McInturff Hopes for Either Starring Role or Starting Role

T.J. McInturff knows he might land a starring role in a movie or on television before he ever earns a starting role with the Simi Valley High football team.

McInturff, 16, is a reserve running back and defensive back who would like to go from playing a bit part to a big part on the field.

Off the field, he’d like pretty much the same thing.

A working actor since the age of four, McInturff for the past two years has served as the voice of Larry, older brother to Lupe in a cartoon called “The Life of Lupe.” The cartoon is part of the animated television series KaBlam!, which runs Saturday nights on the Nickelodeon kids’ channel.

McInturff has made appearances in television series such as “Evening Shade” and “Picket Fences” and done voice-over work in movies, including “Jumanji,” “Bed of Roses” and one of the “Honey, I Shrunk The Kids,” films.

But McInturff is waiting for that one juicy role that could vault him to Hollywood fame and fortune.

“All it takes is one or two good breaks,” he said. “It’s gonna happen, I’m pretty sure.

“I know I’ve got the talent for a part sometimes, but they’re looking for a look a lot of times, too.”

At 5 feet 3 and 120 pounds, he doesn’t have the look of a football player, and McInturff knows it.

Still, he contends his looks can be deceiving.

“[The coaches] just don’t recognize all this potential,” he said with a laugh. “The thing is, I play different in games than I do in practice. I just need that chance.”

McInturff has played in just one of Simi Valley’s games this season.

Despite his size, he has always loved sports. He has participated in cross-country, basketball and tennis in his high school career, and plans to try out for wrestling. He plays recreational ice hockey.

Junior class president at Simi Valley High, McInturff has been involved in student government for three years.

“I’d say my life’s pretty busy,” he said. “I’m like, the kind of person who has to be doing something. I try to be involved and do a lot of different things.”

The biggest thing is acting. McInturff admittedly gives it priority over football.

He has an agent, and depending on the job prospect, he sometimes goes to interviews and appointments in Hollywood three times a week.

“It’s a pretty major part of my life,” McInturff said. “But I took on the attitude that acting was going to be my main priority. I don’t want to lose what I’ve worked for all these years.

“It’s a lot of rejection, but when you get a part, you just feel like you’re on top of the world. I think that’s what keeps me coming back. It’s like, it’s so close, and yet so far away, too.”