Plano’s Spencer Boldman set for TV and movie breakout

Spencer Boldman’s life is about to change in a big way.

The 19-year-old actor from Plano has been flying under the Hollywood radar for a couple of years. Now that he stars in a new comedy series for Disney XD, how long can anonymity last?

Lab Rats, which premieres Feb. 27, is about three genetically engineered teens freed from a secret underground lab and allowed to live like normal high-school kids. These bionic siblings have awesome superpowers, but they’re socially inept. Comic misadventures ensue.

Boldman plays Adam, the eldest, who has superstrength and a not-so-super intellect.

“He’s fun to play, because he is experiencing everything for the first time,” Boldman says. “He gets superexcited about the most common things, like drinking from a water fountain.

“He’s like a puppy: goofy and lovable.”

Boldman, a 2010 Plano East Senior High School grad, is ludicrously handsome. Young female viewers are certain to like that about him, too.

Boldman talked about his acting life during a recent trip home to visit family.

Between Lab Rats and a role in the movie 21 Jump Street, which opens in March, this is shaping up to be a big year for you, isn’t it?

It’s exciting. I’ve done three pilots for Disney, so it’s been a couple of years in the waiting for me. But Disney was taking its time with me to find the right project. Then, before we started filming Lab Rats, I got this great little part in the movie.

Are you even old enough to remember the original 21 Jump Street?

I had heard of it. I knew it was something Johnny Depp was in. This is the comedy remake of that show, with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as undercover cops in high school. I play French Samuels, the popular kid in school. Jonah is auditioning for a role in the high school play, and I end up taking his part, so his character and mine have a rivalry in the movie.

What sparked your passion for acting?

The movie that made me want to be an actor was Mission: Impossible with Tom Cruise. I was 10 when I saw it. I had asked for Spy Kids for Christmas, but my dad got me Mission: Impossible. And I loved it. I realized I can never be a spy in real life, but as an actor I can pretend to be a spy. Since then, this is what I’ve always wanted to do.

David Martindale is an Arlington freelance writer.

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