Corbin Bleu Reivers (born February 21, 1989), most famously known as Corbin Bleu, is an American actor and singer who gained prominence for his role as Chad Danforth in the High School Musical trilogy (2006-2008). He began acting professionally in the late 1990s. Bleu has also pursued a music career, with his debut album, Another Side, released in 2007.
Corbin Bleu at the premiere of "Free Style" in 2009.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Born in Brooklyn, New York City, Corbin Bleu is the son of Martha (Callari) and David Reivers, an actor. His mother is Italian-American, and his father is Jamaican-American. As a child, Bleu studied dance, focusing on ballet and jazz. Bleu appeared in television commercials starting at age two, for products such as Life cereal, Bounty, Hasbro, and Nabisco. By age four, he was a model with the Ford Modeling Agency in New York. Bleu attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and trained in dancing at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and attended the Fiorello H.
Early Roles
Bleu moved with his family from New York to Los Angeles in 1996. He worked steadily in episodic television and feature film roles, including a recurring role on the short-lived ABC police drama High Incident and a guest star appearance on ER. He also appeared in films like Beach Movie (1998) and the sci-fi thriller Soldier (1998). Additionally, Bleu was developing his dance skills and in 2001 began intensive training at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. There he undertook a full gamut of dance instruction, including ballet, jazz, tap, modern, hip-hop, African, break dance, salsa, flamenco and ballroom.
Breakthrough with High School Musical
Bleu's next television project was the Disney Channel original film High School Musical (2006), in which he portrayed the basketball player Chad Danforth, who tries to persuade his teammate Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) to give up his interest in theater and focus on winning a basketball championship.
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 "Blooper Reel"!
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Other Disney Projects
In 2007, Bleu starred in his next film, the Disney Channel original Jump In!, which aired on January 12, 2007. Reaching the screens on the Disney Channel that January, Jump In! was a major hit among young viewers and quickly became the network's highest-rated premiere, breaking the record set by The Cheetah Girls 2 in 2006. Again, Disney scored a crossover hit with the Jump In! soundtrack album, released in January 2007, on which Bleu sings the track "Push It to the Limit". While with Disney Channel, Bleu also participated in the first ever Disney Channel Games and co-captained the blue team along with Jake T. Austin, Maiara Walsh, Cole Sprouse and Kiely Williams.
Music Career
Bleu signed a contract with Hollywood Records, a Disney-owned label. His debut album Another Side, was released in May 2007. The album debuted at No. 36 on the Billboard 200 album charts, selling 18,000 in its first week. His second album, Speed of Light, was released in 2009.
Album cover of "Another Side".
Broadway and Stage Appearances
Corbin Bleu made his Broadway stage debut in 2010 as the lead character, bodega-owner Usnavi de la Vega, in the critically acclaimed musical In the Heights. In 2012, he joined the cast of Godspell as Jesus Christ beginning April 17 at the Circle in the Square Theatre. In 2019, Bleu played Bill Calhoun/Lucentio in the Broadway revival of Kiss Me, Kate at the Roundabout Theatre's Studio 54. For his performance, Bleu was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.
Recent Projects
In March 2019, he was cast in the Netflix drama film Walk. Ride. Rodeo. (2019). In July 2022, he was cast in the Hallmark Channel original entitled Campfire Christmas (2022). He returned to the High School Musical franchise, guest starring as himself in the third and fourth seasons of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
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Filmography
Here is a table summarizing some of Corbin Bleu's notable film and television roles:
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-2008 | High School Musical series | Chad Danforth | Main Role |
| 2007 | Jump In! | Izzy Daniels | Lead Role |
| 2010 | In the Heights | Usnavi | Broadway Debut |
| 2019 | Kiss Me, Kate | Bill Calhoun/Lucentio | Broadway Revival |
| 2022 | Campfire Christmas | n/a | Hallmark Channel original |
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