Joivan Wade facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joivan Wade
Wade in 2018
Born	(1993-07-23) 23 July 1993 (age 32) Bromley, South London, England
Nationality	English
Occupation	Actor, writer, director, producer
Years active	2011–present

Joivan Wade (born 23 July 1993) is an English actor. He is well-known for his roles in several TV shows. He played Manyou in the BBC comedy series Big School. He also appeared as Jordan Johnson in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. More recently, he has played Victor Stone / Cyborg in the Max series Doom Patrol and Titans.

Joivan Wade's Early Life and Education

Joivan Wade was born on July 23, 1993. His parents are Derek and Andrea Wade. His father was a social worker and a musician. He also started a project called The Polishing Project. This project helped young people find and reach their goals. Joivan's mother is a minister and a life coach. Joivan has three brothers. His father passed away in 2014.

When Joivan was younger, he loved reading comic books. He was a very energetic child. At 13, he joined the D&B Academy of Performing Arts in his hometown of Bromley. He also played football very well. He even tried out for professional football teams like Charlton Athletic F.C. Under-23s and Academy and Crystal Palace F.C. Under-23s and Academy.

Joivan says his parents always supported him. They taught him to believe in himself and chase his dreams. When he was 15, he realized he loved acting more than football. His friends told him about the BRIT School. He applied just three days before the deadline. His father drove him to the school to hand in his application on the very last day.

The BRIT School mainly taught serious acting. Joivan performed in many plays by William Shakespeare. Joivan's biggest hero is Will Smith. Smith is an actor who also directs, produces, and writes. Joivan wants to follow in his footsteps. He wants to create his own shows, act in them, and start his own production company. He also looks up to actors like Michael Fassbender, Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Hardy, Kevin Hart, and Dwayne Johnson. At the BRIT School, Joivan met Percelle Ascott, and they became great friends.

After graduating from the BRIT School, Joivan successfully joined the National Youth Theatre.

Joivan Wade's Acting Career Journey

Starting with Comedy: Mandem on the Wall

Joivan wanted to speed up his acting career. He decided to start with comedy because funny videos often become very popular online.

In 2010, Glen Murphy from Twist and Pulse asked Joivan and Percelle Ascott to perform a comedy sketch. They wrote their sketch the night before the show. The audience loved it! After the show, they met Dee Kaate, another comedian. The three of them immediately started planning how to create their own content. They wanted to help their careers grow.

Just eight days after that show, the trio filmed their first episode of Mandem on the Wall. This was a web series about three young men from South London. They would sit on a wall, talk, and joke around. Mandem first aired on December 24, 2011. Within a month, the episode had 1.1 million views on YouTube. The trio became very famous among teens and young adults in Britain. Joivan's father helped manage the Mandem project. It even had a live show at the Hackney Empire theatre in 2015.

Success on British TV and First Film Roles

The trio used Mandem on the Wall to get noticed by TV producers. Because Mandem was so popular, Joivan was cast in the first series of the BBC comedy Big School in 2013. Big Talk Productions also noticed the trio. They cast Joivan, Percelle, and Dee in the teen drama Youngers on E4. Youngers ran for two series. Big Talk Productions encouraged the trio to create their own show idea. However, this never happened. There were delays in getting a second series of Youngers, and the trio did not want to leave that show. In 2014 and 2015, Joivan appeared in two episodes of Doctor Who. He played Rigsy, a young graffiti artist who helps save the world.

Joivan joined the cast of the BBC soap opera EastEnders in February 2016. He played Jordan Johnson, taking over the role from another actor. Filming four episodes a week for four months took a lot of his time. Joivan said his other projects suffered because of it. Joivan, Percelle, and Dee filmed The JPD Show for BBC Three in mid-2016. However, the pilot episode was not chosen for a full series. The trio also starred in the 2016 film The Weekend. This was a comedy about three young people who find a gangster's money. They spend it all before the gangster wants it back. The Weekend was Joivan's first major film in Britain.

Wall of Comedy and Shiro's Story

Joivan said that his acting career took too much time away from Mandem on the Wall. Because of this, the web series lost its audience and ended. The three friends wrote, directed, and acted in their own projects. But they needed a place to share them. Instead of bringing back Mandem, Joivan, Percelle, and Dee created the Facebook page Wall of Comedy in 2015. This became their new platform.

Wall of Comedy quickly started showing the work of other comedians. It then grew to have channels on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media. At first, Wall of Comedy posts got about 300,000 "likes" on YouTube. Within six months, posts were getting 1.5 million "likes" or more. By July 2019, Wall of Comedy had over 3.5 billion views across all platforms. The trio then started Wall of Music to promote music. They also created Wall of Talent to help new actors and performers.

In 2018, Joivan and Percelle produced and acted in the short film Shiro's Story. Rapman (Andrew Onwubolu) wrote and directed it. The story is about a young man from South London. His life becomes complicated when he learns a secret about his family. The story is mostly told through rap music lyrics. The film was released in three parts on YouTube. The last episode got 1 million views in its first five hours online.

Breaking into American Entertainment

In the same year he made Shiro's Story, Joivan made his first American film. This was The First Purge, where he played a character named Isaiah.

Producer Greg Berlanti saw Joivan in The First Purge. Three days after the film came out, he asked Joivan to audition for his new DC Universe series Doom Patrol. Joivan sent in an audition tape. When he heard it would be 13 one-hour episodes, he wasn't very interested. He didn't want to be away from his production company for so long.

A month later, Berlanti's casting office in the UK asked why he hadn't followed up. Only then did Joivan learn the role was for Victor Stone / Cyborg. Joivan still thought about it. Two hours later, his agent in Los Angeles called. Berlanti had just sent an email asking Joivan to take the role. His agent set up a Skype call to explain the series more. Four days later, Joivan flew to Los Angeles for an in-person audition. Two days after that, Berlanti gave him the role.

Other Projects and Achievements

Joivan, Percelle, and Dee jointly own JPD3 Entertainment. This is their production company.

Joivan also started a charitable foundation called Wade's World with one of his brothers. Joivan says it helps people learn how to work a regular job while still chasing their dreams. It also teaches them to ignore negative comments from others. The foundation creates videos for its own YouTube channel.

In 2019, Variety magazine named Joivan as one of the "10 Brits to Watch."

Personal Life

Joivan Wade is a Christian.

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Roles

Web Series Roles

Awards and Nominations