NAVASOTA’S REYEZ LIVING THE ACTING DREAM “ACTION PACK” TO AIR ON NETFLIX

Twelve-year-old Navasota resident Oscar Reyez has wanted to act most of his young life. While the Disney Channel’s “Austin & Ally” may have triggered the acting bug, it was the encouragement of a teacher and support of his parents that led to Reyez’ appearing in national commercials for Toyota and Walmart and roles in series like “How to Get Away with Murder” and “The Big Wish.” Oscar’s latest role is that of Watts in “Action Pack” airing on Netflix Jan. 4.

“I wanna do that!”

Oscar loves following his dream but understands that it hasn’t come without sacrifice for his parents, Daniel Reyez and Itzel Correa, longtime Navasota residents. They both knew there was something unique about their little boy with his infectious grin.

Itzel said, “He’s always been this goofy, outgoing kid and I remember telling him to please act normal in the store. ‘Don’t start making dinosaur noises and drawing attention.’ But it’s important to be true to yourself and be who you are.”

Oscar said, “They put me in soccer and they called me ‘the distractor.’ I talked to the opponent instead of paying attention to the game.”

By the third grade, he knew what he wanted to do with his life but it was teacher, Christy Cox, who gave him that extra bit of encouragement.

Oscar said, “She was my favorite teacher. She was the person who told me I could do anything as long as I put my mind to it.”

The direction of Oscar’s life came to head during a conversation in the car while driving to College Station.

Itzel said, “We were looking for another hobby, something to keep him busy throughout the summer and sports just really wasn’t working.”

Oscar said, “My dad was saying football. My mom was saying gymnastics. While they were talking, I heard on the radio…’Want to be a model or an actor, come to Nikki Pederson Talent now!’ I knew that’s what I wanted to do and so I yelled it out but they didn’t hear the radio. The next day my mom found it on Facebook.”

The audition

According to Itzel, it was the last day of auditions and she and Daniel had a lengthy conversation about whether or not to go, what to do if selected and whether or not Oscar “would put everything he had into the program and not drop out.” Once selected, they had an hour to make a decision. Over a family meal, they made the life-changing decision to move forward.

At age eight, Oscar began his yearlong training program with Nikki Pederson learning the basics about acting, improv, auditions, calls backs and what to expect in California.

Itzel said, “Going through the program, we did see some kids decide it wasn’t the route they wanted to take. We saw some who took the musical route writing music or singing, also theater. There’s a lot of work that goes into it. There’s a lot of struggles.”

Oscar added, “I knew it was something I really, really wanted to do.”

Plus, minuses

Daniel and Oscar left for California in 2018 until Covid sent them home to Navasota. Oscar loved the auditions and being on television but said the downside was his family being separated for long periods of time. Itzel said, “It was a struggle

Itzel said, “It was a struggle sending them because there were months at a time that I wouldn’t see my son. I’d fly out there as much as I could but that definitely got expensive and it was difficult to take off from work. Right now, I’m happy that he’s home and able to work from home.”

Daniel took some acting lessons to better serve as Oscar’s coach and teacher. He’s on the set at all times because Oscar is underage. Itzel helps with auditions and provides financial support. Oscar has a manager and a team of agents who specialize in commercials, or movies, or animation and submit only age-appropriate scripts over which the parents have the last word.

Daniel said, “There are different agencies submitting 5,000-6,000 kids and only 100 get to audition. From that 100, it narrows down to a call-back to audition for a producer or director to 40-50.”

From there, it’s narrowed down to the 2-3 kids as to who gets the part.

Itzel pointed out that while Oscar received his first national commercial with Toyota within three weeks, there are “a lot of No’s.

She said, “There are different seasons. It slows down at some point and then it picks back up. You have to be patient.”

Adult themes?

For those devotees of the Netflix series “How to Get Away with Murder,” Oscar appeared in Season 6. So, how is a child actor shielded from adult themes? According to Daniel, Oscar’s parts are filmed separately.

Daniel said, “When we leave the set, they film everything else.”

According to mom, even Oscar gets starstruck, and loved working with actress Viola Davis and the other actors.

While most interactions have been positive, Daniel doesn’t want Oscar to forget his smalltown roots.

He said, “There have been some people we’ve met that are rude and we want to make sure he stays humble. We show him the difference saying, ‘Make sure you’re nice to everyone.’”

Action Pack airs Jan. 4

Adding to his growing list of credits is his new 36-episode Netflix series, Action Pack. Oscar said, “It’s about a team

Oscar said, “It’s about a team of superheroes who are going to the Action Academy. I feel like this could be a very good learning experience for all kids. It’s superheroes teaching while saving the world.”

While the first two episodes were filmed in California, because of the pandemic, the remaining episodes were filmed at home in Navasota in a closet. Oscar’s method is to “figure out the character, memorize the script, then put the emotion in and bring it to life.”

For other young acting hopefuls, Daniel said, “Don’t compare yourself to other people and don’t lose hope.”

Oscar is cognizant of the sacrifices his parents have made and said, “My whole goal is to inspire other kids to follow their dream because I was glad, I could follow mine.”