American actor, model, dancer and singer Corbin Bleu is probably best known for his roles in High School Musical, but he’s got many other sides to him, as well.
Out Of The Bleu
Corbin was born on February 21, 1989, in Brooklyn, New York. By age four he had already signed with Ford Modeling Agency and appeared in cereal commercials and department store ads. In 1995 he made his stage debut in an off-Broadway play called Tiny Tim Is Dead.
A year later Corbin, only seven years old, landed his first TV job: he had to play a character that needed a rabies shot on ER. He says he actually still remembers the scene, which he performed alongside George Clooney.
Teen Scenes
Fast-forward eight years to 2004, when a 14-year-old Corbin starred as one of the leads in a movie called Catch That Kid, playing computer whiz Austin. He followed that up with an even bigger film: Oceans Eleven.
One year later, in 2005, Corbin scored a starring role as Nathan on Discovery Kids’ Flight 29 Down. The TV series was about a group of plane-wrecked high schoolers; basically, the teen version of Lost.
Music & Movies
2006 was when Corbin’s career really took off. Sixteen years old, he landed the role of Chad Danforth, the BFF of Zac Efron’s character in the TV movie High School Musical. The Disney Channel mega-hit gave Corbin the chance to show off his singing abilities and rocketed him and his co-stars into superstardom, reaching over 100 million viewers in more than 100 countries around the world in its first year on air alone! The show’s soundtrack became the top-selling album of the year.
Being a part of the Disney Channel allowed Corbin to have a variety of acting experiences. In 2007 he became leading man of the show Jump In! alongside his very own real-life dad, David Reivers. As part of the series Corbin recorded a single for the show’s soundtrack called Push It To The Limit, which hit No. 17 on the charts. Taking his singing a step further, Corbin released his debut album Another Side in the same year; it peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Later that year a record-breaking 17.2 million viewers tuned in to the premiere of High School Musical 2. The sequel’s success meant a leap from the small screen to the silver screen for the entire cast for High School Musical 3: Senior Year. The movie opened in 2008 at No. 1 and made $42 million in its first week alone.
More Mature
Breaking away from his HSM sound, Corbin released his second album Speed of Light in 2009. He told MTV the songs were inspired by Michael Jackson, Guns N' Roses and Luciano Pavarotti. Now he’s gearing up to release his latest acting venture in the movie Free Style, which is set to release on October 9, 2009. It’s a coming-of age story about an 18 year old guy (played by Corbin) who wants to win the Amateur National Motocross Championship.
Check out this Exclusive Clip from Free Style!
Check out Corbin singing "Moments That Matter" from FreeStyle
Check out more about Corbin's new movie "Free Style" at the Official Site and on Facebook!
Related Stories:
- Catch That Kid Movie Review
- Another Side CD Review
- Flight 29 Down TV Show Facts
- High School Musical Soundtrack
