A thirst for learning new things makes Patrick “PJ” Hubbard Jr. unafraid to take on challenges, even those in the acting realm where he has worked with several stars, including Tiffany Haddish, Charlie Sheen and the late Cicely Tyson.
The 13-year-old knew since the age of 3 that he wanted to act. It was an outlet through which he said he could exercise his creativity and “show a side of myself that a lot of people don’t really see.”
“Acting has been my passion since I was a really little kid. My parents enrolled me into an acting program in Charlotte, North Carolina. It just blossomed from there,” PJ said.
“I’ve always been outgoing, trying to entertain people at a young age. When I saw people on TV, I was like, ‘I could do that!’ It just really grew from there because then I went to AMTC (Actors, Models & Talent for Christ). I went there for close to a year,” he said, referring to the nonprofit ministry which works to develop performers in film, fashion, music and theater.
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“I would always love watching entertainers on TV. I was like, ‘I want to be like that,’ and that’s what really drew me into acting,” the teen said.
PJ is the son of Orangeburg couple Patrick and Monique Hubbard. They relocated to California so that their then-5-year-old son could fully pursue his acting, training for which he had received earlier at the ImaginOn learning center in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the AMTC.
ImaginOn: The Joe and Joan Martin Center is a collaborative venture of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and the Children’s Theater of Charlotte. The 102,000-square-foot center opened in 2005.
“My first thing was Fox Sports Kids. I was around 6 when I did Fox Sports Kids, and then from there I went to ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ when I was 7. So I basically started around 6,” PJ said.
“How to Get Away with Murder” was an American legal thriller television series that starred St. Matthews native Viola Davis and was also where PJ got to work with the late pioneering actress Cicely Tyson.
“Working with Ms. Cicely Tyson was a really memorable experience because she is really a pioneer of acting for people of color. She said to me that I was going to go far, and those words stuck with me because she was really iconic and such an amazing person to be around,” PJ said.
The teen has also appeared in the 2016 TV Land series “Teachers,” which followed the lives, interactions and challenges of six female teachers at the fictional Millard Fillmore Elementary School in suburban Chicago, as well as in the 2017 film “Mad Families,” where three families compete for a camping spot during a busy Fourth of July holiday weekend.
PJ played Ron Ron Jr., the son of actors Tiffany Haddish and Lil Rel Howery, in “Mad Families,” which also starred actor Charlie Sheen.
“That was really a fun experience being on the set of ‘Mad Families.’ There were so many greats on set. What really stuck with me was how Tiffany Haddish worked with the kids. She’s really funny naturally, and she would just make everything a fun experience while being so professional,” PJ said.
The teen, who has also done voiceover work, made an appearance at the 2016 ESPY Awards with professional wrestler and actor John Cena and actor, comedian and writer Ben Schwartz. He also served as a presenter at the 2018 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in Los Angeles.
“I gave the cast of ‘Stranger Things’ their Kids Choice Award and Jace Norman, who played Kid Danger in “Henry Danger,’ his award,” PJ said.
He also starred in a Buick “Not So Pee Wee Football” commercial with professional football player Cam Newton during the Super Bowl.
“I actually turned into Cam Newton in the commercial. I was really excited,” PJ said.
Mrs. Hubbard said, “That one was pretty funny because when he went to audition for that Buick commercial, we had no idea it was for a Super Bowl commercial. So whenever he got booked for it, that’s when we found out. We had no idea that Cam Newton was what the concept was until we got there. We were like, ‘Wait a minute. Cam Newton?!’”
PJ has kept busy since moving back to Orangeburg with his family. He has already appeared in a short film titled “GraceLand” that was filmed in Charleston with South Carolina natives Monique Coleman and Anna Camp. Coleman is from Orangeburg.
“’GraceLand’ was about this little girl named Grace, who fully believed that she was the reincarnation of Elvis Presley. She would dance around, sing around and did her thing. She was good at it,” the teen said.
He continued, “She was in the talent show at her school, and she ended up getting first prize. She did amazing because she full-heartedly believed that she was and could do what Elvis Presley could do.
“It’s really just about all who supported her, like the teacher, Monique Coleman, and her mother, Anna Camp. That just really was the driving story of ‘Graceland.’”
‘Really took a leap of faith’
PJ said being a good actor requires both empathy and being able to “pick up on things.”
