Nicolas Cantu

Last updated

Nicolas Cantu
Born (2003-09-08) September 8, 2003 (age 20)
Other namesJunky Janker [lower-alpha 1] TheCAN2Network [lower-alpha 2] [3]
Occupation(s)Actor, YouTuber
Years active2014–present
YouTube information
Subscribers427,000 OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
(January 2024)
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers

Nicolas Cantu (born September 8, 2003), known by his internet pseudonyms Junky Janker and TheCAN2Network, is an American actor, voice actor and YouTuber.

Contents

Cantu is best known for being the third voice of Gumball Watterson in the Cartoon Network animated television series The Amazing World of Gumball (2017–2019) and the voice of Leonardo in the animated film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) and its Nickelodeon television adaptation Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2024). Cantu is also well known for starring as Elton Ortiz in the AMC television series The Walking Dead: World Beyond (2020–2021) [4] [5] and as Hark in the film The Fabelmans (2022).

His YouTube channel has over 425,000 subscribers. [6]

Early life

Nicolas Cantu was born in Austin, Texas on September 8, 2003. He is of Mexican descent; both of his parents are from Mexico City. [4] [7] [8] His father is a lawyer, whereas his mother is a social worker. [9] Cantu is the second of three sons, having two brothers, Sebastian and Matias. [10] He grew up in San Antonio, Texas and attended Stone Oak Elementary School. [11] [12] He moved to Los Angeles, California when he was 10 years old in order to pursue his acting career. Cantu eventually moved back to San Antonio in 2022. [11]

Career

Television

He began his acting career at the age of twelve with a guest voice role as Diego Márquez in a 2016 episode of the Nickelodeon series Dora and Friends: Into the City! . He then began voice acting in main roles in the same year. His first main voice role was as Rowan Freemaker in the Disney XD television series Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures . [13] He also starred as Paco on the TV animated show Future-Worm! , voiced Prince James for the Disney Junior show Sofia the First , replacing Tyler Merna, and provided additional voices for the Cartoon Network reboot series The Powerpuff Girls . [14] From 2017 to 2019, he voiced the title character on the Cartoon Network series The Amazing World of Gumball , replacing Jacob Hopkins during the fifth season. In The Gumball Chronicles , an eight-episode miniseries based on the show, which premiered on the said network in 2020, he was replaced by Duke Cutler due to puberty. He then made his live-action debut in the former's year with a guest role in an episode of Teachers as Quinn and played Travis on an episode of Disney Channel's Raven's Home . In 2018, Cantu appeared as Raymond on The Good Place . In 2019, he made one-episode appearances on the TV series Bizaardvark , Sydney to the Max and DuckTales . He voiced Winston on Middle School Moguls and appeared as Andrew on the CBS sitcom The Unicorn . He also voiced Dak on the Netflix series DreamWorks Dragons: Rescue Riders . In 2020, he voiced Rhys on an episode of Where's Waldo? , played Elton Ortiz on AMC's The Walking Dead: World Beyond and provided the voice of Teia on the animated series Puppy Dog Pals . In 2021, he played Dennis Kern on an episode of The Rookie , appeared as JJ on two episodes of 9-1-1: Lone Star and voiced Ensign Mainstay on the Netflix series Kid Cosmic . In 2022, he voiced Smooth Jason and Wrinkly on the Netflix show Oddballs . His most recent 2023 roles include Barry in the Disney+ series American Born Chinese , Otto in the Disney Channel animated TV series Hailey's On It! and Charlie in the Netflix animated TV series Skull Island . He is set to voice Leonardo in the 2024 Nickelodeon animated television series Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles .

Film

Cantu began his film career at the age of fourteen with a voice role as Curly on the 2017 Nickelodeon TV film Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie . [15] [16] He then starred in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans as Hark in 2022. [17] [18] He provided the voice of Leonardo on the 2023 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem . [19]

Personal life

Cantu is a gamer. [20] He is close friends with the American singer, Brennley Brown. [21] On November 8, 2018, Cantu hosted a fundraiser for the Children's Hospital Los Angeles at Bob's Big Boy in Burbank, California. [22]

Cantu came out as pansexual on Twitter in December 2022. [23]

According to the second video ever posted on his YouTube channel, which is linked in his Twitter Account, He has a Girlfriend.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotesRef
2017 Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie Curly (voice)TV Movie [24]
2017The Impossible JoyTomasShort film [25]
2017VikesJoey [26]
2022 The Fabelmans Hark [27]
2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Leonardo (voice) [28] [29]

