Brett Gray (born August 7, 1997) is an American actor and singer. He is known for starring as Jamal Turner in the

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series ''

On My Block ''On My Block'' is an American teen comedy-drama television series, created by Lauren Iungerich, Eddie Gonzalez, and Jeremy Haft. Set in the fictional Los Angeles neighborhood Freeridge, it revolves four teenagers who find their friendship test ...

'' and Dal R'El in the

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animated series '' Star Trek: Prodigy''.

Life and career

Gray was born and raised in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania. He acted in his first school play at age 6, after which he performed in his first professional show at the Academy of Music when he was 7. Gray attended The Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts as a Theater major, graduating in 2014. After doing a chemistry read for the producers, Gray was offered the role of Jamal on ''

'' (2018–2021). It is his first lead acting role. He was drawn to the role because he saw himself in Jamal. He stated in an interview with ''

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'' that he also hoped to expand his experience with physical comedy, a genre he previously had no experience with. Gray had a minor role in the 2019 Netflix limited series ''

When They See Us ''When They See Us'' is a 2019 American crime drama television miniseries created, co-written, and directed by Ava DuVernay for Netflix, that premiered in four parts on May 31, 2019. It is based on events of the 1989 Central Park jogger cas ...

''. Gray released his debut single, "Old Thing Back" in June 2018. His EP ''Easy Daze'' was released on his birthday on August 7, 2018. He compared the style to Usher's album '' Confessions''.

Filmography

References

External links

* * 1997 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American singers Male actors from Philadelphia 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers {{US-tv-actor-1990s-stub