There is no way this 19 year old actor has attended Hogwarts, or has he? We can't help but wonder, since this young actor has cast a spell on us in such a way that has left us all mystified . Ryan Potter might not be related to Harry Potter in any way but he has surely proven to everyone that he is a ‘Whiz’ard. And he has done it again.
Ryan Potter, a voice artist and photographer who gave the voice of the “Hiro Hamada” in the Academy Award winning Disney animated feature “Big Hero Six”, was awarded the prestigious Rising Star award during the closing night of the Fort Myers Beach Film Festival on April 26 in Fort Myers, Florida.
The coveted title is presented to young and talented actors with the objective of recognizing their talent and innovation.
The cute actor seemed very much delighted after receiving the award as he posed for pictures. The 19-year-old Big Hero 6 actor spent his time with local children after the award ceremony and also attended an assembly to answer questions asked by his beloved fans. He also clicked pictures with them, signed autographs and even enjoyed a superhero ice cream on his behalf. He looked like a true star throughout the whole affair.
Despite gaining huge popularity in a very short time, the teenager seemed untouched by the fame and stardom. He was down-to-earth as usual and spent time with his fans without any trace of unwillingness on his face.
The list of the winners in various categories went something like this:
- Best Local Film "Sisters" (directed by Mark Stolzenberg and produced by Mark Schulman and Judy Copeland)
- Best Student Film "The Unearthing" (17-year-old Tristan Jensen)
- Best Short Film "Falling to Pieces" (Chris and Vivian Connolly)
- Best Documentary "Heroes Behind the Badge: Sacrifice and Survival" (Wayne Derrick)
- Best Feature Film "Writers’ Cramp" (Darva Campbell)
- Best Actor Jeffrey Johns ("Waiting in the Wings: The Musical")
- Rising Star Ryan Potter ("Big Hero 6")
- Star Achievement - Christopher Atkins ("Waiting in the Wings: The Musical")
- People's Choice - "Waiting in the Wings: The Musical"
Besides being an actor and a voice actor, Potter is also a martial artist and a photographer. He began professional acting at the age of fifteen as Mike Fukanaga on the Nickelodeon martial-arts themed comedy-action series Supah Ninjas. He later gained prominence as a voice actor for voicing the lead character, Hiro Hamada, in the Marvel-based, Disney animated film Big Hero 6.
Interesting thing is that Potter, who provided voice for the Japanese protagonist Hiro Hamada, himself belongs to Japanese ancestry. He was born to a Japanese father and an American-Jewish mother. He was raised by his single mother after his parents’ separation. He uses her surname "Potter".
He was raised in Tokyo, Japan, until the age of seven. He spend the later part of his life in the USA where he grew up fluent in both Japanese, which is his first language, and English (his second).
He began studying White Tiger Kung Fu at the age of eight and he has interest in baseball, skateboarding and playing the drums. You would be very much surprised to learn that the now famous Potter, who is currently at the height of popularity, is not very active on the trending social networking sites Twitter and Instagram.
We hope to see this “Rising Star” rising in several more amazing movies in future.