Owen Patrick Joyner

**Owen Patrick Joyner** (born July 19, 2000) is an American actor. He portrays Alex Mercer in the Netflix series Julie and the Phantoms.

## Biography

Owen Patrick Joyner was born on July 19, 2000 in Denver, Colorado, who is of German descent. Joyner's first language is German, having spent most of his infancy in Germany until he was four and moved to Oklahoma. Joyner has one older sister and a number of step-siblings.

While watching a friend's performance at a local theatre in Oklahoma, Joyner was encouraged to audition for the theatre's next production by the theatre director. He landed the role and then fell in love with acting at the age of 10.

He starred in more performances and productions, including The Little Mermaid, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Wizard of Oz, and How to Succeed in Business..., etc at the theatre as well as other places before going to Los Angeles to expand his career.

### Early Career

At the young age of 14, Joyner booked the role of Crispo Powers in 100 Things to Do Before High School. The show premiered in 2014 before starting its original run in 2015. Nick declined to renew the series for a second season in 2016.

Joyner has appeared on hit Nickelodeon shows and specials like "The "Thundermans", "Nickelodeon's Ho Ho Holiday". He then signed onto Nickelodeon's "Knight Squad" where he portrayed the lead role of Arc. Knight Squad was canceled in 2019, right before 'pilot season'— the term used in the entertainment industry to refer to the period of time where productions commonly hold auditions for new shows in Los Angeles, California.

## Julie and the Phantoms

In 2019, Joyner auditioned for the role of Alex Mercer in Julie and the Phantoms. Joyner heard about the role from former Nickelodeon show runners Dan Cross and David Hoge, who knew Joyner from his time in "Knight Squad." At the time, Joyner was in Los Angeles but then flew home to Oklahoma for a week in order to get some practice on his drum set. Before that, the 20 year old hadn't properly played the drums in "seven years" or so. Reportedly, the drummers in the auditioning process, unlike those auditioning for Luke, Reggie, or Julie, didn't have to sing. According to Joyner, "[The audition was going] well and I made them chuckle. And then, I was like, 'Icing on the cake, I’ll ask them if they want me to sing.' They said yes." Joyner states he then performed a cappella rendition of 'Sunday Morning' by Maroon 5 and that he "bombed" it, purportedly forgetting the lyrics and which key he was in. Nevertheless, or perhaps *because* he was so like his character, Joyner was called back.

Some time in the audition process, Joyner was paired with Charlie Gillespie (who plays Luke) and Jeremy Shada (who plays Reggie) amongst the 35 hopefuls auditioning for the role of the phantoms. The trio was then paired with Madison Reyes, who would go to portray Julie Molina.

When auditioning for the role of Alex, Joyner was only aware of the pilot script, which did not mention Alex's sexual orientation as it was introduced in the second episode. According to Joyner:

> "Nothing really changed with how I wanted to execute the character once I found out he was gay, I was just honored that Kenny trusted me with a character that I thought had a really important message for a younger generation to watch. I took a lot of Kenny’s advice and input into the character because I just wanted to play him earnestly, respectfully, and do something people would be proud of."
>
>

Because the original demo of the soundtrack didn't have any real drumming in it, Joyner was able to really hone into his drum skills, claiming that, "I had to figure out my own thing, and that was such a cool process."

## Credits

### Actor

#### Season One

* Wake Up - Alex
* Bright - Alex
* Flying Solo - Alex
* I Got the Music - Alex
* The Other Side of Hollywood - Alex
* Finally Free - Alex
* Edge of Great - Alex
* Unsaid Emily - Alex
* Stand Tall - Alex

## Trivia

* Joyner plays the drums on a DW kit with Zildjian cymbals.
* Joyner was in a "prom band" called "The Daze," touring school dances when he was 12.
* He previously with his co-star Savannah May in the TV Show *Knight Squad* (2018).

## External Links

* Owen Joyner on Wikipedia
* Owen Joyner on IMDb
* Owen Patrick Joyner on Twitter
* Owen Patrick Joyner on Facebook
* Owen Patrick Joyner on Instagram
* Template:YoutTube
* Owen Patrick Joyner on TikTok

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://oklahoman.com/article/5425447/norman-teenager-owen-joyner-stars-as-crispo-on-100-things-to-do-before-high-school?
2. ↑ https://tvline.com/2020/09/19/julie-and-the-phantoms-alex-openly-gay-owen-joyner-interview/
3. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen\_Joyner
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Owen Joyner's Instagram Live Interview With Tommy Didario
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://collider.com/julie-and-the-phantoms-interview-charlie-gillespie-owen-joyner-jeremy-shada/
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 https://ew.com/tv/julie-and-the-phantoms-kenny-ortega-making-the-band/
7. ↑ http://www.newnownext.com/julie-and-the-phantoms-netflix-gay-ghost/09/2020/
8. ↑ https://ew.com/tv/julie-and-the-phantoms-kenny-ortega-making-the-band/
9. ↑ https://100-things-to-do-before-high-school.fandom.com/wiki/Owen\_Joyner