Difference between revisions of "Jason Weaver"

Latest revision as of 23:49, 2 March 2013

Jason Weaver
Born	July 18th, 1979 (age 44)
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Years active	1977 - present

Jason Michael Weaver (born July 18th, 1979) also known by his stage name J-Weav, is an American actor and singer. He is perhaps best known for his television roles as a pre-teenage Michael Jackson in the Emmy Award-winning 1992 miniseries, The Jacksons: An American Dream.

Biography

Weaver was born in Harvey, Illinois, and started his acting career at the age of 8, and singing professionally since he was 11 years old. His first feature film debut came in 1990 in The Long Walk Home, which oddily enough, starred his future Lion King co-star, Whoopi Goldberg. One of Weaver's earliest acting roles on TV was on Oprah Winfrey's 1990 TV series Brewster Place. That same year, Weaver also appeared in The Kid Who Loved Christmas as Ernie. Among his more notable roles was, in 1992, when he performed as Michael Jackson (aged 9–14) in The Jacksons: An American Dream. His following television credits were on sitcoms, Thea (1993–1994), Sister, Sister (1996-1998), and Smart Guy (1997–1999).

In 1994, Weaver was chosen to provide vocals for the singing voice of cub Simba in the songs, "I Just Can't Wait to be King" and "Hakuna Matata". However, he could not reprise Simba's singing in "The Morning Report", as he was too old and his voice was too low for him to reprise his role as Simba. Weaver was replaced by Evan Saucedo.

In addition to acting, Weaver is also a recording artist signed with Motown Records. The following year, he released his debut album, Love Ambition, which was released on June 27, 1995.

In 2003, he collaborated with rapper Chingy on the track "One Call Away". The single was a Top 5 hit single in the United States.

In the early 2000s, Weaver returned to the silver screen in the films such as Drumline and The Ladykillers, and recently, in Lottery Ticket.