JD McCrary

Actor and singer JD McCrary wowed audiences with his powerhouse voice on "Little Big Shots" (NBC, 2016-) and Childish Gambino's album Awaken, My Love before landing the role of young Simba on the live-action adaptation, "The Lion King" (2019). Born into a singing family in Granada Hills, CA in 2007, McCrary began performing Michael Jackson songs at the age of three, but it was as a young actor where he first caught attention, appearing in short films "Second Chance" (2014) and "Atom: The Misadventures of a Real Super Hero" (2015), and guesting on "The Eric Andre Show" (Adult Swim, 2012-). He first got the chance to showcase his vocal abilities when he played Singing Kid on TV news satire "Blunt Talk" (Starz, 2015-16). McCrary was then cast as younger versions of Ernie for two episodes of kids sitcom "K.C. Undercover" (Disney Channel, 2015-), Adam's brother on '70s stand-up dramedy "I'm Dying Up Here" (Showtime, 2017-) and Dr. Dre on the rapper's semi-autobiographical drama, "Vital Signs" (Apple, 2018-). He also received rave reviews for his vocal contribution to "Terrified," a track from Childish Gambino's Grammy-nominated third studio effort, Awaken, My Love. Following a one-off appearance on workplace sitcom "Teachers" (TV Land, 2016-), McCrary went viral thanks to his performance of The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" on children's talent show "Little Big Shots" (NBC, 2016-) and assumed the role of Kenny on Tyler Perry's spin-off sitcom "The Paynes" (OWN, 2018-). His career reached new heights when he was cast as the voice of young Simba in the eagerly-awaited and star-studded live-action adaptation of the Disney classic, "The Lion King" (2019).