Jason Michael Weaver (born July 18, 1979) is an American actor and singer
best known for his roles as Marcus Henderson on
The WB
The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...
sitcom ''
Smart Guy,'' Jerome Turrell on the short-lived sitcom ''
Thea'' from 1993 to 1994, and the preteen
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
on the 1992 miniseries ''
The Jacksons: An American Dream'', which originally both aired on
ABC. He was also the singing voice of the young Simba in Walt Disney Feature Animation's 1994 film ''
The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
''. He was featured on
Chingy
Howard Earl Bailey Jr. (born March 9, 1980), better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper. He toured as an opening act with fellow St. Louis rapper Nelly in 2002, and signed with Georgia-based rapper Ludacris' record label, D ...
's 2004 hit single "
One Call Away", which peaked at number 2 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. He played Teddy in the 2006 hit movie
''ATL''.
Career
Acting career
One of Weaver's earliest acting roles was on
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...
's 1990 television series ''
Brewster Place''. He went on to portray a pre-teen
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
(aged 9-14) in the 1992 miniseries ''
The Jacksons: An American Dream'', and starred on the television
sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
s ''
Thea'' (1993–1994) and ''
Smart Guy'' (1997–1999). In 1992, he provided the singing voice of young
Simba
Simba is a fictional character in Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's ''The Lion King (franchise), The Lion King ''franchise. First appearing as a cub in ''The Lion King'' (1994), the character flees his homeland when his father, Mufasa, is ...
in Disney's 1994 animated feature film ''
The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
''.
In 2002, Weaver appeared in ''
Drumline'' with
Nick Cannon
Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American comedian, television presenter, actor, and rapper. In television, he began his career as a teenager on Nickelodeon's '' All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', '' ...
, followed by a role in ''
The Ladykillers'' in 2004. In 2004, he also was a featured artist in the song "
One Call Away", as well as in the music video that also starred
Keshia Knight Pulliam and
AND1 baller
Phillip "Hot Sauce" Champion. In 2006, Weaver was featured in a supporting role in the film ''
ATL'' starring rappers
T.I.
Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...
and
Big Boi
Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), known professionally as Big Boi, is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Atlanta, he was one half of the Southern hip-hop duo Outkast along with rapper ...
from
OutKast
Outkast (sometimes written as OutKast) was an American hip-hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré). Widely regarded as one of the greatest an ...
. He also appeared as an extra in the music video "
Rock Yo Hips" by
Crime Mob
Crime Mob is an American hip hop group from Atlanta consisting of six members: M.I.G., Cyco Black, Princess, Lil' Jay, Diamond, and Killa C. The group is best known for their songs " Knuck If You Buck" and " Rock Yo Hips". After an arrest in 200 ...
featuring
Lil Scrappy and "
Make Up Bag" by
The-Dream
Terius Adamu Ya Gesteelde-Diamant ('' né'' Youngdell Nash; born September 20, 1977), known professionally as The-Dream, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for having written or co-produced songs for artists in ...
featuring
T.I.
Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...
In 2011, he starred in the film ''He's Mine Not Yours'' alongside
Caryn Ward,
Wendy Raquel Robinson
Wendy Raquel Robinson (born July 25, 1967) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as high school principal Regina "Piggy" Grier on The WB comedy sitcom '' The Steve Harvey Show'' (1996–2002), and as sports agent Tasha Mac ...
,
Carl Anthony Payne II and
Clifton Powell
Clifton Powell (born March 16, 1956) is an American actor who primarily plays supporting roles in films, such as in '' Ray'' (2004), for which he received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture nomination.
Ca ...
. He is also in the hit TV show ''
The Chi''.
Focus on music
Weaver is also a recording artist. He provided vocals for his role as Michael Jackson in ''
The Jacksons: An American Dream'' and as the singing voice of the cub
Simba
Simba is a fictional character in Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's ''The Lion King (franchise), The Lion King ''franchise. First appearing as a cub in ''The Lion King'' (1994), the character flees his homeland when his father, Mufasa, is ...
in
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
's 1994 animated feature film ''
The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
''.
His debut album, ''Love Ambition'', was released on
Motown Records
Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
on June 27, 1995. He released two versions of the song "Stay with Me".
In 2003, he collaborated with hip-hop rapper
Chingy
Howard Earl Bailey Jr. (born March 9, 1980), better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper. He toured as an opening act with fellow St. Louis rapper Nelly in 2002, and signed with Georgia-based rapper Ludacris' record label, D ...
on the track "
One Call Away". The single was a top five hit in the United States.
Personal life
Weaver is the son of Marilyn "Kitty" Haywood and Robert Lincoln Weaver. Haywood is a member of the Chicago-based female vocal group Kitty & the Haywoods, who backed with the late
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...
on
the soundtrack album to the 1976 film ''
Sparkle''.
Weaver studied at
Thornwood High School.
He has one son named Jaylen.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, Jason
1979 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
21st-century African-American male actors
21st-century American male actors
20th-century African-American male singers
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American singers
21st-century African-American male singers
21st-century American male singers
African-American male child actors
20th-century African-American male actors
American male child actors
American child singers
American male film actors
American male pop singers
American contemporary R&B singers
American male television actors
Male actors from Chicago
Motown artists