BIOGRAPHY
RJ Cyler hit the scene as a lead in ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival to a standing ovation where it pulled off a rare double coup — winning both the ‘Grand Jury Prize’ and the ‘Dramatic Audience Award’, which resulted in an acquisition by Fox Searchlight. He received a Critic's Choice Best Young Performer nomination for his performance. It was during the film’s production, which followed a brief period during which RJ and his family were unhoused, that he decided to make acting his full-time career.
He received international acclaim after portraying the first superhero character on the autism spectrum — Blue Ranger, Billy Cranston in the 2017 Lionsgate's POWER RANGERS reboot. His emotional portrayal of the Ranger fan-favorite earned him a 2017 Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Scene Stealer.
More recently RJ can be seen as the lead in EMERGENCY, which premiered at Sundance 2022, and released in theaters and on Amazon Prime Video. He also starred in Jeymes Samuel’s 2021 acclaimed Western THE HARDER THEY FALL, alongside Idris Elba, Regina King, Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz and Lakeith Stanfield which earned the 2022 NAACP Image Awards and National Board of Review for Best Ensemble Cast.
RJ once again teamed up with Jeymes Samuel on THE BOOK OF CLARENCE, which shot last fall alongside Lakeith Stanfield, James McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Omar Sy. He can also be seen starring in RAP SH!T, HBO Max’s hit comedy series about an aspiring female rap group, executive produced by Issa Rae. RJ made his executive producing debut and also starred in FREEDOM’S PATH, a Brett Smith-directed Civil War drama set in and around the Underground Railroad.
His film credits also include Netflix’s SIERRA BURGESS IS A LOSER and WHITE BOY RICK, a crime-drama starring alongside Matthew McConaughey. In television, RJ has starred in Showtime’s I’M DYING UP HERE and season three of VH1’s SCREAM: THE SERIES, as well as recurring roles in HBO’s VICE PRINCIPALS and The CW’s BLACK LIGHTNING.