The precocious child-actor Khari King has big plans for his Hollywood career. As the 11- year-old Atlanta native and co-star of Mad Money tells it, he’ll be 32 when he gives his Academy Award acceptance speech, which will be a long list of thank yous dedicated to his friends and family.
Unlike the Drew Barrymores, Macaulay Culkins and Dana Plato’s of the world, King exudes maturity and poise, traits that are uncommon for silver screen newbies. “People say I’m mature,” shares King. “They usually tell me, ‘You’re pretty young to be an actor.’ I tell them you’re never too young to be anything.”
In the role of young Jimmy, son to Queen Latifah’s character Nina Brewster, King is praised for being a natural, something his mother Attallah Vaughn attributes to his grandfather, a former legislator for the state of Michigan and an impassioned playwright. “The arts have always been in our family and I think he just kind of naturally got those things from my dad,” says Vaughn.
Professionalism, support and unconditional love are values that were passed on. When he’s not singing for the prestigious Atlanta Boy Choir, playing youth basketball or promoting his new fi lm, Bolden!, working alongside Anthony Mackie, King’s parents keep him focused on academics and making good choices.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s the talent and we recognize that,” says father, Earl King, “but at the same time as parents we have to be involved because we’ve got to surround him with people that have his best interest and he doesn’t know that at his age he can’t make that decision.” -gavin philip godfrey
