Meet the Toronto teen voicing the largest characters within the cartoon universe—together with a PAW Patrol pup
“Most youngsters get their begin in commercials—I noticed each facet of the filming course of.” ({Photograph} by Daniel Ehrenworth, hair and make-up by Alanna Chelmick)
Callum Shoniker is aware of what it’s wish to be a member of PAW Patrol’s fandom. He turned 4 in 2013, the 12 months Spinmaster’s Canadian-made hit collection a couple of pack of do-gooder pooches premiered, turning into an instantaneous generational touchpoint. (To not point out a intelligent advertising and marketing software for what’s now an $8-billion empire constructed on books, lunch containers, bubble machines and each different product possible.) Like most youngsters, Shoniker had a favorite character: Rocky, the eco-puppy who reuses and recycles something he can get his paws on. In contrast to most youngsters, Shoniker would later voice his most popular pup in a blockbuster movie franchise alongside Kim Kardashian.
Lengthy earlier than Shoniker was forged in 2021’s PAW Patrol: The Film—and its sequel, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Film, out this month—he lower his tooth as Rumpelstiltskin on the theatre-camp circuit. “I attempted sports activities,” he says, “however I cherished theatre immediately—getting to remodel into somebody or one thing else.” The appearing bug additionally runs within the household: Shoniker’s aunt Kimberley has CW Community and Hallmark film credit to her identify. By the age of seven, Shoniker had secured an agent of his personal. His third-ever audition led to his first professional gig, enjoying the son of former Supreme Court docket justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg within the 2018 biopic On the Foundation of Intercourse. “Most youngsters get their begin in commercials,” Shoniker says. “I noticed each facet of the filming course of.”
Shoniker, a educated vocalist, landed subsequent roles on CBC collection like Kim’s Comfort, however it was on this planet of animation the place Shoniker’s credit actually piled up: as Bubba Bear on Kingdom Drive; as Prince Wednesday on Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood; and as mad scientist Romeo on PJ Masks. (Take into account it the under-10 set’s model of Robert De Niro’s run in Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter and Raging Bull.)
Shoniker is ready for the real-life fanfare round The Mighty Film, however he’s conscious that his streak in children’ animation has an expiration date—for puberty causes. In April, Shoniker, now 14, debuted as class clown Mike Cavalleri on YTV’s live-action preteen collection, Reputation Papers. He’s intent on sustaining what he calls a “comparatively regular” excessive schooler’s existence between jobs—the subsequent being Amazon’s 2024 sitcom The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh. His final objective is to be a flexible, Swiss Military–model actor within the vein of fellow Canuck Jim Carrey. Shoniker’s even keen to trim his youthful locks, which he’s maintained since his flip as James Ginsburg. “I like having lengthy hair,” he says, “however I’d lower it for the precise position.”
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POP QUIZ WITH CALLUM SHONIKER
Household pet: Mike, a five-year-old corgi
Bathe music: Something by Taylor Swift. (He scored coveted tickets to the Detroit stopover of the singer’s Eras Tour.)
After-school snack: An apple, and crackers topped with melted cheese as a result of, as Shoniker explains, “You’re not allowed to soften cheese at college.”
Dream star sighting: Andrew Garfield. “I cherished Tick, Tick…Growth! and he’s my favorite Spider-Man.”
Important gadget: “My cellphone, so I can keep in contact with pals—and let my mother know when the bus is late.”
