Corbin Bleu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Corbin Bleu
Bleu in 2012
Born	Corbin Bleu Reivers (1989-02-21) February 21, 1989 (age 36) Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School
Occupation	Actor singer songwriter dancer
Years active	1996–present
Spouse(s)	Sasha Clements ​ (m. 2016)​
Parent(s)	David Reivers (father)
Musical career
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Pop R&B dance dance-pop teen pop electropop pop rock
Instruments	Vocals piano
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Walt Disney Hollywood Ghostlight

Corbin Bleu Reivers (born February 21, 1989) is an American actor and singer. He started acting professionally in the late 1990s. He became very well known in the late 2000s. This was because of his main role as Chad Danforth in the popular High School Musical movies (2006–2008).

Songs from these films became hits around the world. His song "I Don't Dance" even reached the Top 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. During this time, he also starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Jump In! (2007). He also appeared in the film To Write Love on Her Arms (2015). Corbin Bleu also competed in the 17th season of Dancing with the Stars.

Corbin Bleu has also had a music career. His first album, Another Side, came out in 2007. It included the popular song "Push It to the Limit". The album reached number 36 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart. His second album, Speed of Light, was released in 2009. He has continued to act in many films and TV shows. These include The Little Engine That Could (2011) and Walk. Ride. Rodeo. (2019).

In 2010, Bleu performed on Broadway in the musical In the Heights. He has appeared in several other Broadway shows since then. These include Godspell (2012), Holiday Inn (2016), and Kiss Me, Kate (2019). He also made his West End debut in London in April 2025. He played Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby.

Early Life and Education

Corbin Bleu was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on February 21, 1989. His mother, Martha, is Italian-American. His father, David Reivers, is an actor and is Jamaican-American. Corbin has three younger sisters.

As a child, Corbin loved to dance. He studied ballet and jazz for many years. He often was the only boy in his dance classes. His great-uncle, Joseph Callari, is also an actor.

Corbin started appearing in TV commercials when he was just two years old. He was in ads for products like Life cereal and Bounty. By age four, he was a model with the Ford Modeling Agency in New York. He appeared in print ads for stores like Macy's and Gap. His picture was also on toys and game packaging.

When he was six, Corbin performed in his first professional theater show. It was at The Town Hall in New York City. He played a homeless boy in a play called Tiny Tim is Dead.

Corbin graduated from Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. He also trained at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. He attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. He studied theater there, just like his mother did. Corbin finished high school in 2007. He was accepted into Stanford University, but he chose not to go.

Acting Career Highlights

1996–2005: Starting Out in Acting

Corbin Bleu and his family moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1996. He quickly found steady work in TV shows and movies. He had a repeating role in the ABC police show High Incident. He also appeared as a guest star on ER.

He was in films like Beach Movie (1998) and the sci-fi movie Soldier (1998). Other movies from this time include the comedy Galaxy Quest (1999) and Mystery Men (1999). He also had roles in TV shows like Malcolm & Eddie and Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family. He even appeared on Nickelodeon's The Amanda Show.

Corbin also kept improving his dance skills. In 2001, he started intense training at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. He learned many dance styles there. These included ballet, jazz, tap, and hip-hop. Debbie Allen, a famous choreographer, said that Corbin "really has a career."

During his first year of high school, Corbin got a big movie role. It was in the teen action film Catch That Kid (2004). He played Austin, a friend who helps a girl rob a bank to save her father. Even though the movie didn't make much money, it was an important step for Corbin's acting career. In high school, he performed in plays like Footloose and Grease. He was even named Theatre Student of the Year.

In 2004, Corbin got a main role in the TV series Flight 29 Down. This show was about teenagers stranded on a tropical island after a plane crash. Corbin played Nathan McHugh, a Boy Scout. The show aired for three seasons on the Discovery Kids network.

2006–2008: High School Musical Success

Corbin Bleu at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2007

Corbin's next big TV project was the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical (2006). He played Chad Danforth, a basketball player. Chad tries to convince his friend Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) to focus on basketball instead of theater. High School Musical first aired on January 20, 2006. It was watched by 7.7 million people, making it Disney Channel's most successful TV movie at that time. The film was a huge hit and made Corbin very popular with teenagers. The movie's soundtrack also sold millions of copies.

