Nickelodeon’s new show “Knight Squad” is filled with knights, princesses, sword fights, daring adventures and a familiar face: Norman’s own Owen Joyner.
Joyner, a 17-year-old actor who was raised in Norman, plays Arc in “Knight Squad,” one of the show’s main characters. The show follows the adventures of two students, Arc and Ciara, at a magical school for knights-in-training.
Before his time in Hollywood, Joyner began acting at the Sooner Theatre in roles like Curly in “Oklahoma!” and Glen in “The Wedding Singer.”
Dinah Joyner-Gantz, Owen Joyner’s mother, said that her son fell in love with acting the first time she took him to the theater to see a musical that his best friend was in. Joyner was only 9 years old, but the trip sparked something inside of him.
“When he entered the theater, he became a different child,” Joyner-Gantz said. “He bloomed, and his personality opened up.”
Joyner-Gantz said her son was encouraged by the staff at the Sooner Theatre to audition, even though he was still more interested in playing baseball at the time. He landed the role and fell in love with acting.
Brandon Adams, a teacher at the Sooner Theatre, described Joyner as a hard worker and someone who is always willing to help. Adams said he was not all that surprised when he heard about Joyner’s success in Hollywood.
“It was a 'when' this was going to happen, not an 'if.' You just knew with his talent,” Adams said. “There are certain things you can teach, then there are other things you either have or you don’t. Owen has that.”
Joyner-Gantz said the Sooner Theatre gave Joyner the foundation he needed for his current acting career.
“I think the Sooner Theatre really helped with the hard work,” Joyner-Gantz said. “People don’t realize how hard it is to rehearse, repeat, remember notes and make sure you remember certain scenes. It’s a pretty exact skill, and I think people forget that.”
Joyner did face challenges, though. Joyner-Gantz said that, in Oklahoma, a lot of boys do not act. When Joyner would go to baseball games while still wearing stage makeup, Joyner-Gantz said that he would get picked on by other children, and even the coach would comment.
Nonetheless, Joyner never let it get him down.
“He was so passionate about acting that there was nothing that would have made him change his mind, regardless of what people said,” Joyner-Gantz said.
Owen Joyner said that from the beginning, the Sooner Theatre has been his home away from home. The people he met there helped him discover who he really was, he said.
“I really found my best friends there,” Joyner said. “I found the people that loved me for who I was. I could always be myself around them, and they would never judge me. I never had to pretend to be some guy who loves football and wants to come over on Saturdays with the guys. That was never who I was. Instead, I could go and watch the Tonys, which we were all super excited for.”
But, most importantly, Joyner said the Sooner Theatre helped foster his love for acting.
“I wouldn’t know acting without the Sooner Theatre,” Joyner said. “I definitely wouldn’t have gone into film. I’d probably be at OU right now majoring in engineering or something. I’d be far away from acting, so I definitely owe that to (the theater).”
