Kelvin Harrison Jr.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. Bio

Kelvin Harrison Jr. (born July 23, 1994) is an American actor widely regarded as one of the most compelling performers of his generation. His accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Award, a British Academy Film Award (BAFTA) Rising Star nomination, an Independent Spirit Award nomination, and a Gotham Award nomination. He first drew attention with small roles in the 2013 films Ender’s Game and 12 Years a Slave, then rose to prominence with the 2017 horror film It Comes at Night. He has since built a versatile filmography that includes Luce, Waves, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Cyrano, and Elvis.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. Early Life and Background

Early Life and Background

Kelvin Harrison Jr. was born on July 23, 1994, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to musicians Shirlita and Kelvin Harrison. He grew up in the Garden District and later moved to The Westbank, areas that helped shape his artistic roots. Harrison is also a skilled musician who plays jazz and gospel on the piano and trumpet, and he sings as well. His father was trained by the legendary jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis and grew up alongside Harry Connick Jr., connecting the family to a deep lineage of New Orleans music.

Harrison studied under jazz drummer Jason Marsalis, recorded with trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis, and met renowned trumpeter Wynton Marsalis during his early years. These formative experiences immersed him in a vibrant creative community that blended music, storytelling, and performance. The cultural richness of New Orleans, combined with his family ties to the city’s music scene, gave him a strong foundation before he ever stepped in front of a camera.

Path to Acting

Harrison attended Isidore Newman School, where he was one of the few Black students in his class and has spoken about struggling to fit in. He originally enrolled at Loyola University New Orleans to study studio engineering, a path his father encouraged because of the family’s musical background. He later transferred to the University of New Orleans, where he shifted his focus to film with the goal of writing and directing his own projects.

While studying film, Harrison began taking acting classes and soon found himself drawn to performance as a means of storytelling. He eventually moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue acting on a larger stage. The combination of his musical upbringing, film training, and classical New Orleans influences helped him develop a disciplined, expressive craft.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. Career

Early Career (2012–2017)

In 2012, Harrison was cast in Ender’s Game, based on the 1985 novel, and was upgraded to a day-player role, allowing him to share scenes with Viola Davis, Harrison Ford, and Ben Kingsley. He has credited Davis with helping him take acting seriously as a profession. He then landed a small role in 12 Years a Slave, marking his first major studio credit. These early appearances laid the groundwork for a series of increasingly substantial roles.

Harrison went on to appear in an episode of WGN America’s Underground and the 2016 remake of Roots, both produced in his home state of Louisiana. The same year, he had a small role in Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation. He also took on a supporting role in the Fox miniseries Shots Fired and a recurring role as Touie Dacey on Crackle’s StartUp. In 2017, he had a supporting role in Dee Rees’ Netflix-acquired drama Mudbound, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim.

Breakthrough (2017–2019)

Harrison’s breakthrough came in 2017 when he played Travis in Trey Edward Shults’ psychological horror film It Comes at Night. The film, which premiered at the Overlook Film Festival and was released by A24, follows a family hiding from a highly contagious disease. Critics responded positively to the film, which grossed over $19 million worldwide, and Harrison earned a Gotham Award nomination for Breakthrough Actor. He has said the role gave him a reason to continue pursuing acting as a career.

In 2018, Harrison starred in three films that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival: Monsters and Men, Assassination Nation, and Monster, the last of which was based on Walter Dean Myers’ novel. He followed these with supporting roles in the dramas Jinn and JT LeRoy. In 2019, he earned widespread praise for his titular role in Julius Onah’s Luce, opposite Octavia Spencer and Tim Roth, earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead. That same year, he starred in Waves, reuniting with director Trey Edward Shults, which brought him a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination and international recognition.

Notable Works and Milestones

Among Harrison’s most celebrated performances are It Comes at Night, Luce, Waves, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Elvis, and Chevalier, in which he portrays the 18th-century Black French classical composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. In 2020, he and the cast of The Trial of the Chicago 7 won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. He has also portrayed the blues guitarist B. B. King in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis and is set to voice young Scar in Barry Jenkins’ Mufasa: The Lion King.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. Award Nominations

Kelvin Harrison Jr. has received several prominent nominations throughout his career, including a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination for Waves, a Gotham Award nomination for Breakthrough Actor for It Comes at Night, and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead for Luce. These nominations reflect his range across horror, drama, and social thriller genres, and they underline the consistency with which he has been recognized by major industry institutions.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. Awards Won

Kelvin Harrison Jr. is the recipient of a Screen Actors Guild Award, which he won as part of the ensemble cast of The Trial of the Chicago 7 for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The award highlighted his contribution to one of the most acclaimed ensemble films of 2020, and it remains a defining early-career milestone.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. Family

Kelvin Harrison Jr. was raised in a deeply musical household in New Orleans. His parents, Shirlita and Kelvin Harrison, are both musicians who introduced him to jazz, gospel, and the broader New Orleans sound from a young age. His father trained under Ellis Marsalis and grew up with Harry Connick Jr., which gave the family close ties to the city’s jazz community.

Personal Life

Kelvin Harrison Jr. grew up between New Orleans’ Garden District and The Westbank, environments that continue to influence his artistic identity. He is also a trained musician who plays piano and trumpet, a skill set rooted in his family’s musical legacy. Beyond his film and television work, he has been announced to portray the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in the upcoming biopic Samo Lives, reuniting him with Luce director Julius Onah, and to play a younger Beetee Latier in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, scheduled for release on November 20, 2026.