Elijah Kelley

Elijah Kelley (born August 1, 1986) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He appeared in films such as 28 Days, Take the Lead (2006), Hairspray (2007), Red Tails (2012), Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013), NBC's live-musical event The Wiz Live! (2015), as Ricky Bell in The New Edition Story (2017), and Star (2017).

Early life Kelley was born and raised in LaGrange, Georgia. He attended Long Cane Middle School and Troup County High School, where he participated in the school's show choir for years. As a child, he starred in Coca-Cola commercials and played a role in the film Mama Flora's Family. He also performed in a church choir and gospel band with his family. His parents, determined to keep their son down to earth, went with him when he moved to Los Angeles after graduating from high school.

Career In 2007, Kelley starred in the film adaptation of Hairspray. Both his performance and the film received positive reviews. On December 2, 2011, Kelley sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to the Pac-12 Conference Championship Game at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.

In 2015, Kelley was cast in the role of the Scarecrow in NBC's production of The Wiz Live! . He also played a role as Sunny the elf from the animated George Lucas film Strange Magic from 2015.

He was cast as singer Ricky Bell for the 2017 BET Biographical miniseries The New Edition Story. He was credited for his help in considering Luke James, who is a long-time musical associate of his to audition for the producers of the miniseries to be cast as the bandmate Johnny Gill.

In 2017, Kelley was cast alongside Luke James as a recurring role for the 2nd season of Lee Daniels musical drama Star on FOX.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2000 28 Days Darnell 2006 Take the Lead Danjou Heavens Fall Leroy Wright 2007 Hairspray Seaweed J. Stubbs 2008 Rome & Jewel Ben Direct-to-video 2012 Red Tails Samuel "Joker" George 2013The Butler Charlie Gaines 2014 Boys of Abu Ghraib Tunde 2015 Strange Magic Sunny Voice

Television Year Title Role Notes 1998 Mama Flora's Family Young Willie Television film 1999 A Lesson Before Dying Clarence 2005 The Shield Jaymon Episode: "Grave" Everybody Hates Chris Waiter Episode: "Everybody Hates the Babysitter" 2006 Numb3rs Anthony Episode: "The OG" 2009 Dirty Sexy Money Elon Elder Episode: "The Facts" 2015 The Wiz Live! Scarecrow / Sticks The Farmhand Man #3 NBC live TV musical 2017 The New Edition Story Ricky Bell BET 3-part Miniseries 2017–2018 Star Andy Recurring Role 2018 The Bobby Brown Story Ricky Bell BET 2-part Miniseries 2019 Tales Paul Episode: “Brothers”

Discography Soundtracks 2007: Hairspray Soundtrack 2008: DisneyMania 6 2008: Sex and the City: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Vol. 2

Hairspray singles "Run and Tell That" "Come So Far" "Without Love" "You Can't Stop the Beat"

DisneyMania 6 singles "He Lives in You"

Semi-Pro "Shining Star"