Who is JD McCrary?
Jaydon McCrary was born on July 18, 2007 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor, voice actor, singer and dancer, perhaps best known for voicing young Simba in the 2019 live-action adaptation of “The Lion King”. He has also worked on other projects such as “The Paynes” and ‘KC Undercover’.
JD McCrary’s net worth
As of the beginning of 2020, JD McCrary’s net worth is estimated to be over $300,000, earned through a short but successful career in the entertainment industry. Besides acting projects, he also releases music as an artist signed to Hollywood Records. He also has a strong presence on social media, showing off some of his recent endeavors, including singing and modeling.
Early life and career beginnings
At a young age, JD developed an interest in acting from watching television, and expressed a wish to his parents that he wanted to be an actor, for which he received their full support. His parents started looking for auditions and opportunities for him to try. This led him to do a few commercial projects before landing his first professional role at the age of eight.
His first TV appearance was in a two-episode role in “KC Undercover”, airing on Disney Channel, and starring Zendaya playing a teenager who becomes a spy alongside Trinitee Stokes, Kadeem Hardison and Tammy Townsend, among others.
The main character tries to maintain her life as a spy with her parents while managing everyday situations. While auditioning, he also showed talents in singing, and this later led to him working with Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino in the music industry. The two worked on the song ‘Terrified”, and would continue to collaborate in future endeavors.
Continued work in entertainment
McCrary’s next project would be on the variety program “Little Big Shots” created by Ellen DeGeneres and Steve Harvey. The show’s premise focuses on kids with talents showing off their skills, as they interact with host Harvey.
The show has been running for over four seasons, with Melissa McCarthy recently replacing Harvey as host. McCrary’s time on the show included performing his version of The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back”, and led to him featured on “The Ellen Show”, in which he sang the song “Who’s Lovin You” by Smokey Robinson.
He returned to the stage with Gambino in a performance of “Terrified” for the “60th Annual Grammy Awards”. He also performed at a Los Angeles Clippers game and sang the national anthem, the recording of which went viral.
More opportunities came his way and he had supporting roles in “Teachers” and “I’m Dying Up Here”, the latter, a series broadcast on Showtime about stand-up comedians in the 1970s, following the story of a group of aspiring comedians. who want to succeed and possibly star in the “Tonight Show” hosted by Johnny Carson.
Music Releases and Rise to Fame
In 2018, JD made his first official music release with “Inviting All of You”, which caught the attention of record executives, and a few months later it was announced that he had signed with Hollywood Records, owned by Disney Music Group, making him the youngest artist sign with the company.
A few weeks after his signing, he released his second single called “My Name” with an accompanying music video. The following year, he released the song “Keep in Touch”, which is his first single made official with the label.
His next project would be another acting gig, as he was cast on the Oprah Winfrey Network show “The Paynes” – the sitcom aired in 2018 and is a sequel to “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne”, continuing the story of the Payne family becoming part of a new community of unknowns and new personalities. Known for how the family deals with everyday problems and life lessons, the show has been running for a season and 38 episodes.
Breakthrough – The Lion King
In 2019, McCrary was cast in the movie “Little”, in which he was credited as one of the stars, alongside Issa Rae and Regina Hall, in the story of a woman transformed into a child version of herself. It was produced by Marsai Martin, who became the youngest executive producer of a Hollywood production when the film was made.
His next project would be his breakthrough, as he was cast in the voice role of the live-action adaptation of “The lionking”, a younger Simba uttered. In the film, he again teamed up with Donald Glover, who plays the adult Simba.
The film is a remake of the 1994 film of the same name, featuring a star-studded cast including Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Keegan-Michael Key, with James Earl Jones reprising his role from the original. The film was a box office success, surpassing “Frozen” to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time.
In the same year, he was also cast in the series “American Soul”, playing a young Michael Jackson. The performance is the story of the dance program “Soul Train” and the man behind it, Don Cornelius.
While working on acting, he also continued his music releases, with his debut EP “Shine” released in the same year.
Private life
At the age of 12, JD is single and working on his music and acting career. On multiple occasions, he has expressed his admiration for the life and career of Michael Jackson, citing him as his biggest musical influence, as well as Chris Brown, Stevie Wonder, Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars as influences. He has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry and even had the chance to work with Beyonce for “The Lion King”. He praised these talents, saying that they treat him as if they were longtime friends.
