Dallas Dupree Young facts for kids

Dallas Dupree Young (born October 25, 2006) is an American actor. He is famous for his role as Stuart in the Nickelodeon show Cousins for Life. He is also known for playing Kenny Payne in the popular Netflix series Cobra Kai, which continues the story of The Karate Kid movies.

From Baseball Dreams to Acting

Dallas Dupree Young was born and grew up in Houston, Texas. His family is very athletic. His father is Eric Young Sr., a former Major League Baseball player, and his older half-brother, Eric Young Jr., is also a professional baseball player.

Growing up, Dallas dreamed of being a baseball player just like his dad and brother. He hoped to one day play for the Colorado Rockies. Besides baseball, he also loved playing basketball and football. When he was around five or six years old, Dallas also took karate lessons, and later learned kickboxing.

Even though he was set on a sports career, his plans changed. A neighbor suggested he should try acting. Dallas was inspired by shows he watched as a kid, like Family Matters, Hannah Montana, and Jessie. These shows helped him realize he had a passion for acting.

Soon after, he met a talent scout and was invited to an acting event in Los Angeles. There, he found a manager who introduced him to an agent, and he started getting acting jobs right away. Dallas has said that the famous actor Denzel Washington is his biggest inspiration.

Career on Screen

Dallas started his acting career at age nine in a short film. His first TV appearance was in a documentary series called Murder Among Friends. He filmed his audition for the part on his manager's lawn and got the role the very next day.

After that, he appeared in episodes of popular shows like Shameless, The Mayor, The Good Place, and The Fosters. He also had a small part in the big science-fiction movie Ready Player One in 2018.

That same year, Dallas landed his first main role. He was cast as Stuart in the Nickelodeon comedy show Cousins for Life. In 2019, he appeared in two episodes of the ABC series Mixed-ish. He was also cast in a movie about the baseball player Willie Aikens called The Royal.

Joining the Cobra Kai Dojo

In 2021, Dallas joined the cast of the hit Netflix show Cobra Kai as Kenny Payne. At 15 years old, he was the youngest actor in the main cast. He auditioned for the part in 2020, and the whole process took about three weeks.

Dallas had grown up watching the original Karate Kid movies. After he got the role, he watched the entire Cobra Kai series, which made him even more excited to be a part of it. To get ready for the action-packed role, he trained in martial arts. He also studied famous martial artists like Bruce Lee and Wesley Snipes to help with his fight scenes.

Besides Cobra Kai, Dallas has also appeared in other projects. In 2020, he was in an episode of the drama 9-1-1 and had a recurring role on the Netflix show The Big Show Show. He also starred in the movie 1-800-Hot-Nite, which was released in 2022.

Filmography