Nickelodeon Star Jace Norman Is Venturing Into Business
Nickelodeon Star Jace Norman |
When he’s not playing a beloved TV superhero on
Nickelodeon’s Henry Danger, Jace Norman is somewhere expanding his horizons and this we confirm.
The idea seemed like a natural one for Norman.
“Entrepreneurship was always something I really wanted to do, I just didn’t
know how to fully break into it,” he explains. “My dad was an entrepreneur as
well.
He didn’t go to college and had dyslexia, and I also have dyslexia. It
was calling me a little bit. But being in the entertainment industry, and
seeing that transition from old media to new media, from TV to internet and how
ads are being sold, kind of having a pulse on that … it made me think maybe I
should jump on this.”
The Nickelodeon star, teamed up with his business partner,
former NBA agent Michael Gruen, points out the apparent disconnect between
social media stars and the products they promote. “It’s more about the
inauthenticity of it. These people follow their favorite celebrities because
they like their style, their brand, what they have to say. They like who they
are. So if there’s no authenticity to the influencer, it doesn’t make sense to
even run an ad,” Norman tells Us. “They don’t care, and if anything, the
company will just annoy them. That’s the opposite of what they want when they
pay a lot of money to get their company in front of these people.”
The Kids’ Choice Award winner, who is just two months shy of
his 18th birthday, acknowledges that some companies may be hesitant to get on
board, at first. “I think that just kind of comes with the territory. You go to
these corporations and they have their style of doing things and you kind of
have to prove … You can’t just be like, ‘Hey, I’m a kid and I’m starting a
company. This is why you should believe me.’ You have to show them,” Norman
says. “I think it’s an uphill battle, but it’s worth it.
The struggle to find seamless integration between content
creators and brands is still ongoing, and it’s something Norman hopes to facilitate.
“This has only been around a couple years,” he explains. “The old way of doing
things on TV has been around for 50 years. In perspective, we’re at the
beginning of it. It’s not an established business model.”
This new venture isn’t the only thing keeping him busy. He’s
still under contract with Nickelodeon. And with four seasons of Henry Danger
under his belt, he’s now voicing a spinoff cartoon version of the series —
which he calls “kind of crazy because I used to watch Nickelodeon cartoons as a
kid and now I am one” — and recently produced a movie for the network titled Blurt .
“I spent my high
school years on the show and those are very pivotal years in my life,” he said.
“I learned a lot just from experiencing life growing up in this crazy industry.
In the long run, it was worth it. But it can be scary.”
And even though he’s getting into the business of marketing,
“Acting is 100 percent still a big passion for me,” Norman says. “I hope I get
lucky enough and work hard enough to do both. I think that would be amazing, so
that’s what I’m working for. I want to express myself fully and this is the way
to do it.”
The up-coming businessman wants to show young fans that you
can prosper even if your talents didn’t necessarily translate in the classroom.
“I had dyslexia. I wasn’t very good at school, grade-wise,” he reveals. “So I
just want to show that you can be successful. It doesn’t mean you’re not smart,
even though now it doesn’t look like that. That’s how it was for me, at least.”
Norman’s goals know no bounds at this point. “I guess I feel
like this is a little bit of a transition year for me. Norman is turning 18
years old and has done four years of Henry Danger; “My goal is to explore and
get outside and see what life’s about.
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