From his early days as a dancer to his breakout role on the Disney Channel, Cameron Boyce seemed headed for a long career. But his untimely death cut things short. To honor his life, we're looking back at Boyce's brief but noteworthy acting career.
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00:00From his early days as a dancer to his breakout role on the Disney Channel, Cameron Boyce
00:04seemed headed for a long career. But his untimely death cut things short. To honor his life,
00:10we're looking back at Boyce's brief but noteworthy acting career.
00:14Cameron Boyce's road to child stardom began with dance lessons at an early age. He started
00:18dancing in preschool and quickly realized that hip-hop was his favorite. Eventually,
00:23Boyce got his first taste of the entertainment industry in 2008 when he starred in a music
00:27video for Panic! at the Disco's track, That Green Gentleman, Things Have Changed. The
00:32actor's resume began to expand even more when he starred in that year's spy movie, Eagle
00:36Eye.
00:37Despite his success in acting, however, Boyce had always kept his dancing shoes nearby.
00:41In 2010, he joined the cast of The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, and the following
00:46year starred in a Dancing with the Stars special. Throughout his early success, Boyce remained
00:51surprisingly down-to-earth. He told the Television Academy,
00:54"...it's a job that we do. Just like any crew member who has a job. We like to do it,
00:58not to be in the limelight. It drives me crazy when actors lose sight of reality. The special
01:03effects guy is working just as hard as we are. The editors have to compensate when we
01:07do a bad job on set."
01:09Boyce got his big break when he landed one of the lead roles on the Disney series, Jessie.
01:13The show aired from 2011 to 2015 and followed Texas native Jessie Prescott as she tries
01:18to make it big in New York City while nannying on the side. Boyce played Luke Ross in the
01:22series, a mischievous and energetic member of that family who never fails to entertain.
01:27The show put Boyce on the map, allowing him to make a name for himself in the Disney sphere
01:31while also snagging more roles in film and television.
01:34"...it's amazing how much we've all learned and grown, but I definitely did not expect
01:37it to be this big."
01:38But having that kind of platform at just 12 years old is something he didn't take lightly.
01:43He admitted in his interview with the Television Academy,
01:45"...that was four years of my life that molded me into someone I wasn't before, and it broadened
01:50my view of the whole world."
01:51It also meant he had to adjust and make certain sacrifices that other preteen boys wouldn't
01:55have to. He added,
01:56"...I was never planning on being homeschooled, but once I booked Jessie, of course, I had
02:01to become homeschooled. I didn't get to go to prom or play varsity basketball."
02:04The show proved to be a success story for Boyce. He went on to star in the Disney series
02:09Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything, as well as snagging a lead role in the Descendants
02:13film franchise in the years to follow.
02:16Just as the television series Jessie was ending, Boyce's new starring role on Disney's
02:20Descendants franchise was set to begin. The first Descendants movie premiered in 2015,
02:25with Boyce playing Carlos, the son of Cruella de Vil.
02:28The three-part movie series revolved around the children of famous Disney villains attending
02:32a prep school together. The first movie proved successful, and Boyce reprised his role in
02:37the second and third installments. Boyce's roles in the films had an incredible impact,
02:42and he didn't take the responsibility of carrying on Disney villains' legacies lightly.
02:46There are people who are really into it, so you don't want to disappoint them, you don't
02:51want to let them down."
02:52The actor also admitted transforming into the blonde-haired villainous kid meant seven
02:56hours of hair bleaching at the salon. He joked at the time,
02:59"'My dad has a bunch of blackmail on me.'"
03:02During his career, Boyce had the chance to work with the legendary Adam Sandler. He starred
03:06as Sandler's son in the 2010 film Grown Ups, and went on to return for the sequel Grown
03:10Ups 2 in 2013. The comedy tells the story of a group of former high school friends who
03:15get back together to live their glory days after their high school basketball coach passes
03:19away. The experience of working alongside Sandler when he was just a kid wasn't lost
03:24on Boyce. He told Crooks Magazine in 2017,
03:26"'As an actor, it's crucial you keep your ears open, especially when you're playing
03:31opposite comedic legends in almost every scene. I was just a nine-year-old kid waiting for
03:35his cue line. That is, until I realized that I might be waiting forever.'"
03:39Boyce gave Access Hollywood the inside scoop as to Sandler's acting methods as well.
03:43"'The script means nothing. It's completely out the window.'"
03:46The actor further revealed he had to rely on a lot of improv acting while starring in
03:50the two films.
03:51"'It's just, it's all jokes all day.'"
03:54If acting didn't pan out the way Boyce expected, he might have had a fallback career as a basketball
03:58player. The actor said that despite his height, he knew his way around the basketball court.
04:03He told Vulcan Magazine,
04:04"'I would have played basketball. It's a true passion of mine, up there with acting
04:08and dancing. I still get to do both of those things in my work, but basketball was something
04:12I had to sacrifice in order to stay rested and focused on my job.'"
04:16Boyce revealed that basketball became a way for him to take a break from the hustle and
04:20bustle of everyday life, and enjoy a bit of normalcy. Even though he wasn't tall, the
04:25actor admitted that he put up a good fight on the court. He told the outlet,
04:28"'People are almost always surprised at how good I am. Not sure I would have high
04:32expectations from a 5-foot-6 child actor either. I like to think I would have made my high
04:36school team if I had stuck with it, but I guess we'll never know for sure.'"
