Disney Channel has jumpstarted the careers of many great Jewish actors, including Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale — and Asher Angel. Excitingly, in recent years, Asher has started making the jump from child actor to more young adult roles, like his turn as Billy Batson in “Shazam!” and forthcoming sequel “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.”
With “Fury of the Gods” premiering on March 17th, here are 18 things to know about Asher Angel.
1. Asher Angel was born on September 6, 2002 in Arizona to a Jewish family.
2. His first and middle names are both Hebrew! The name Asher means “affirmation,” and Dov, Asher’s middle name, means “bear.”
3. He has Israeli and Russian Jewish ancestry.
4. He start acting around the age of 5! His first professional job was in the 2008 movie “Jolene” alongside actress Jessica Chastain.
5. He would go on to do many local theater productions at Desert Stages Theatre in Scottsdale. He was in productions of “Oliver,” “Little Mermaid,” “Seussical,” “Mary Poppins” and “Into the Woods.”
6. Asher almost didn’t have a bar mitzvah due to his busy acting schedule.
“It was something that we had talked about,” his mom told AZ Jewish Life. “I told him that every single person on both sides of the family has done this. Do you really think that you’re not going to do it? I’m going to leave it up to you – but I feel in 10 or 15 years that you are going to be upset [if you don’t do it].”
7. He became a bar mitzvah in December 2015 at home. Asher never attended Hebrew school, so his vocal coach helped him put in 5 weeks’ worth of preparation!
8. Asher’s first regular TV job was playing Jonah Beck on the Disney Channel show “Andi Mack” from 2017 to 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpWkXcTOY30
9. While filming “Andi Mack” in Utah, Asher’s family attended High Holiday services with the family of Jewish castmate Joshua Rush.
“It was nice for him to have somebody else to share that with,” his mom said.
10. His debut single “One Thought Away” features Wiz Khalifa!
11. This is what Judaism means to Asher, in his own words:
“What Judaism means to me is being born to this family and it pulls them together and keeps them close.”
12. In 2019, Asher starred in “Shazam!” as Billy Batson and became very close with his castmates!
“We are called the Shazamily and became quite close during production. It is hard to name just one or a few as it was easy to get along with everyone and everyone brought their unique and fun personalities to set,” he told Bello Magazine.
13. Like the ancient Israelites before him, Asher has spent some time in the land of Egypt:
@asherangel Egypt baby
14. On acting, Asher has said: ““When people look up at the big screen and relate to you — that’s your goal as an actor. It’s okay to have insecurities and embrace them. Because we’re all human, we all have flaws. For all the people who see themselves in my peers and I, we see you and we love you.”
15. In 2022, Asher played James in “Darby and the Dead” on Hulu.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UKoZSGrzLY
16. Plus, his original song “One on One” was used in the movie.
17. He clearly gets a kick out of his “Shazam!” and “Fury of the Gods” co-star Jack Dylan Grazer:
18. Asher would love to play Billy Batson in films across the DC Universe!
“Hopefully I get to integrate with other characters, but who knows?” he added.
