Learning about the unique talents, experiences, and lives of students is perhaps the best part of working for an online school like IVLA. We’ve previously featured students who have accomplished all sorts of triumphs in areas such as photography, motocross, gymnastics, and much more. When education doesn’t restrict students to a specific location or schedule, there are limitless possibilities to the life they may lead. For this reason, IVLA has become a popular choice of online high school for actors. One great example of this is Joshua Caleb Johnson, a talented young actor quickly making his way on the big screen. He also happens to be an IVLA student.

Joshua Caleb Johnson - Actor Snapshot

Joshua not only maintains a stellar academic record, but is also building an impressive acting portfolio. From recurring roles on ABC’s Black-ish and TNT’s Animal Kingdom, to feature films and even appearing in a Madden NFL video game, Joshua is quickly becoming a star in the making. Even this early in his career, he has already won awards such as Best Male Actor in an Academy Award winning short film called It’s Just a Gun.

Good Lord Bird, 2020

Joshua has recently dedicated a great amount of time to starring in another upcoming project. Airing on March 15th, 2020 on Showtime, Good Lord Bird is an 8-hour mini series of a book adaptation by James McBride. Joshua shared the plot with us through his perspective and the character he plays:

"It is the story of a 12-year-old slave who is kidnapped by abolitionist, John Brown, who mistakes him for a girl. The character’s name is Onion, AKA Henry Shackleford, who lives in disguise as a girl for more than two years in order to survive. The story is told by young Onion who takes the audience not just on a historic journey of the story of John Brown, but an emotional journey as he grows up and encounters violence, war, love, and dangerous situations."

A Typical Day for Actor Joshua Caleb Johnson - Balancing Online School and Work

Joshua Caleb Johnson and Wesley Snipes

"I usually get a good night's rest and start my school work mid to late morning and try to finish 3 units of a subject each day. I have to work on my other skills as well as taking drum lessons, parkour lessons, karate lessons, playing football and basketball, and going to the gym several times a week. My mental and physical health are extremely important. I often spend hours preparing for auditions. When working on a project, I work 9.5 hours a day and spend weekends prepping lines and characters."

How an Online High School Works for Actors

Joshua says that being a child actor has been one of the most rewarding experiences in his life thus far. He loves performing, creating characters, and getting to express himself in the delivery of those characters.

Joshua Caleb Johnson and Ethan Hawke

A difficult time of any child actor's parent's life is deciding if and when to make their child's career goals a top priority in life. For some it may be as early as elementary or middle school. Online high school, for actors, is often common in order to give their future career the full attention and dedication it needs to succeed. While it is definitely possible for students to have similar rewarding experiences through school plays or performing around traditional school schedules, Joshua is able to take his craft to a new level by taking advantage of an online school.

"IVLA has been a blessing as they allow me to fulfill both my duties as a student as well as an actor, being flexible and supportive of my craft. I needed a program that would allow me to pursue my professional goals as well as challenge me academically."

We are so proud of Joshua and his drive to succeed in both his academic and and acting career. We can't wait to see what else he will accomplish!