Television

YearTitleRoleNoteRef
2016 Dora and Friends: Into the City! Diego Márquez, Crocodile, Polar Bear (voice)2 episodes [30]
2016–2017 Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures Rowan Freemaker (voice)31 episodes [31]
2016–2018 Future-Worm! Paco (voice)6 episodes [32]
2016–2018 Sofia the First Prince James (voice)14 episodes [33] [34]
2016–2019 The Powerpuff Girls Additional voices
2017–2019 The Amazing World of Gumball Gumball Watterson, Humor, Anxiety, Zachariah Lopez Kirby (voice)71 episodes
2017 Teachers Quinn1 episode
2017 Walk the Prank Kid #11 episode
2017 Raven's Home Travis1 episode [35] [36]
2018 The Good Place Raymond1 episode
2019 Bizaardvark Jackson1 episode
2019 Sydney to the Max Dominic1 episode
2019 DuckTales B.O.Y.D. (voice)1 episode [37]
2019 Middle School Moguls Winston (voice)4 episodes
2019–2020 The Unicorn Andrew
2019–2020 DreamWorks Dragons: Rescue Riders Dak (voice)26 episodes [37]
2020 Where's Waldo? Rhys (voice)1 episode
2020–2021 The Walking Dead: World Beyond Elton Ortiz20 episodes [12] [37] [38]
2020 Puppy Dog Pals Teia (voice)1 episode
2021 The Rookie Dennis Kern1 episode [39]
2021 9-1-1: Lone Star JJ2 episodes [12]
2021–2022 Kid Cosmic Ensign Mainstay (voice)2 episodes
2022 Family Guy High School Kid by the Bleachers (voice)1 episode
2022 Oddballs Smooth Jason, Wrinkly (voice)2 episodes
2023 American Born Chinese Barry2 episodes
2023 Hailey's On It! Otto (voice)1 episode
2023 Skull Island Charlie (voice)8 episodes [37] [40]
2024 Star Wars: Tales of the Empire Dante (voice)1 episode
2024 Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leonardo (voice) [41]

Nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef
2018 Annie Award Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production The Amazing World of Gumball , episode "The Grades"Nominated [42]
2019 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Voice-Acting Role: Teen Artist Sofia the First Nominated [43]

Related Research Articles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, commonly abbreviated as TMNT, is a media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers trained in ninjutsu who fight evil in New York City. Supporting characters include the turtles' rat sensei, Splinter, their human friends April O'Neil and Casey Jones, and enemies such as Baxter Stockman, Krang, and their archenemy, the Shredder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krang</span> Fictional Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character

Krang is a supervillain appearing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-related media, most frequently in the 1987 animated series and its associated merchandise, such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comic book and many TMNT video games. The character has endured as one of the franchise's most prominent antagonists and a major foe of the Ninja Turtles.

Nickelodeon Movies Inc. is an American film production company based in Los Angeles, California and owned by Paramount Global. Originally founded in 1995, it serves as both the film production arm of the American children's network Nickelodeon and the family film distribution label of Paramount Pictures, operating under its Paramount Players division.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (1987 TV series) American animated television series

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series produced by Fred Wolf Films, and based on the comic book characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Set in New York City, the series follows the adventures of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their allies as they battle the Shredder, Krang, and numerous other villains and criminals. The property was changed considerably from the darker-toned comics, to make it more suitable for children and families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">April O'Neil</span> Fictional character in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe

April O'Neil is a fictional character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics. She is the first human ally of the Ninja Turtles.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a superhero team created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, have appeared in seven theatrical feature-length films since their debut. The first film was released in 1990, at the height of the franchise's popularity. Despite mixed reviews from critics, it was a commercial success that garnered two direct sequels, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993, both of which were modest successes. An animated film titled TMNT was released in 2007.

Danny Jacobs is an American actor and voice actor. He made his voice acting debut in 1999 with an uncredited role in Full Blast. He began his role of King Julien in The Penguins of Madagascar (2008–2015) and had reprised his role in the Christmas special Merry Madagascar (2009), the Valentine's Day short Madly Madagascar (2013) and All Hail King Julien (2014–2017). He also impersonated Cohen's character Borat Sagdiyev in Epic Movie (2007).

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series developed by Ciro Nieli, Joshua Sternin, and Jennifer Ventimilia for Nickelodeon, based on the characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The series begins with the Turtles emerging from their sewer home for the first time, using their ninjutsu training to fight enemies in present-day New York City. The series ran in the United States from September 28, 2012, to November 12, 2017.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (2014 film) 2014 superhero film directed by Jonathan Liebesman

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 2014 American superhero film based on the characters of the same name created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. Directed by Jonathan Liebesman and written by Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, and Evan Daugherty, it is a reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series. The film stars Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Danny Woodburn, Abby Elliott, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, and Alan Ritchson, with the voices of Johnny Knoxville and Tony Shalhoub. The plot follows the Turtles as they rise from the sewers to face the evil Shredder and his Foot Clan, as well as protect their New York City home.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (2012 TV series) season 1 Season of television series

The first season of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aired on Nickelodeon from September 28, 2012, to August 8, 2013. The season introduces the four turtles Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo.

