Kelvin Harrison Jr. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Harrison in 2021
Born	(1994-07-23) July 23, 1994 (age 30) 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 has also been nominated for a British Academy Film Award, a Gotham Award, and an Independent Spirit Award.

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

Early Life and Musical Talent

Kelvin Harrison Jr. was born on July 23, 1994. His parents, Shirlita and Kelvin Harrison, are both musicians. He grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Kelvin is a talented musician himself. He mainly plays jazz and gospel music on the piano and trumpet. He also sings. His father was taught by famous jazz musician Ellis Marsalis. Kelvin also studied music with Jason Marsalis.

He first went to Loyola University New Orleans to study studio engineering. This was because his father thought he would be great at music. Later, he transferred to the University of New Orleans to study film. His goal was to write and direct his own movies.

Starting an Acting Career

In 2012, Kelvin Harrison Jr. got a role in the movie Ender's Game. He worked with famous actors like Viola Davis and Harrison Ford. Kelvin says that Viola Davis helped him take acting seriously. After that, he had a small role in 12 Years a Slave.

He also appeared in TV shows filmed in Louisiana. These included an episode of Underground and the 2016 remake of Roots. In 2016, he also had a small part in the film The Birth of a Nation. He then got a role in the TV miniseries Shots Fired. He also had a repeating role as Touie Dacey in the show StartUp.

Breakthrough Roles and Recognition

In 2017, Kelvin Harrison Jr. starred as Travis in the horror film It Comes at Night. The movie is about a family hiding from a very contagious disease. Critics praised his performance in the film. He was even nominated for a Breakthrough Actor award at the Gotham Awards. He has said this role made him want to keep acting.

In 2018, he starred in three films that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. These were Monsters and Men, Assassination Nation, and Monster. In Monsters and Men, he played Zyrick, a teenage baseball player. In Monster, he played Steve Harmon, a student charged with a serious crime.

The year 2019 was a big one for Kelvin. He starred in Luce and The Wolf Hour. In Luce, he played the main character, Luce Edgar. Luce is a high school athlete and speaker who was adopted from a war-torn country. Critics highly praised his performance in this film. He was nominated for Best Male Lead at the Independent Spirit Awards for Luce.

His biggest success of 2019 was the film Waves. He worked again with the director of It Comes at Night, Trey Edward Shults. In Waves, Kelvin played Tyler Williams, a popular high school wrestler. His life changes after he gets a career-ending injury. Many critics compared his acting in Waves to his performance in Luce. This film helped him become known around the world. He was even nominated for a BAFTA Rising Star Award.

Recent Projects and Future Films

In 2020, Kelvin Harrison Jr. took on more lighthearted roles. He appeared in the romance film The Photograph. He also played the main male role in the musical comedy-drama The High Note. In The High Note, he played David Cliff, a singer-songwriter. To prepare, he worked with a vocal coach and took guitar lessons.

He ended 2020 by playing revolutionary socialist Fred Hampton in The Trial of the Chicago 7. This movie was nominated for six Academy Awards. Kelvin and the other actors in the film won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

In 2021, he played Christian in the musical film Cyrano. In 2022, he played the legendary blues guitarist B.B. King in the movie Elvis. He also starred in the 2022 film Chevalier. In this movie, he played Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. He was an 18th-century Black French violin player and composer.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. will also be the voice of young Scar in the upcoming film Mufasa: The Lion King.

Upcoming Projects

It has been announced that Kelvin Harrison Jr. will play the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in a movie called Samo Lives. He will work again with the director of Luce, Julius Onah.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music video

Awards and Nominations