Sadie Stanley explains why she found it 'very natural' to work with Joshua Jackson on Karate Kid

Sadie Stanley found it "very natural" to work with Joshua Jackson on 'Karate Kid: Legends'.

The 23-year-old actress plays the on-screen daughter of Jackson's character in the what has become the sixth instalment in the martial arts franchise, and thinks that they gelled so well to begin with because he is a father in his own life.

She told ScreenRant: "That process was very natural. We got lunch when we first arrived and hung out for a little bit and just got to know each other.

"He has a daughter of his own, Juno, who's adorable, and he is such a dad. He talks about her constantly, gushes about her, shows pictures, talks about what she's into these days and what she's like. He very clearly just has such dad energy."

The 'Kim Possible' star noted that her character Mia is "very protective" of her father throughout the story of the film and

She said: "Of course, Mia's a little protective of her father. She lost her mom when she was young, and that really forces you to grow up a lot when you're that age. She just has her dad. It's just them two against the world working in this pizza shop trying to make ends meet.

"I think that definitely informs her relationships with other people."

In the film, Mia strikes up a relationship with Ben Wang's character of Li Fong and noted that was one of the turning points for her on-screen father because it served as a "challenge" in his own life.

She said: "I think when she meets Li, she really holds up a mirror to him and challenges him to be more honest with himself and with others. She really sees his potential before he fully sees it in himself.

"I think that's really special when you can do that for somebody. Just in general, Mia is a person who sees through the noise, and she's very emotionally intuitive, a grounding force."

In the early 1990s, Academy Award-winning actress Hilary Swank appeared in 'The Next Karate Kid' and Sadie insisted that she would love for the Hollywood star to make a comeback to the franchise.

She said: "Absolutely. Great question. Please bring her back. She's fantastic. I'm obsessed with her. That would be so cool. We can have all four of them train Mia."