The second season of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aired on Nickelodeon from October 12, 2013, to September 26, 2014.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows</i> 2016 superhero film directed by Dave Green

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is a 2016 American superhero film based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. The sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), it was directed by Dave Green and written by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec. The film stars Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Laura Linney, Stephen Amell, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, Alan Ritchson, Tyler Perry, Gary Anthony Williams, Brian Tee, and Sheamus. The film follows the Turtles who, after defeating the Shredder, must face an even bigger foe: the dreaded Krang.

The third season of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles began airing on Nickelodeon on October 3, 2014. On February 26, 2013, Nickelodeon ordered a third season of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tohoru Masamune</span> American actor

Tohoru Masamune is an American actor. His roles include Shredder in the 2014 Michael Bay film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kevin Hall-Yoshida in Never Have I Ever, and Inception.

<i>Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> American animated television series

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series developed by Ant Ward and Andy Suriano for Nickelodeon. Based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, it is a re-imagined series that has the Turtles go on new adventures as they seek to unlock the mystical secrets of New York City and their own powers to save the world from evil.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem</i> 2023 American animated superhero film

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a 2023 American animated superhero film based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. A reboot of the Turtles film series, it was directed by Jeff Rowe and co-directed by Kyler Spears, from a screenplay and story written by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Rowe, with Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit also credited to the former and Brendan O'Brien to the latter. The film stars an ensemble voice cast with Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon as the four Turtles: Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael. Mutant Mayhem follows the Turtles, who, in their pursuit of public acceptance, go on a hunt for a mysterious crime boss and face off against him and his gang of mutants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Rowe (filmmaker)</span> American screenwriter

Jeffrey Rowe is an American writer and director. He is known for being a writer for Gravity Falls and Disenchantment, the co-writer and co-director of The Mitchells vs. the Machines, and the director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brady Noon</span> American actor (born 2005)

Brady Noon is an American actor. He is known for his roles in Boardwalk Empire, Good Boys, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and Family Switch.

<i>Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (TV series) Upcoming American animated television series

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an upcoming American animated television series developed for the streaming service Paramount+. Based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, it is set in the universe of the film Mutant Mayhem (2023) and serves as a bridge between the film and a planned sequel. The series follows the Turtles as they navigate their dual lives as both teenagers and heroes in New York City. Chris Yost and Alan Wan serve as showrunners.

