Kelvin Harrison Jr. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Harrison in 2021
Born	(1994-07-23) July 23, 1994 (age 31) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2013–present

Kelvin Harrison Jr. (born July 23, 1994) is an American actor. He has won a Screen Actors Guild Award. He was also nominated for a British Academy Film Award and other awards.

He started acting in small roles in 2013. These films included Ender's Game and 12 Years a Slave. He became well-known for his role as Travis in the 2017 horror film It Comes at Night. In 2019, he gained more fame for his work in Luce and Waves. He has also appeared in films like The High Note (2020), The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), Cyrano (2021), and Elvis (2022). He played the main character in the 2022 film Chevalier.

Early Life and Learning

Harrison was born on July 23, 1994. His parents, Shirlita and Kelvin Harrison, were musicians. He grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He later moved to a different part of the New Orleans area.

Kelvin studied sound engineering and marketing. Then, he moved to Los Angeles, California, to become an actor. He started taking acting classes there. He is also a talented musician. He mainly plays jazz and gospel music on the piano and trumpet. He also sings. His father was taught by a famous jazz musician, Ellis Marsalis Jr.. Kelvin also learned from Jason Marsalis.

Harrison went to Isidore Newman School. He was one of the few Black students there and found it hard to fit in. He first went to Loyola University New Orleans. He planned to study music, as his father thought he would be great at it. Later, Harrison switched to the University of New Orleans to study film. His goal was to write and direct his own movies.

Acting Career Highlights

In 2012, Harrison got a role in Ender's Game. This movie was based on a 1985 book. He worked with famous actors like Viola Davis and Harrison Ford. Harrison says that Viola Davis helped him take acting more seriously. After that, he had a small part in 12 Years a Slave.

He later appeared in TV shows like Underground and the 2016 remake of Roots. Both shows were filmed in Louisiana, his home state. In the same year, he had a small role in The Birth of a Nation. Harrison also got a role in the TV miniseries Shots Fired. He also had a repeating role as Touie Dacey in the show StartUp.

Breakthrough Roles

In 2017, Harrison had a small supporting role in Mudbound. This film was shown at the Sundance Film Festival and got great reviews. Later that year, he played Travis in the horror film It Comes at Night. The movie is about a family hiding from a very bad disease. The film was released in June 2017 and was liked by critics. Harrison received praise for his acting. He was nominated for an award at the Gotham Awards. He has said this role helped him continue his acting career.

In 2018, Harrison starred in three films shown at the Sundance Film Festival. These were Monsters and Men, Assassination Nation, and Monster. In Monsters and Men, he played Zyrick, a talented baseball player. Zyrick becomes interested in politics after seeing a video of a man being hurt. In Monster, Harrison played Steve Harmon. Steve is a 17-year-old student who is accused of a serious crime.

Rising Star

In 2019, Harrison starred in two films that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. These were Luce and The Wolf Hour. Both films also starred Naomi Watts. For his main role in Luce, Harrison received great reviews. He played Luce Edgar, a smart high school athlete and speaker. Luce was born in a war-torn country and adopted in the United States. Critics praised his performance. Harrison was nominated for a Best Male Lead award for his role in Luce.

Harrison later played Jesse in the film Gully. His biggest success of 2019 was Waves. This film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. In Waves, Harrison played Tyler Williams, a popular high school wrestler. Tyler's life changes after he gets a serious injury. The director wrote this role especially for Harrison. His acting in Waves received excellent reviews. Many critics said his performance was amazing. This film helped him become known around the world. He was nominated for a BAFTA Rising Star Award. He also played musician Teddy Greene in the TV show Godfather of Harlem.

Recent Work

In 2020, Harrison took on more lighthearted roles. He had a smaller part in the romance film The Photograph. He also played the main male role in the musical comedy-drama The High Note. In this film, Harrison played David Cliff, a singer-songwriter. He was the love interest of Dakota Johnson's character. To get ready for the film, Harrison worked with a singing coach and took guitar lessons.

He ended 2020 by playing Fred Hampton in The Trial of the Chicago 7. This film was about a famous court case. It was released in theaters and on Netflix. The film was nominated for many awards. Harrison and the other actors in the cast won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

In 2021, Harrison played Christian in Cyrano. This was a musical film based on a play. Harrison was supposed to be in the TV show Euphoria. However, he had to drop out because of other filming commitments.

In 2022, Harrison played the famous blues guitarist B. B. King in the movie Elvis. This film was about the rock and roll star Elvis Presley. He then starred in the 2022 film Chevalier. In this movie, he played Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. He was an amazing 18th-century Black French violin player and composer. In August 2021, it was announced that Harrison would voice young Scar in Mufasa: The Lion King. This film is a follow-up to The Lion King.

Upcoming Projects

In January 2022, it was reported that Harrison will play the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in a movie called Samo Lives. This film will bring him back together with the director of Luce.

In May 2025, it was announced that Harrison will play a younger Beetee Latier in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. This movie is set to be released on November 20, 2026.

Film and TV Roles

Film

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	12 Years a Slave	Victim 2
	Ender's Game	Salamandar	Uncredited
2014	Deluge	Kareem	Short film
	The Flight of the Bumblebee	James
2015	A Sort of Homecoming	Eliot
	Dancer and the Dame	Kenny Basset
2016	The Birth of a Nation	Simon
2017	Mudbound	Weeks
	It Comes at Night	Travis
2018	Monsters and Men	Zyrick ("Zee")
	Assassination Nation	Mason
	Monster	Steve Harmon
	Jinn	Tahir
	JT LeRoy	Sean
2019	Luce	Luce Edgar
	The Wolf Hour	Freddie
	Gully	Jesse
	Bolden	Frankie Duson
	Waves	Tyler Williams
2020	The Photograph	Andy Morrison
The High Note	David Cliff
The Trial of the Chicago 7	Fred Hampton
2021	Cyrano	Christian
2022	Elvis	B.B. King
	Chevalier	Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
2024	Mufasa: The Lion King	Adult Taka (voice)
	Golden	N/A	Unreleased
2025	O'Dessa	Euri Dervish
2026	Alpha Gang		Filming

Television

Music Video

Awards and Nominations