Corbin joined his co-stars on the High School Musical: The Concert tour in 2006–2007. He also returned for the sequel, High School Musical 2 (2007). This movie premiered on August 17, 2007. It was watched by over 17.2 million viewers in the U.S. This made it the highest-rated Disney Channel movie ever. The film was very popular and earned over $250 million worldwide. Its soundtrack also sold over three million copies in the U.S. His song "I Don't Dance", a duet with Lucas Grabeel, became a Top 40 hit. It was even the official theme song of the 2007 Little League World Series.

In 2007, Corbin starred in another Disney Channel movie, Jump In!. It aired on January 12, 2007. Corbin played Izzy Daniels, a young boy who trains for boxing. But he discovers a love for jump rope. The movie was a big hit and broke viewership records for Disney Channel. The Jump In! soundtrack also did very well. Corbin sang the song "Push It to the Limit" on the soundtrack.

He also appeared as a guest star on Disney's Hannah Montana (2006–2008). He played Johnny Collins in two episodes. He also had a small role on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. Corbin also took part in the first ever Disney Channel Games. He was a co-captain for the blue team. In August 2007, he starred in Flight 29 Down: The Hotel Tango, a movie version of his TV series.

Corbin played Chad Danforth again in High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008). This was the first High School Musical movie to be shown in theaters. It opened at number one at the box office in October 2008. It earned $42 million in its first weekend. The film made $252 million worldwide. His song "The Boys Are Back" (2008), a duet with Zac Efron, also became a Top 40 hit. Corbin was nominated for several awards for his role as Chad Danforth.

2009–Present: Continuing His Career

In 2009, Corbin played the main role in the film Free Style. He played Cale Bryant, a young man trying to win motocross championships. He also had TV roles in shows like The CW's The Beautiful Life: TBL. He also did voice acting in Beyond All Boundaries and Disney's Phineas and Ferb.

Corbin Bleu at Summer with the Stars in 2011

Corbin Bleu made his Broadway debut in 2010. He played Usnavi de la Vega in the musical In the Heights. He also guest starred in an episode of The Good Wife. In 2011, he voiced Lou in The Little Engine That Could. He also performed in the musical Hairspray as Seaweed J. Stubbs at the Hollywood Bowl.

In 2012, Corbin was in and helped produce the horror movie Scary or Die. He also joined the cast of Godspell on Broadway. He played Jesus Christ. He performed songs from Godspell at the 66th Tony Awards. He also sang a duet called "If I Never Knew You" (2012) with Anna Maria Perez de Tagle. He guest starred on Blue Bloods and voiced Drew in Twinkle Toes. He also starred in the drama film To Write Love on Her Arms (2012).

In 2013, Corbin was in the horror film The Monkey's Paw. He also guest starred on Franklin & Bash. In April 2013, he was cast as Jeffrey King on the soap opera One Life to Live. He also starred in the film Sugar (2013) and the horror film Nurse 3D (2013). In 2014, he appeared as a guest star on the TV series Psych.

In September 2013, Corbin competed in the 17th season of Dancing with the Stars. He finished as the runner-up.

In 2015, Corbin was in the film Megachurch Murder. In 2016, he guest appeared on The Fosters and Castle. In October 2016, he took on a main role in the Broadway musical Holiday Inn, The New Irving Berlin Musical. He won a Chita Rivera Award for his dancing in the show.

In 2017, Corbin returned to Dancing with the Stars for its 25th season. He performed a trio salsa. He also performed in the musical Mamma Mia! as Sky at the Hollywood Bowl.

In 2018, he guest starred on The Middle and Chicago Med. He performed in the musical Singin' in the Rain as Don Lockwood. He was nominated for an award for this role. He also played Billy Crocker in Anything Goes and won a Helen Hayes Award.

In March 2019, he was cast in the Netflix film Walk. Ride. Rodeo. (2019). He also played Bill Calhoun/Lucentio in the Broadway revival of Kiss Me, Kate. He was nominated for several awards for his performance. He also filmed independent movies like Witches in the Woods and Ovid and the Art of Love.

In 2020, he appeared on The Disney Family Singalong during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also guest starred on Supergirl. In 2021, he hosted the Jimmy Awards. He also guest starred on Dynasty and starred in the Hallmark Channel movie Love, for Real (2021). He was also in the Lifetime Christmas movie A Christmas Dance Reunion (2021) with Monique Coleman.