References

  1. THE END OF THE LINE #NEWBIG, September 18, 2023, retrieved September 19, 2023
  2. "RIP THA GOAT #KOBEYJANKER #NEWBIG #GONEFOREVERYOUWILLBEMISSED⚱️". instagram.com.
  3. "nicolasCAN2 Official YouTube Channel". youtube.com.
  4. 1 2 Martinez, Kiko (September 15, 2022). "Actor Nicolas Cantu returns to San Antonio after 8 years". San Antonio Express-News . Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  5. Pardiwalla, Tanzim (September 30, 2020). "Exclusive: 'The Walking Dead: World Beyond's Alexa Mansour, Nicolas Cantu On Relating To Teens In A Post-Apocalyptic World". Mashable . Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  6. "junky janker's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile)". Social Blade . Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  7. Raquel (August 12, 2021). "Nicolas Cantu Talks 'The Walking Dead: World Beyond' And Latin Representation". Fangirlish. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  8. Wamangu, Peris (March 15, 2021). "Nicolas Cantu (Junky Janker) biography: who is the voice of gumball?". Legit.ng – Nigeria news. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  9. Peterson, Robbie (June 22, 2023). "Who is child actor Nicolas Cantu? Age, Height, Parents, Wiki". The Biography. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  10. "Bring your #brother to work day 😎 #brotherlylove #brothers #fountain #beautifulday #california #dreamworks #project @sebastiancantuuu #nicolascantuofficial". instagram.com.
  11. 1 2 Martinez, Kiko (August 2, 2023). "5 things to know about San Antonio actor, 'Ninja Turtles' star Nicolas Cantu". San Antonio Express-News. Hearst Newspapers, LLC. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 Price, Robert (December 3, 2022). "San Antonio actor makes film debut in Steven Spielberg's 'The Fabelmans'". WOAI-TV . Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  13. "LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures Premieres June 20 on Disney XD". www.starwars.com.
  14. "San Antonio native Nicolas Cantu's character keeps developing in final season of Walking Dead spinoff". www.sacurrent.com.
  15. "Nick Titles 'Hey Arnold!' Movie Starring Original Voicers". www.animationmagazine.net.
  16. "Nickelodeon Reveals Title of the Hey Arnold! TV Movie as Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie; Original Voice Actors Return". ir.paramount.com.
  17. Silmi, Malak. "'I mean, it's Steven Spielberg': Former NEISD student will star in legendary director's film". San Antonio Express-News.
  18. "San Antonio actor makes film debut in Steven Spielberg's 'The Fabelmans'". news4sanantonio.com. December 2, 2022.
  19. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – Nicolas Cantu on Taking Charge as Leonardo". www.denofgeek.com.
  20. Cantu, Nicolas (November 2, 2020). "Walking Dead: World Beyond's Nicolas Cantu on How to Survive an Apocalypse". BUILD Series Sydney (Interview). Interviewed by Danny Clayton. Yahoo! News . Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  21. "Happy #sixteen to my #sweet friend @brennleybrown 🎉🎂🎉🎂 #birthdaygirl #thevoice #celebrate #happybirthday #nicolascantuofficial". instagram.com.
  22. "Please join my friends and I on Thursday, November 8th to help raise funds benefiting the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. We will have a dine-in event happening ALL DAY at Bob's Big Boy in Burbank. SWIPE RIGHT to see flyer for details. @childrensla @gunnarsizemore @andrerobinson2 @junkyjanker @noah_k_bentley #chla #childrenshospitallosangeles #fundraiser #juniorambassador #helpingkids". instagram.com.
  23. @ncantu (December 24, 2022). "Pansexual" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  24. "Hey Arnold movie: Nickelodeon announces title, 19 original actors returning". ew.com.
  25. "Nick Sets "Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie" for Nov. 24th Debut". www.animationscoop.com.
  26. "Filming this "Vikes" movie I met my BFF @carterhastings1 Our viewing party was so much fun!! 🎉🎬🍿". facebook.com.
  27. Martinez, Kiko (November 23, 2022). "San Antonio actor Nicolas Cantu stars in Steven Spielberg's 'The Fabelmans'". San Antonio Express-News . Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  28. Tallerico, Brian (July 27, 2023). "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  29. "The cast #tmnt #tmntmovie 💥". instagram.com.
  30. "Nicolas Cantu: The Rising Star in Voice Acting". www.sarkariexam.com. January 6, 2024.
  31. "LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures – Nicholas Cantu Interview". youtube.com. June 21, 2016.
  32. "New 'Walking Dead' Spinoff Casts Its First Three Leads". deadline.com. July 10, 2019.
  33. "World Beyond actor Nicolas Cantu in TMNT: Mutant Mayhem teaser". Undead Walking. March 6, 2023.
  34. "Excited to be Prince James!!#sofiathefirst #voiceoveractor #voiceactor #disneychannel #nicolascantuofficial". instagram.com.
  35. "Great times as guest star on #ravenshome with this funny and #amazing lady ❤️ @ravensymone #actors @disneychannel #funonset #lovemyjob #kidactor #disney #show #ravensfan @nicolascantoo #nicolascantuofficial". instagram.com.
  36. "Shooting an #episode for #ravenshome was #epic #disneychannel #setlife #halloween #scary #newepisode #mustwatch #happyday #funday #nicolascantuofficial". instagram.com.
  37. 1 2 3 4 Kelley, Shamus (July 25, 2023). "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – Nicolas Cantu on Taking Charge as Leonardo". Den of Geek . Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  38. Otterson, Joe (July 10, 2019). "New 'Walking Dead' Series Casts Three Lead Roles (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  39. "@therookieabc @abcnetwork". instagram.com.
  40. Ratcliffe, Amy (June 22, 2023). "Nerdist Watches SKULL ISLAND's First Episode with Series Star Nicolas Cantu". Nerdist . Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  41. Pulliam-Moore, Charles (July 26, 2023). "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is already spawning a sequel and a spinoff series". The Verge . Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  42. Flores, Terry (December 4, 2017). "'Coco' Tops 2018 Annie Awards Nominations With 13". Variety . Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  43. 2019 Young Artist Academy – 40th Awards Nominations. Young Artist Award. April 20, 2019. Event occurs at 4:59. Retrieved July 29, 2023 via YouTube.

Notes

  1. Cantu retired this alias in September 2023. [1] [2]
  2. The channel was originally entitled "nicolasCAN2" when it was first launched in September 2023 before its title was updated to "TheCAN2Network" in January 2024.