This story is republished with permission from The Birmingham Times.

Even although he’s solely 13 years previous, Blake James’ resume reads like that of a tv/Hollywood heavyweight—Nickelodeon, Kellogg’s, AT&T, Sony Pictures.

Blake will not be solely good at what he does, however he enjoys the thrill of the leisure trade.

“I just love being around the cast and crew members and acting. I know it’s a cliché, but when they say ‘Action,’ it’s an adrenaline rush,” mentioned Blake, who jumped into the leisure trade in 2021, when he was finishing sixth grade at Berry Middle School in Hoover, Alabama.

Blake “didn’t even make the graduation,” he mentioned, as he started work on his first challenge for the Nickelodeon tv community and his first-ever tv challenge, “Little Lens: Everyday Life Through the Eyes of Black Children.” One of the segments, titled “Meet My Hero,” featured James sharing memorable tales that helped form his life.

According to his mother, 44-year-old company supervisor Tuesday James, Blake selected to share the story of his paternal grandfather, who was “the first Black person to go to his middle school [in New Market AL] and play football there,” he mentioned in the course of the challenge.

During the crew’s first sport, Blake’s grandfather, Gus, was the crew’s quarterback, however his linemen wouldn’t block for him and the opposing crew “wanted to hurt him,” so the coach took Gus out of the sport. Blake added that his grandfather is his hero as a result of “it was brave of him to keep going to that middle school.”

Blake, who considers his grandfather an inspiration for his love of each sports activities and singing, has been performing for simply two and a half years, starting in 2021, though the seed was planted years earlier by prolonged household in Orlando, Florida.

“When I would visit them, they kept me telling me that I needed to be on TV, so eventually, I gave it a shot,” he mentioned.

“I Got It”

While “Little Lens” was Blake’s first tv challenge, there was additionally an AT&T business by which he was solid because the lead of the kids who interacted with NBA Hall of Famer and Alabama native Charles Barkley. Blake’s dad, enterprise entrepreneur Cameron James, 45, says he was nervous for his son at this explicit audition as a result of Blake wasn’t positive which position he’d rating till the final second.

“As he was walking on set, he didn’t know which character he would be cast as,” mentioned Cameron. “He said, ‘Dad, I’m alright. I know [all the characters’] lines. Whoever I’m supposed to be, I got it.’”

For Blake, that’s the enjoyable a part of his job. Learning his traces, he mentioned, is “like studying for a test, but it’s more fun than studying for a test. People always ask me how I memorize the lines, but it’s easy to do. And I memorize other characters, too, so I’ll know when to say my lines.”

Blake mentioned the performing “bug” bit when he was about 11 years previous.

His newest challenge is an upcoming challenge with Sony Pictures, a film titled “We Grown Now.” In the movie — which is about two boys rising up in Cabrini Green, a housing challenge in Chicago, Illinois — Blake is the primary character and goes by the on-screen title Malik. “We Grown Now” debuted in September 2023 on the Toronto International Film Festival and received the Changemaker Award.

Blake additionally appeared in “The Sound of Christmas,” a Black Entertainment Television (BET) unique film, with Grammy-award-winning artist Ne-Yo. Blake displayed each his performing chops and his singing expertise, which inspired Ne-Yo a lot that he affectionately gave the younger actor the title of “Big Blake.”

A Humble Spirit

Blake is the child brother in his close-knit household of 4. His older brother, 18-year-old Chase James, is a student-athlete at a highschool in Phoenix, Arizona, who previously attended Spain Park High School in Hoover. Like his brother, Blake grew up enjoying sports activities: basketball and soccer.

“I actually love to play basketball and football, and we’re a sports family, so that’s what we grew up thinking I would do,” mentioned Blake.

On set, he makes it some extent to verify individuals are seen when he’s working.

“The crew members are not normally seen,” mentioned Tuesday James. “They have thankless jobs, but Blake …. made sure to create a new handshake for each one of them to make them feel seen while on the set of ‘We Grown Now.’”

Because Blake is a minor, a father or mother should be current on location when he’s filming. For his mother and father, it means juggling schedules, negotiating with their crew members at work, and leaving their house for weeks or months at a time. For Blake, it means forgoing the town he loves, Hoover, to movie in nationwide and worldwide areas.

Some would most likely take into account the frequent travelling a dream come true, “but as soon as we get back to Birmingham, Blake always says, ‘It’s so good to be back home,’” his mom mentioned.

Familiar faces

Blake agreed and added that the most important problem is, “hands down, being away from family and friends.”

“When I’m on location, I have friends, but it’s not the same as being with your best friends at home,” he mentioned.

Blake’s mother and father prepare for his older sibling and others to come back go to whereas Blake is working to verify he will get to see acquainted faces.

“I’m a Christian, too,” Blake mentioned. “I pray a lot, and God helps me get through the loneliness.”

Cameron James owns a number of companies and arranges time in his schedule to go on location with Blake. There is a stage of sacrifice concerned, he mentioned: “I have an incredible team of people I work with in real estate, [one of my businesses], so I am able to spend time with Blake and help my wife.”

“When people see me on set, they say, ‘It is so good to see you because it’s rare that fathers join their children while filming. It’s usually the mothers who are here,’” Cameron added.

According to Blake’s mother, the juggle is actual.

“Let’s say Blake has to be on location for three months. I may go and be there three weeks,” mentioned Tuesday, who oversees 14 staff as a company supervisor. “His dad will then come, we overlap a week and are there together, then one of us [comes to be with] our oldest son, Chase. We want to be present in both of our sons’ lives, so it takes a lot of sacrifice.”

Tuesday has been working at her firm for 17 years and says her administration crew and staff have been very understanding.

“It takes a village,” she mentioned. “We have family that steps in and helps, too. When we are traveling, sometimes, grandparents have to stay with our oldest son.”

A Bright Future

The James household prepares to spend six months, beginning in January, in Canada to start filming Blake’s subsequent challenge. It’s nothing new for them, although, as they journey typically and have the standing baggage to show it.

“You should see upstairs. There are a bunch of suitcases. We have to stay ready,” mentioned Cameron, including that it’s a privilege none of them take flippantly.

“I remember one night Blake came to me and, crying, asked me why God chose him to do this,” mentioned Cameron. “I said to him, ‘Why not you? Just remember to give God glory in all that you do.’”

And Blake adopted his father’s recommendation. After he accomplished an interview on the red-carpet debut of “The Sound of Music,” he went again and mentioned to the interviewer, “I want to give glory and honor to God and credit Him for giving me this opportunity.”

Blake’s mother and father say they won’t push him, however they may proceed to help him as extra initiatives come his means.

Blake retains it easy: “I want to be as successful as I can and spread the word of God.”