04:40Most people remember their first kiss, whether it was downright cringeworthy or something
04:44out of a movie. For Boyce, however, landing his first smooch wasn't exactly a made-for-TV
04:49moment. In an interview with Young Hollywood, Boyce revealed that he had his first kiss
04:53around 11 years old with his then-girlfriend. He recalled,
04:56"'I tried to kiss her on her forehead, but she went on her tippy toes and caught
05:00my lips. And it took me by surprise. That was the most unsmooth first kiss. Just so
05:05not romantic at all. That's actually pretty bad.'"
05:07As for romantic partners, Boyce kept his personal life pretty low-key during his time
05:13in the spotlight. While rumors swirled that he might have dated his Descendants co-stars
05:17Sophia Carson and Dove Cameron at one point, the actor shot down the gossip, telling Top
05:22Tube in an interview,
05:23"'I'm dating none of them.'"
05:24While Boyce remained private about his love life, he did admit to an awkward dating story.
05:29He told Raw in an interview,
05:30"'I took a girl up to the Outlook on Mulholland, not knowing that you can't park there past
05:349 o'clock. And I got an $88 ticket.'"
05:38Boyce had taken his dancing skills to new heights when he joined the X-Mob street dancing
05:41crew. The group was formed in 2010. X-Mob performed around Los Angeles, attending several
05:46breakdancing competitions like the World of Dance in 2010 and the Outbreak 7 Hip Hop Festival
05:51in Orlando in 2012.
05:53The group took a hiatus while Boyce's acting career took off, but stayed in contact over
05:57the years. Boyce told Vulcan magazine,
05:59"'We just recently got together and went to a jam we were invited to judge at. It was
06:03the first time we had danced together in some time. It felt good to be immersed in
06:07that hip-hop culture again, and judging the kids' battle was super fun."
06:10Boyce relied on dance as a means to escape, giving him a sense of peace in his otherwise
06:15busy career. He told the outlet,
06:17"'To this day, nothing makes me feel as free as when I dance. Acting can take you
06:21away from yourself at times, whereas expressing emotion through free movement is one of the
06:25purest ways to discover more about yourself.'"
06:28In a world where others judged him, Boyce felt right at home on the dance floor. He
06:32admitted,
06:33"'Many feel pressure, and men seem to think it's not masculine. I'd argue nothing is
06:37more masculine or feminine than having the guts to not care about what other people think.'"
06:42Boyce's life took a serious turn when, at just 16 years old, he was diagnosed with epilepsy.
06:48After showing no warning signs before then, the news came as quite a shock to his family.
06:52Cameron's father, Victor, told Newsweek,
06:54"'From zero to 16, he was perfectly normal. He got into child acting young. He was doing
06:59print ads and TV commercials, and he grew into a teenager.'"
07:02All that had changed, however, when Victor and his wife Libby took their son to the hospital
07:06after he was spitting up blood at a sleepover. Victor recalled,
07:09"'We were surprised, to say the least. We didn't understand why he had a seizure. We
07:13didn't know anything about epilepsy at that point.'"
07:16In the years to follow, however, Victor and Libby would learn much more about the disease
07:20than they ever thought possible.
07:22Boyce was incredibly involved with charities throughout his adult years, and was even recognized
07:27by Joe Biden for his efforts. The Jesse star helped raise awareness for The Thirst Project,
07:31which works to put an end to the global water crisis.
07:34For his birthday in 2018, Boyce was able to raise enough funds to construct two freshwater
07:40wells in the African country of Eswatini and earn The Thirst Project's Pioneering Spirit
07:44Award for that year.
07:45Boyce explained to Vulcan magazine,
07:47"'After learning about the water crisis, I was instantly compelled to step in and make
07:51a difference in any way that I could. What really drew me to the organization outside
07:55of the cause, however, was how young the employees were. Through their passion, they've exceeded
08:00what anyone would expect from a staff made mostly of recent college graduates."
08:04The Descendants star also supported Joe Biden and Barack Obama's It's On Us campaign, which
08:09aims to stop sexual abuse on college campuses worldwide. Biden tweeted in 2019,
08:14"'I had the opportunity to meet Cameron Boyce at this year's Courage Awards and through
08:18his work with It's On Us. He was filled with so much light and served as a tremendous role
08:23model for young people.'"
08:25Fans across the world were heartbroken to hear the news of Cameron Boyce's tragic passing
08:29in July 2019. The grown-up star, who was just 20 years old, suffered a sudden unexplained
08:35death in epilepsy, or SUDEP, with a seizure in his sleep claiming his life. His parents,
08:40who admit they were widely under-informed of epilepsy risks by doctors, were shocked
08:44by their incredible loss. Victor Boyce told Healthline,
08:47"'We didn't know about SUDEP. We have family members who are doctors who never heard of
08:52SUDEP. We were clueless, completely clueless. The first time we heard SUDEP is when the
08:56coroner told us that's what took our son.' Boyce's co-stars took to social media in the
09:00wake of the news, posting heartfelt tributes to him after the tragedy. Sophia Carson wrote
09:05on Instagram,
09:06"'Letting you go' is not something I know how to do, and I just can't fathom living
09:11in a world without you. I love you, Cam, and I will love you forever.'"
09:15Boyce's parents launched the Cameron Boyce Foundation after the loss of their son, which
09:19aims to cure epilepsy by raising awareness and funds for research.
09:22"'The Cameron Boyce Foundation honors Cameron's legacy by aiming to cure epilepsy.'"
09:27Adam Sandler even stopped by the non-profit's annual gala in 2024 to honor his former co-star.