Joseph Cameron Finley (born August 30, 1987) is an American former

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...

and molecular biologist. While receiving accolades for his work in ''

Hope Floats ''Hope Floats'' is a 1998 American drama film directed by Forest Whitaker and starring Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr., and Gena Rowlands. Written by Steven Rogers and Brandine Spuckler, the story follows Birdee (Bullock), an unassuming hous ...

'', ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann, ...

'', '' One True Love'', and ''

Perfect Game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

'', he is most known for his role as Theodore 'Beaver' Cleaver in the 1997 film '' Leave It to Beaver'' based upon the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

by the same name.

Background

Finley was born in

Garland, Texas Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is located within Dallas County except for small portions located in Collin and Rockwall Counties. At the ...

, the son of Lexa Iann (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Aulgur), a spiritual healer, and Charles David "Chuck" Finley, a

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

developer. He has two siblings, Taz and Stopher. When he was three, he was taken by his parents to an acting seminar near his home. He continued acting until the age of 12, at which time he chose to quit acting so he could go to school full-time and "be a normal kid". Finley attended

Moorpark High School Moorpark High School is a comprehensive public secondary school located in the Mountain Meadows neighborhood of Moorpark, Ventura County, California, and serves students from grades 9 through 12. It is part of the Moorpark Unified School Distric ...

. He graduated in 2010 from

UC San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

with a degree in molecular biology. He currently resides in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, NY.

Career

Finley starred in his first national commercial, for

Shell Oil Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yor ...

, when he was three years old and living with his family in the Dallas suburb of

. He also featured in commercials for such companies as

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...

, Shout, and Brink's Security. Finley acted in the films ''

What's Eating Gilbert Grape ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis and Darlene Cates. It follows 25-year-old Gilbert (Depp), a grocery store cler ...

'', ''

A Perfect World ''A Perfect World'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who takes a young boy ( T. J. Lowther) hostage and attempts to escape on the road with the child. Eastwood co-stars ...

'', ''

8 Seconds ''8 Seconds'' is a 1994 American contemporary Western biographical drama film directed by John G. Avildsen. Its title refers to the length of time a bull rider is required to stay on for a ride to be scored. It stars Luke Perry as American rodeo le ...

'', and appeared as a guest on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' on three occasions. In 1997, after beating out more than 5,000 other boys in a nationwide search, Finley played the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

in the '' Leave It to Beaver'' film. He then appeared in ''

'' as Travis, a sad child who dresses up as a dozen different characters ranging from

Barney the Dinosaur ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomo ...

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

. In 1995 Finley was one of the 3,000 actors that auditioned for the role of young Anakin Skywalker in '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace''. Finley also starred in the 2000 direct-to-video Disney movie ''

'', in which he played Kanin, a boy driven by the ghost of his deceased father to show that he can play baseball as well as anyone on the championship Little League team. Since leaving acting in 2000, Cameron graduated from high school and went to study at the University of California, San Diego. He has worked as a researcher in molecular biology, and has published a number of academic research articles in his field.

Filmography

Film

Television

Recognition

Awards and nominations

* 1998, won Lone Star Film & Television Awards 'Rising Star Actor' * 1998, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' YoungStar Awards nomination for 'Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy Film' for '' Leave It to Beaver'' * 1998, ''The Hollywood Reporter'' YoungStar Awards nomination for 'Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy Film' for ''

'' * 1998,

Young Artist Awards The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

nomination for 'Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor Age Ten or Under' for ''Leave It to Beaver'' * 1999, Young Artist Awards nomination for 'Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor Age Ten or Under' for ''Hope Floats'' * 2000, Young Artist Awards nomination for 'Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Supporting Young Actor' for ''

'' * 2001, Young Artist Awards nomination for 'Best Performance in a TV Movie (Drama) - Supporting Young Actor' for '' One True Love'' * 2001, Won 'Best Child Actor' at

International Family Film Festival International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(formerly Santa Clarita International Film Festival) for ''

References

External links

*
Unofficial Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finley, Cameron 1987 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American molecular biologists Male actors from Texas People from Garland, Texas University of California, San Diego alumni