In July 2022, he was cast in the Hallmark Channel movie Campfire Christmas (2022). He returned to the High School Musical world, guest starring as himself in the third and fourth seasons of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. He performed in the musical Mary Poppins as Bert. In September 2022, he starred as Cab Calloway in the film Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story.

In 2023, he was cast in the comedy film Camp Hideout (2023). He also starred in the musical Summer Stock. In September 2023, he began playing Seymour Krelborn in the musical Little Shop of Horrors Off-Broadway. He returned to this role in April 2024. In April 2025, he is set to star in The Great Gatsby as Nick Carraway in London's West End.

Music Career

Corbin Bleu in August 2008

Corbin Bleu's first recorded song was "Circles" for his TV show, Flight 29 Down. He signed a contract with Hollywood Records, a Disney-owned music label. His first album, Another Side, was released in May 2007. The album reached No. 36 on the Billboard 200 album charts. Corbin helped write five songs on the album. In 2007, he toured to support Another Side with the group Aly & AJ.

Corbin worked with famous artists like Ne-Yo and Matthew Gerrard. A music video for his first single, "Push It to the Limit", was shown on Disney Channel. It was used to promote the movie Jump In!. This song reached the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. His second single, "Deal With It", was originally written by Jay Sean. Corbin's version of the song features Jay Sean's background vocals.

Corbin toured with his High School Musical co-stars from late 2006 to early 2007. He also performed with Drake Bell and Aly & AJ in many cities. To promote his album, he performed on the Nextfest Summer Tour.

His song "Run It Back Again" was in the movie Minutemen (2008). His second album, Speed of Light, was released on March 10, 2009. The first song from the album, "Moments That Matter", was performed by Corbin at the Kids' Inaugural: "We Are the Future" event.

In 2017, Corbin signed a recording contract with Ghostlight Records. They released the soundtrack for his musical Holiday Inn, The New Irving Berlin Musical. He later signed another contract with Ghostlight Records to release the soundtrack for Kiss Me, Kate.

Voice and Singing Style

Corbin Bleu has said that he is a lyric baritone singer. This means his voice is in the middle range, between tenor and bass. He looks up to singer Brian d'Arcy James for vocal inspiration.

Personal Life

Corbin Bleu with his wife Sasha Clements in January 2018

Corbin Bleu has supported the organization Do Something. On March 16, 2010, he was added to the "Broadway Wall of Fame" in New York City.

In 2011, Corbin started dating actress Sasha Clements. They got engaged on October 15, 2014. They were married on July 23, 2016.

In 2013, a study by MIT found something interesting. Corbin Bleu was the third most common person to have a biography article on different language versions of Wikipedia. He was behind only Jesus and Barack Obama. This was unusual because he wasn't as famous as those historical figures. By 2019, he was still very notable on Wikipedia, with articles in 213 languages.

Helping Others

Corbin Bleu has supported many charities and good causes throughout his career.

In 2011, he worked with charities like Starlight Children's Foundation, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He also attended the Do Something Awards kickoff event in May 2011.

Filmography

Films

Television Films

Television Series

Theater Performances

Video Games

Music Videos

Discography

Studio Albums

• Another Side (2007)
• Speed of Light (2009)

Soundtrack Albums

• High School Musical (2006)
• Jump In! (2007)
• High School Musical 2 (2007)
• High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)
• Holiday Inn, The New Irving Berlin Musical (2017)
• Kiss Me, Kate (2019)

Concert Tours

Headlining

• High School Musical: The Concert (2006)

Opening Act

• Nextfest Summer Tour (Co-headlining with Aly & AJ, Drake Bell and Bianca Ryan) (2007)
• Crawford County Fair Grandstand (Co-headlining with Vanessa Hudgens) (2008)
• Michigan State Fair (Co-headlining with Raven-Symoné) (2008)
• Kids' Inaugural: "We Are the Future" (Co-headlining with Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Jonas Brothers) (2009)
• Disney Channel Summer At Sea (Co-headlining with Jonnie and Brookie) (2009)

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Corbin Bleu para niños

• Characters from High School Musical
• List of Italian-American actors
• List of Italian-American entertainers
• List of Jamaican Americans