Damon J. Gillespie Latest News, Photos, and Videos

Kylie Jefferson is making her on-screen debut in the upcoming Netflix series Tiny Pretty Things!

The ballet dancer stars as Nevaeh Stroyer in the new show, which is being described as Black Swan meets Pretty Little Liars.

It’s based off of the book by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton, and is set in the world of an elite ballet academy and charts the rise and fall of young adults who live far from their homes, each standing on the verge of greatness or ruin.

As Chicago’s only elite dance school, the Archer School of Ballet serves as the company school for the city’s renowned professional company: City Works Ballet. The Archer School is an oasis for an array of dancers: rich and poor, from north and south, and a range of backgrounds. Yet they all share a rare talent and passion for dance, a loyal sense of community… and when it comes to their dreams, no Plan B.

When tragedy strikes at Chicago’s most prestigious ballet school, where every dancer is both friend and foe who compete fiercely for coveted roles, it threatens to unravel close friendships and to expose a constellation of secrets that could bring down a world-renowned institution.

Tiny Pretty Things also stars Damon J Gillespie, Casimere Jollette, Barton Cowperthwaite, Daniela Norman, Lauren Holly, Michael Hsu Rosen, Brennan Clost, Jess Salgueiro, Bayardo De Murguia, Tory Trowbridge, Anna Maiche, Shaun Benson, along with Josh Pyman, Araya Mengesha, Tiler Peck and Karen Robinson. The series will premiere on December 14th on Netflix!

Damon J. Gillespie has landed a role in the new series Tiny Pretty Things!

The 24-year-old actor has joined the cast of the ballet show as Caleb, a lean and handsome dancer who uses his ready humor and undeniable talent, in order to mask his struggles with a profound loss — and a secret that could unravel the institution, Deadline reports.

Tiny Pretty Things is based off of the book of the same name, and is set in the world of an elite ballet academy and charts the rise and fall of young adults who live far from their homes, each standing on the verge of greatness or ruin. As Chicago’s only elite dance school, the Archer School of Ballet serves as the company school for the city’s renowned professional company: City Works Ballet. The Archer School is an oasis for an array of dancers: rich and poor, from north and south, and a range of backgrounds. Yet they all share a rare talent and passion for dance, a loyal sense of community… and when it comes to their dreams, no Plan B.

The show also stars Lauren Holly, Kylie Jefferson, Casimere Jollette, Daniela Norman, Brennan Clost, Michael Hsu Rosen, Bayardo De Murguia, Barton Cowperthwaite, Tory Trowbridge, and Jess Salgueiro.

Filming is currently underway in Toronto with a premiere set for Netflix in 2020.

Auli’i Cravalho joins Damon J. Gillespie at the 2018 NBCUniversal Summer Press Day on Wednesday afternoon (May 2) in Universal City, Calif.

Speaking with CNBC recently, the 17-year-old Rise actress opened up about how she’s saving every penny she’s earned since her breakout in Moana – and how she hasn’t made a huge purchase yet.

“I have not treated myself with any of my paychecks at all,” Auli’i shared. “I’m still in high school, so thinking about college, putting that away.”

College is the number one thing on her mind, too.

“Growing up in Hawaii I thought, ‘Well, somewhere in the mainland, somewhere where I can make it big and get a really good education. Now I’m looking at NYU, I’m looking at Julliard because, well, Julliard is Julliard,” she says.

Auli’i adds, “I’m realizing college applications are kind of sucky. They’re really hard. But I know they’re well worth it.”

FYI: Auli’i is wearing Alexis Bittar jewelry and Sam Edelman shoes.

20+ pics inside of Auli’i Cravalho and Damon J. Gillespie…

Auli’i Cravalho is silhouetted by the lights while performing on The Voice on Tuesday night (April 24).

The 17-year-old actress was joined by her Rise cast, including Damon J. Gillespie, Shannon Purser, Amy Forsyth and more for their performance of “Scars To Your Beautiful” by Alessia Cara.

“Wow, we did THAT! What a surreal experience,” Shannon wrote on Instagram afterwards.

Auli’i added, “So proud to have covered a power anthem like ‘Scars to Your Beautiful’, music connects us in the best, most truthful way.”

Watch the full performance below!

Damon J. Gillespie and his fiancee Grace Aki stick close together on the red carpet at the premiere of A Quiet Place held at AMC Lincoln Square Theater in New York City on Monday night (April 2).

Just hours before, the Rise actor was seen out with co-star Auli’i Cravalho, promoting their new NBC series.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Damon J. Gillespie

Damon and Grace, who just recently announced their engagement, actually got engaged on the Rise set!

Grace shared the sweet story in a cute Instagram post. Check it out below:

Auli’i Cravalho and Damon J. Gillespie pose together just outside of the Build Series studios in New York City on Monday morning (April 2).

The two Rise actors appeared on the program to chat about their new NBC series. You can watch their interview below!

Speaking with THR just recently, Auli’i and Damon opened up about how their on-screen friendship turned into a strong bond off-screen as well.

“He’s fantastic,” Auli’i says of Damon. “I’m really grateful to have a co-star that I trust in the sense where I’ve never played a character in this particular field.”

He added that their friendship has only gotten stronger since they started to film the show.

“Now that we’ve done more of the show, we’ve gotten to have a lot more encounters just she and I, so we have more time to talk, and we have more time to really form a really close friendship,” Damon shared. “…It’s really blossoming into a really pleasant friendship.”

20+ pics inside of Auli’i Cravalho and Damon J. Gillespie…

With only one episode, Rise has quickly become one of our fave new TV shows, and yes, we get little Glee vibes, but it’s definitely not Glee.

Stars Auli’i Cravalho and Damon J. Gillespie are here to remind us of that too.

“We’re very different. We’re a show within a show,” Auli’i shared in a recent interview. “We’re putting on Spring Awakening within Rise. The real heart of the show is in fact the students and Lou, the teacher, and Tracy and how they’re coming together and really inspiring everyone. And then we also have the musical aspect.”

Damon joked that they’re “not gonna randomly break out into song like some of the other musical shows or movies that we’ve seen.”

He added, “The music serves either as an underscore or a parallel to what’s going on outside of the theater. But it’s a lot like Friday Night Lights. It wasn’t all about football — it was about these people’s lives around what’s going on.”

Get a sneak peek of what’s going on in tonight’s new episode in the gallery below!

Rise airs @ 9PM ET/PT on NBC.