Most of us can relate to the following thoughts while scrolling through Netflix: Saw it, saw it, boring, dumb, and finally, ooh, I’ll watch this one. One of our CIHS juniors, Nate McIntyre, has the unique experience of thinking: Saw it, saw it, boring, dumb, and finally, ooh, I was IN this one.

You have probably walked by Nate one hundred times in the hallway and had no idea that you were walking by someone who walks the red carpet on the weekend. This is mostly due to Nate’s personality and desire to just be a “regular” teenager when he is not on the set. While many young actors choose to be home-schooled when they are working on set, Nate chooses to maintain his CIHS student status as much as his schedule allows. His place on the honor roll is even more impressive when you realize that he kept his grades up while memorizing his scripts, practicing his lines, and flying back and forth to Los Angeles. 

Many people his age would find themselves too distracted by the spotlight to focus on school, but Nate manages to balance it all. This may be due to the fact that the spotlight is not new to Nate. He landed his first job as a model at the age of 7. He appeared in ads and on toy boxes, in magazines, and even on a billboard in Times Square. At the age of 9, he was chosen for the role of Simba in The Lion King on Broadway. 

Our Rapier reporters asked Nate what it was like to live a double life; one of a typical student, and one of an actor. His response was given with his characteristic shrug and smile. “It is hard to balance, but it is just part of it,” Nate explained. 

Maybe it is this understanding of what it is like to lead a double life that makes Nate’s performance as Seren in David Makes Man so real. If you haven’t seen it yet, you need to catch up on Season One because Season Two is on its way. The show can be seen on OWN or streamed online at Oprah.com where it is described as a story that “centers on a 14-year-old prodigy from the projects who is haunted by the death of his closest friend and relied on by his hardworking mother to find a way out of poverty. He must choose between the streets that raised him or the higher education that may offer him a way out.” 

Nate’s description of the show gave less details about the plot and more detail about the emotional impact. Nate said simply,  “It is a journey; David wants to make it out to provide for his family.”  Nate plays the role of David’s best friend, Seren, who goes through a lot at home and Nate calls David Seren’s “safe place.” Alan Sepinwall, of the magazine Rolling Stone, writes about the “magical realism” that makes the show so interesting to watch. If you love a powerful story told in a beautiful way, you need to check out Season One. 

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/app/david-makes-man.html#ixzz6GJPpPW2D

***Edited to add: The importance of story telling cannot be ignored in today’s social and political climate. We, at the Rapier, thank Nate for the work he is doing to make sure stories that are difficult to tell get told and stories that are difficult to hear get heard. #CIPride