Kolton Stewart

From Drumsticks to a Toronto Soundstage

Kolton Stewart didn't start out waiting for a casting agent's call in a Toronto office. By age six, he was already sitting behind a drum kit and winning national percussion competitions in Canada. That sense of rhythm gave him a competitive edge when he decided to try his luck in front of the cameras.

In 2014, he landed the role of Jarvis Raines in the series Some Assembly Required. It was his first long-term contract and the foundation of his professional training. For three seasons, he led a teen comedy that demanded mastery of physical humor and quick-witted delivery in front of a live audience.

He won a Young Artist Award for that role.

But Stewart didn't want to get stuck in the typical child-star mold. In 2017, he joined the series The Next Step as Chad. It was a strategic move to keep his presence on Canadian television while looking for projects with a more mature, darker tone in the American market.

The Leap to Maturity in Streaming

His real change of direction came with the arrival of global streaming platforms in his acting history. In 2020, he joined the cast of Locke & Key to play Brinker Martin. The Netflix series allowed him to explore fantasy from a far grittier angle than his earlier work in children's programming.

And the gamble paid off.

In 2022, he appeared in Sneakerella for Disney+. In this production, he was able to combine his two passions, since the script demanded high-level musical and choreographic skills. Specialist critics noted that his physical presence on screen had become much stronger compared with his years in cable television.

In 2023, his name appeared in the credits of Gen V, the spin-off of the The Boys franchise. He played Troy in a storyline that moves far away from any family-friendly content. It's a world of corrupt superheroes where violence and cynicism drive every action sequence.

Acting isn't everything.

Their Own Rhythm and Creative Control

His music career has run alongside his acting from the very beginning. In 2021, he released his EP Effortless as an independent project. He prefers to manage his own schedule in the recording studio rather than submit to the commercial demands of a major multinational record label.

Stewart usually records most of his demos in his own home studio to keep full control over the sound. He is a technically trained musician who understands the industry from a self-managed perspective. This side of him lets him choose his film roles with a freedom that other actors of his generation don't have.

In 2024, he took part in the shoot of the film The Invisibles, directed by Andrew Staniland. The production had a tight budget and focused on a science fiction drama filmed mainly on locations in Ontario.

The contract for his role in this feature film was signed in the last quarter of the previous year.