“You have to be able to pick up on things that people do and how other people receive it. You have to have this sense of empathy to real-world things and things that can happen in real life, in real settings. [You have to] bring emotion to something that’s dramatic, everything that you in theatre and in acting,” he said.
PJ had just turned 5 when he snagged the Best Overall Child Male Actor at an AMTC talent showcase in Florida, as well as second place in the child modeling competition.
Mrs. Hubbard said, “That is actually how he ended up getting his agent in California. That’s the same year we moved to California.”
PJ is represented by A3 Artists Agency and is managed by Entertainment Lab in L.A.
“I’ve been doing auditions a lot recently. You can always do them from right here at home because they are self-take auditions. So I’ve been doing auditions a lot and just going out for a lot of roles. That’s how I keep in practice with my acting,” he said.
Sine relocating to Orangeburg, he has also participated in the local theater as part of the Junior Orangeburg Part-Time Players.
He had his first debut role as George Banks in the theater musical production of “Mary Poppins Jr.” in 2021, and he performed this year as Oliver Warbucks in the production of “Annie Jr.” at the Bluebird Theatre in Orangeburg.
“It was really fun working with them because it’s really the youth that’s in the Junior Orangeburg Part-Time Players. Working with Ms. Mitzi and all of the crew was a great experience because I got to hone my theater acting ability, as well as characterization and musical skills,” he said.
He continued, “I had to really get into the character for both of those because I had to be a father, and it was just a really great experience being a billionaire and a soon-to-be billionaire.”
PJ attends William J. Clark Middle School and loves science and English language arts. He is also a student ambassador for Junior Achievement of Greater South Carolina.
“I really like science and ELA. My parents and my friends and family know me to be the one to just blurt out random fun facts about animals or the world, and I’ve always loved the weather. So I feel like meteorology is something that I would really like to do as well. I like ELA because I like debating with people, and that’s a subject that we focus on in ELA sometimes,” he said.
The teen continued, “I also like to write often. I was writing a novel later in 2020 and on into 2021. I’ve just been exploring that narrative writing more often and poetic stuff.”
Fishing, playing the piano, crocheting, playing video games with friends and hanging out with his family are among the things he enjoys in his free time.
“I actually have a cardigan that I made recently. I took up crocheting during COVID, and it just continued. I’ve picked up knitting recently as well. I love doing stuff with my hands, making stuff,” he said.
The arts, however, are never really far away from his pursuits.
“I really want to be in a theatrical play, more like a musical because I’ve done musicals often,” said PJ, who sings as well as acts.
“I like both of them pretty equally. That’s why I love musical theater because it fuses both of them. Those are the two things that I really love and am really passionate about,” he said.
He appreciates the support he has gotten from his parents throughout his acting journey.
“My parents have been the biggest support of all because they really took that leap of faith when moving out to California with me to pursue acting. They’ve just been so much. Everybody in my family was very supportive. They were on the Facebook and Instagram posts just cheering me on all the way, and I knew that my whole family had my back throughout California and moving back here,” PJ said.
‘We are extremely proud’
The Hubbards say they are extremely proud of their son, who they said has always been outgoing and driven to fulfill his goals.
“Proud is an understatement. We are extremely proud of him, just the person that he is. He’s got a great heart, too, and just to see him get the opportunities and be blessed with the opportunities that he has is a blessing,” Mrs. Hubbard said.
Her husband said, “We’ve seen kids elsewhere, where the kids is acting, and it might not be their choice. That’s just something that their parents thought that they might be interested in, but PJ told us that that was what he wanted to do when he was 3 years old.”
He continued, “So to be able to commit time and finances and invest in his career and to see him bloom and reap a little notoriety and make a little college money feels good. That’s time and money well spent, but for the most part we like seeing that he’s so balanced.
“He’s done a lot in comparison to a lot of his kids his age. Some kids just focus on Nickelodeon, or they want to be on this or that, but PJ’s done a lot. He’s done some voiceover work. He continues to do voiceover auditions. Like he said, there’s a lot of auditions that still come in.”
Mrs. Hubbard said, “He’s just always had this outgoing personality, and he’s never been afraid to be on stage. Even grown people will say, ‘OK, I’m scared to present or be in front of people.’ That’s a fear that a lot of people have, but he never really had that.”
PJ can be followed on social media on Instagram at @therealpjhubbard and on Facebook at PJ Hubbard.
Contact the writer: [email protected] or 803-533-5534. Follow “Good News with Gleaton” on Twitter at @DionneTandD