, Eric relates closely to Speed, because he is loyal, kind and a quick-wit! Most importantly, he isn’t afraid to step up when his friends are in need.
Of course, Eric couldn’t work for Disney for 12 whole years without being a huge fan! He loves the animated classics like The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and newer classics like Tangled and Frozen. Eric also loves to read books of all kinds, from classic literature to fairytale re-tellings!
Eric recently became an uncle to the sweetest little guy in the whole world, and he couldn’t be more proud! He looks forward to introducing his sweet nephew to the Swan Princess films!
