Thomas Hobson (born June 8, 1982) is an American

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

, and television actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Shout in the

Nick Jr. Channel The Nick Jr. Channel, sometimes shortened to Nick Jr., is an American pay television, pay television channel owned by the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. An offshoot of Nickelodeon ...

television series '' The Fresh Beat Band'' and its animated spin-off '' Fresh Beat Band of Spies'' and Bryce in the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

television series '' That Girl Lay Lay''. He has also starred in films such as '' Clubhouse Detectives'' (1996), ''

Free Enterprise In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

'' (1999), '' 12 Hour Shift'' (2020) and '' Ghosts of the Ozarks'' (2021). He began acting when he was six years old, and received a BA in Theatre Studies from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 2004.

Career

Hobson appeared in ''

The Hogan Family ''The Hogan Family'' (originally titled ''Valerie'' and later ''Valerie's Family: The Hogans'') is an American sitcom television series that began airing on NBC on March 1, 1986, and finished its run on CBS on July 20, 1991, for a total of si ...

'' in the 1990s and in ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons consisting of 151 episodes. The ...

'' in the early 2000s. In 2005, Hobson performed in the play ''North Beach'',

written Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

by Bill Swadley and

directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

Taylor Nichols Cecil Taylor Nichols (born March 3, 1959) is an American actor, known for his roles in several films by Whit Stillman including major roles in ''Metropolitan (1990 film), Metropolitan'' (1990) and ''Barcelona (film), Barcelona'' (1994), as well ...

. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' reported that his performance was convincing and skillful. In 2006, he performed at the MaCadden Theatre in Los Angeles in a retelling of ''

The Madwoman of Chaillot ''The Madwoman of Chaillot'' (, ) is a play, a poetic satire, by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux, written in 1943 and first performed in 1945, after his death. The play is in two acts. The story concerns an eccentric woman who lives in Paris and ...

'' as set in post-Katrina

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. ''L.A. Splash'' wrote that the cast gave strong performances. In 2008, he performed in the ''Citykid the Musical'', which received six

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

. In 2009, Hobson appeared on '' The Fresh Beat Band'' as Shout the piano player and assistant leader for the band, which stars his character's three best friends, Kiki, Twist and Marina. The show, Nickelodeon's "most-music" show aimed at preschoolers, catapulted Thomas Hobson to national fame among adolescents. His performance on the musical show has been characterized by one reviewer as "cool beans" and was shot in Hollywood, California. From September 2021 to March 2024, Hobson starred on the

show, '' That Girl Lay Lay''.

Personal life

Hobson is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. He is married to Wilkie Ferguson.

Credits

Television

*'' Doctor Doctor'' (1 episode, 1990) *''

'' (1 episode, 1991) *'' Dangerous Women'' (1991) *''

In Living Color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990, to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions ...

'' (1 episode, 1992) (cameo) *'' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1 episode, 1993) *''

A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of '' The Cosby Show''. It aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987, to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable ( Lisa Bonet) an ...

'' (2 episodes, 1993) *''

The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. ''The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.'', often referred to as just ''Brisco'' or ''Brisco County'', is an American weird western television series created by Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse. It ran for 27 episodes on Fox from August 27, 199 ...

'' (1 episode, 1993) *''

The Faculty ''The Faculty'' is a 1998 American science fiction horror film directed and edited by Robert Rodriguez with a screenplay by Kevin Williamson. It stars Jordana Brewster in her film debut, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Ha ...

'' (1 episode, 1996) *'' Step by Step'' (2 episodes, 1997) *'' Michael Jordan: An American Hero'' (1999) *'' The Fresh Beat Band'' (all episodes, 2009–2013) *'' Fresh Beat Band of Spies'' (all episodes, 2015–2016) *''

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 ...

'' (1 Episode, 2013) *''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

'' (1 Episode, 2018) *'' Bunk'd'' (1 episode, 2021) *'' That Girl Lay Lay'' (2021)

Films

*'' Clubhouse Detectives'' (1996) *''

'' (1999) *'' Daydreams'' (2008) *''Bar Starz'' (2008) *''Set Apart'' (2009) *'' 12 Hour Shift'' (2020) * '' Ghosts of the Ozarks'' (2021)

Short films

*''Wrapped Up In You'' (2018)

Awards and nominations

* 1996,

Young Artist Awards 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, 'Best Performance in a TV Movie/Home Video', for '' Clubhouse Detectives''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hobson, Thomas 1982 births 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American LGBTQ people American gay actors American male child actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male voice actors LGBTQ people from Massachusetts Living people People from Attleboro, Massachusetts Yale College alumni