Meet Zaiden James | Child Actor, Athlete and Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zaiden James and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zaiden, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
People see the end result but don’t understand all of the work that goes into being an actor. Behind the scenes, there are countless hours of self tape auditions, lots of training and a ton of rejections. The number of rejections is far greater than the number of bookings.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When I was 3 yrs old, I told my parents I wanted to be on TV. They didn’t believe me. I kept asking and nagging them and they finally put me in acting classes in 2019 when I was 6 years old. At the end of the semester, there was a virtual showcase ( due to COVID 19) where I performed a commercial I wrote for several agents and talent managers. There, I met Carol Shaginaw and I signed with her agency a few months later. I am most proud and excited about my two most recent bookings- Young Mike Tyson in the newly released Hulu miniseries, Mike and my role as the Wakandan Kid in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The Black Panther role required me to use my advanced swimming skills. I’ve been swimming for 6 years and never would’ve thought that this skill would’ve landed me a role in a Black Panther movie! In addition to acting and swimming, I also play travel baseball, the piano and guitar. Every day, I strive to best the best version of me. Opportunities are all around and my gifts will make room for me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would definitely take them to Top Golf, Andretti. the skating rink and The Fox Theater , Mary Mac’s and Dairy Queen. All of those places are super fun. I love the mac and cheese at Mary Mac’s and the choco brownie extreme blizzard with heath from DQ.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to thank God for creating these opportunities and blessing me with my many talents and gifts. My mom for taping all of my auditions, my agent, Carol Shaginaw for sending me all of the auditions, my dad for taking me to set and for helping me become a better athlete through hard work and training. I can’t forget my older brother Keston, he made my demo reel!

Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamzaidenjames

Image Credits
Headshot taken by Dwayne Boyd Photography