Uriah Shelton (born March 10, 1997) is an American teen actor and aspiring country singer, who despite being born in Dallas, Texas, moved to Magnolia Springs, Alabama, a small river community about 40 miles south of Mobile,, about a month after his birth with his family.
Growing up, Shelton pursued interests in martial arts, piano, and soccer. At the age of 7, he took a modeling class with his cousin, Charli. This led to a talent competition in Orlando, after which he was pursued by multiple agencies in New York and Los Angeles. Realizing that he'd come to love acting, he and his mother decided to move to Los Angeles to embark upon his professional career.
He immediately began working in commercials but also focused on his love of martial arts, which resulted in him becoming the 2006 ATA Tae Kwon Do California State Champion in all categories, including sparring and extreme weapons.
Having accomplished his goal Uriah returned his full attention to acting, where he began working on TV shows, including Without a Trace, The Ghost Whisperer, Mad TV, Dirty Sexy Money, The Suite Life, Monk, Trust Me, Trauma, Hallmark's The Nanny Express, and the independent feature Alabama Moon.
Shelton starred the lead role of Henry Matthews in the movie Lifted, a story about a singer whose family life is disrupted when his Marine father is deployed to Afghanistan. The boy, despite many obstacles, is inspired to compete in a teen singing competition. The film was the inaugural film of producer Deborah Del Prete's Coronet Films. Written and directed by Lexi Alexander (Green Street Hooligans, Punisher: War Zone), in which he plays a young singing sensation alongside music greats Ruben Studdard and Trace Adkins. Shelton wrote and sang the song "I Miss You," in the movie.
Shelton also appears in the A&E drama, The Glades, a show about a Chicago detective who moved to South Florida with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement after being falsely accused of sleeping with his captain's wife. He plays Jeff Cargill, the rebellious son of female nurse and love-interest played by Kiele Sanchez.
He trains in wushu, XMA (Extreme Martial Arts), guitar, ballet, and hip hop.
Roles
- Ring of Death as Tommy Wyatt
- The Nanny Express as Ben Chandler
- Opposite Day as Security Guard
- Alabama Moon as Kit
- Lifted as Henry Matthews
- Lower Learning as Prep School Kid
- Without a Trace as Brett Henbdricks
- Ghost Whisperer as Young William
- Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight as Dakoda
- Little Monkas Brian
- The Suite Life on Deck as Prince Jeffy
- Trust Me as Jack McGuire
- Trauma as Rudy
- The Glades as Jeff Cargill
- R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour as Pete
- Last Man Standing as Ben Milbauer
- Blue (YouTube Series) as Josh
Tropes
- The Cutie: mostly in his younger years, particularly in his roles in The Glades and Lifted.
- Insufferable Genius: as Josh in Blue.
- Hormone-Addled Teenager: as a 13 year old high school freshman, Josh is inevitably curious about sex and intimacy, hence his occasionally watching porn and constantly bombarding his mother Blue with awkward questions. Josh also becomes attracted to an older girl named Francesca by the web show's second season, and it can be implied that their relationship has more than reached a physical level.
- Military Brat: portrayed one in Lifted as Henry Matthews, who enters a singing competition as a means of coping with his father's deployment.
