Ronald "RJ" Cyler II (born March 21, 1995) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films ''

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl ''Me and Earl and the Dying Girl'' is a 2012 debut novel written by Jesse Andrews. The novel was released in hardcover by Amulet Books on March 1, 2012, and in paperback on May 7, 2013. Plot Greg Gaines is a senior at Benson High School in P ...

'' (2015), ''

Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...

'' (2017), ''

The Harder They Fall The Harder They Fall may refer to: * ''The Harder They Fall'' (1956 film), an American boxing film noir directed by Mark Robson. * ''The Harder They Fall'' (2021 film), an American Western film directed by Jeymes Samuel. * "The Harder They Fall", ...

'' (2021), and '' Emergency'' (2022) as well as the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series ''

I'm Dying Up Here ''I'm Dying Up Here'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by David Flebotte. The pilot was written by Flebotte and directed by Jonathan Levine. It premiered on Showtime on June 4, 2017. The series is executive produced by Flebo ...

'' (2017–2018) and '' Scream: Resurrection'' (2019).

Early life

Cyler was raised in Jacksonville, Florida, the youngest of three children of Katina, a cook, and Ronald Cyler, a truck driver. His parents, who were working but struggling, sold what they had to move from Florida to California in 2013. They were homeless until shortly before Cyler was cast in his role in ''Me and Earl and the Dying Girl''. Cyler finished high school in California.

Career

In 2013, Cyler appeared in the

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

''Second Chances''. In 2015, Cyler got his biggest acting break when he co-starred in the film ''

'', based on the book of the same name by

Jesse Andrews Jesse Andrews (born September 15, 1982) is an American novelist and screenwriter. He co-wrote the screenplay for ''Luca'' and wrote both the novel and the feature-film adaptation of ''Me and Earl and the Dying Girl''. Personal life Andrews w ...

. The film had its world premiere at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

on January 25, 2015. Shortly after the premiere, Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired distribution rights for the film and released it on June 12, 2015. In 2016, Cyler appeared in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series '' Vice Principals''. Cyler played

autistic The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

blue ranger Billy Cranston in Lionsgate Films' 2017 reboot of the ''

''. Cyler part of the ensemble of ''

'', a

drama executive-produced by

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...

, which ran from 2017 to 2018. In 2018, he co-starred in the drama film '' White Boy Rick'', directed by

Yann Demange Yann Demange (born 1977) is a French film director of French and Algerian parents, who grew up in London. After directing the well-received television series ''Dead Set'' (2008) and ''Top Boy'' (2011), he made his directorial film debut with the cr ...

, about

Richard Wershe Jr. Richard Wershe Jr. (born July 18, 1969), known as "White Boy Rick", is an American former drug trafficker and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant. The youngest known informant in the history of the FBI, Wershe became a confidential in ...

On September 13, 2017, it was announced that Cyler joined as a series regular in the third season of the

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

slasher television series ''

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

''. He starred in the lead role of Deion Elliot. The season premiered on July 8, 2019. In 2018, Cyler starred as Dan in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

comedy-drama film, ''

Sierra Burgess Is a Loser ''Sierra Burgess Is a Loser'' is an American teen comedy-drama film directed by Ian Samuels from a screenplay by Lindsey Beer. The film is a modern retelling of the 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' by Edmond Rostand, and stars Shannon Purser, Kr ...

''. On November 13, 2018, Cyler was cast in a recurring role on the second season of the CW series ''

Black Lightning Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Tony Isabella and artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' #1 (April 1977), during ...

''. In January 2019, Cyler was reportedly cast in the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

horror series, '' Swamp Thing''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cyler, Ronald 1995 births Living people Male actors from Jacksonville, Florida American male television actors African-American male actors American male film actors 21st-century American male actors 21st-century African-American people