Joshua Rush
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Joshua Nisenson (born December 14, 2001), When the Image is zoomed, for the DOB it shows December 14, 2001. also known as Joshua Rush, is an American actor and political activist. He is known for playing Cyrus Goodman on the
Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
series '' Andi Mack'' (2017–2019), the first openly-gay character on the network. Rush earned significant praise and media coverage for his performance, as well as a Young Entertainer Award in 2019. Rush began his career as a
child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...
, appearing in
short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
s and commercials, and the series '' Heroes'' (2009). For his role as Turner in the feature film '' Parental Guidance'' (2012), he received two
Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...
nominations. His voice roles includes Breehn on the
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
series ''Clarence'' (2014–2016), Bunga on the
Disney Junior Disney Jr. (formerly Disney Junior) is an American pay television network owned by the Disney Branded Television sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Aimed mainly at children two to seven year ...
series '' The Lion Guard'' (2016–2019) and the titular character on the DreamWorks series '' Where's Waldo?'' (2019–2021).


Early life and education

Rush was born in
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, to parents Adam and Beryt (née Kiselstein) Nisenson. His father is a marketing strategist as well as a marriage and family therapist and his mother is a corporate documentary producer. He is
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
. In December 2019, Rush revealed his intentions to study at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
's Gallatin School. However, he instead went to the
University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
, graduating in 2023 with a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in Political Science.


Career


Early work (2001–2009)

Rush was ten months old when he first appeared in a local television special. By age 2, he had the ability to identify cars by logo and body style, and was featured on the
KHOU KHOU (channel 11) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Conroe-licensed Quest station KTBU (channel 55). The two stations share studios on Westheimer Road near ...
morning news in a segment on how to raise "smart kids."Home , Joshua Rush , Official Site
Joshua Rush (September 10, 2008). Retrieved December 13, 2012.
Before working on ''Heroes'', Rush appeared on '' Private Practice'', and tailored several film credits, such as ''Blue Boy'', ''The Journal'', and ''Mindsight''. He also acted in commercials for
Space Center Houston Space Center Houston is a science museum that serves as the official visitor center of NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. It was designated a Smithsonian Affiliate museum in 2014. The organization is owned by NASA, and operated unde ...
and Safeco Insurance, and an e-card for americangreetings.com. In 2009, Rush appeared on ''
The Jay Leno Show ''The Jay Leno Show'' is an American prime time talk show hosted by Jay Leno that was broadcast by NBC from September 14, 2009, to February 9, 2010. The series was a spiritual successor to his previous late-night talk show ''The Tonight Show wit ...
'' as the "Super Duper Nanny Son." The same year he also appeared on '' Medium'' as Tanner Campbel, the boy in the banana costume, and on ''
Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...
'' as Ronny Downey. Rush's first major television role came in 2009 when he was cast on ''Heroes''. He played Zachary Quinto's character, Sylar, at a young age. This recurring role was part of a major plot point in season three. After ''Heroes'', Rush had minor roles on '' Parenthood'', '' CSI: NY'', and '' Special Agent Oso''.


Acting breakthrough (2010–2017)

