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ISAIAH CREWS JUST WANTS TO MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
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nown for lighting up red carpets with his fashion style, 15-year-old actor and musician Isaiah Crews is following in the footsteps of his father, Terry Crews, as he shares his comedic chops on Nickelodeon’s “Side Hustle.” Airing at 8:30 p.m. Saturdays, the popular teen series was written by Dave Malkoff (“Sam & Cat,” “Victorious”) and John Beck and Ron Hart (“Fuller House,” “Liv and Maddie”). When Isaiah heard about their participation, he was sold on the role of Isaiah Crews stars in “Side Hustle” with Munchy. Annie LeBlanc and Jayden Bartels. “I watched John and Ron’s shows growing up, like ‘Liv and Maddie,’” Isaiah says. “I was very excited to work with them.” “Side Hustle” stars social media sensations and real-life best friends Annie LeBlanc and Jayden Bartels. The show follows Lex (LeBlanc) and Presley (Bartels) along with their quirky friend, Munchy, after they find themselves in a sticky situation after an accidental mishap destroys the police vehicle belonging to Munchy’s dad. Forced to come up with creative ways to earn money to pay for the damages, the best friends enlist the help of Presley’s tech-savvy younger brother, Fisher (Mitchell Berg), to create an app called “Kid-DING” to connect with people looking for help with small jobs. With Munchy’s bossy older brother Jaget (Jacques Chevelle) making sure they keep up with the payments, the three friends must do any jobs that come their way — no matter how crazy they are. Isaiah’s character has been compared to Steve Urkel of “Family Matters” and Screech of “Saved by the Bell.” A Pasadena resident, Isaiah says he sees similarities between himself and Munchy. But there are differences as well. “I’m not as goofy as Munchy,” he says. “I just want to make people laugh, though. That’s my only goal. That’s what I have my heart set on. It’s cool that people from all over the world have the chance to watch us. I also like being someone I’m not. It’s all in good fun.” A fixture on TV sets around the country since he was 5 years old on the BET reality series “The Family Crews,” Isaiah starred in national ad campaigns and appeared at the Gamer Awards in 2018. When he is not on set, Isaiah plays the drums and bass and sings. He’s also an accomplished dancer, and he studies coding. An avid gamer, he built a PC from scratch with his dad that went viral. “I started taking music seriously last year,” says Isaiah, who looks up to Tyler, the Creator; Sarah, the Illstrumentalist; and Jaden Smith. “It was around the same time we started filming ‘Side Hustle.’ It’s very hard to make music. That’s why I have so much respect for other artists. I’m going to try to keep doing music, though.” A self-described perfectionist, Isaiah melds his music tastes with fashion. He hopes to create his own clothing someday, “if I get popular enough,” he says with a laugh. Fans direct message him frequently on Instagram, and most of them compliment him on his clothing. Others, Isaiah adds, are mean, but he just ignores it. “I never thought I would make it this far, honestly,” he says about his career. “It just took so long. It took four years to book this role. I’m glad I did it. I just love how goofy Munchy is. I like doing goofy stuff. It lifts people’s spirits, and we need that these days.”
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