In 2010, Rush began portraying a young version of
Zachary Levi Zachary Levi Pugh ( ; born September 29, 1980) is an American actor. He starred as Chuck Bartowski in the action comedy series ''Chuck (TV series), Chuck'' (2007–2012), and as Captain Marvel (DC Comics), the titular character in the superher ...
's character Chuck Bartowski on ''Chuck''. In this role, he worked with such actors as Scott Bakula and
Linda Hamilton Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is an American actress. Known for portraying tough, resilient characters, she made her film debut in 1979 before achieving fame with her starring role as Sarah Connor (Terminator), Sarah Connor i ...
. Following his work on ''Chuck'', Rush did ADR work on the
Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...
movie '' November Christmas'', and commercials for
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
and
GameStop GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer, headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas). The brand is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operated 3,203 stor ...
. In 2012, Rush appeared as Turner Simmons in the feature film '' Parental Guidance'', which earned him a
Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...
nomination as Best Supporting Young Actor Age Ten and Under in a Feature Film. From 2017 to 2019, he gained prominence through his role as Cyrus Goodman, one of the two best friends of the title character on the
Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
series '' Andi Mack''. Rush, who is Jewish, requested ''Andi Mack'' creator and executive producer Terri Minsky, also Jewish, to write a bar mitzvah scene for his character, which occurs in Season 2 Episode 13, " Cyrus' Bash-Mitzvah!". Rush's performance was praised, and he is noted for having played the first gay main character on Disney Channel, and the first to have a same-sex love interest, TJ Kippen ( Luke Mullen). Rush also appeared as Jacob in the 2015 thriller film ''Emelie''. He voiced Toby in
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
and
DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...
's '' The Adventures of Puss in Boots'' and Breehn on
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
's '' Clarence''. From 2016 to 2019, he voiced Bunga on the
Disney Junior Disney Jr. (formerly Disney Junior) is an American pay television network owned by the Disney Branded Television sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Aimed mainly at children two to seven year ...
series '' The Lion Guard''.


Political ventures (2018–present)

Rush started a weekly news series on social media in 2018, titled ''News in a Rush'', covering politics and current events in minute-long videos aimed to make younger viewers understand certain topics. Rush volunteered for the 2018 congressional campaigns of
Beto O'Rourke Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States) ...
, Ben McAdams, Harley Rouda, and Katie Porter. He served as the Under 18 Ambassador for National Absentee Ballot Day. In 2019, Rush interned at the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
. He told ''
Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American progressive online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to '' Vogue'', targeted at teenage girls and young women. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and ...
'' in an October 2019 interview that he identifies "as a Democrat, probably on the more progressive wing." Rush was a surrogate for the
Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign The 2020 presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders was an election campaign from the junior United States Senate, United States senator from Vermont. It began with Bernie Sanders, Sanders's formal announcement on February 19, 2019. The announcem ...
. He then volunteered for Senator
Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...
's reelection campaign, as well as interviewing several down-ballot congressional candidates. He is a panelist for the
Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media The Geena Davis Institute (formerly Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media) is a US nonprofit organization based in Marina del Rey, California, led by President and Chief Executive Officer Madeline Di Nonno and chaired by Davis. It operates on ...
and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. In April 2019, it was announced he would voice the titular character in DreamWorks Animation Television series on Universal Kids, '' Where's Waldo?''. In February 2021, Rush announced that he has started a new job as the communications director for the Utah Democratic Party. In September 2022, Rush visited
UNEP The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...
where he discussed the recent climate change and the
retreat of glaciers since 1850 The retreat of glaciers since 1850 is a well-documented effects of climate change, effect of climate change. The retreat of Mountain glacier, mountain glaciers provides evidence for the Instrumental temperature record, rise in global temperatures ...
. As of 2023, he is deputy press secretary for California state senator
Toni Atkins Toni Gayle Atkins (born August 1, 1962) is an American politician who served as the 51st president pro tempore of the California State Senate from 2018 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 69th speaker of the ...
.


Personal life

Rush came out as
bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
on August 6, 2019. In February 2020, Rush opened up about his parents' divorce and his mental health issues in a ''
Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American progressive online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to '' Vogue'', targeted at teenage girls and young women. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and ...
'' article. He is based between California and Utah.


Filmography


Film


Television


Awards and nominations


References


External links

*
''News in a Rush''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rush, Joshua 2001 births 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male actors Activists from Texas American bisexual male actors American child activists American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American political commentators American press secretaries American public relations people Bisexual Jews Bisexual men Child journalists Jewish American male actors LGBTQ people from Texas Living people Male actors from Houston Members of the Democratic Socialists of America University of Utah alumni