Escondido youth lands role in major motion picture

By: SHAYNA CHABNER - Staff Writer | Monday, September 3, 2007 10:12 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO -- Seven-year-old T.J. Burnett has always known when put his 'star' face on.

When the Escondido elementary school student was celebrating his first birthday and in a fit of tears, for instance, he dried his eyes and perked up just long enough for his parents to snap a cheerful birthday shot, his parents said last week.

"I like the attention and being in front of the camera," he said, as a sheepish grin spread across his round face.

T.J. still has that same love of the spotlight today, he is just turning his camera-ready pose on and off for a different, larger audience. The North County native plays Jamie Foxx's son in an upcoming Universal Pictures thriller, "The Kingdom".

The movie, scheduled to be released on Sept. 28, is his first major motion-picture role. T.J.'s part is minor, but his name's in the credits, he said.

"It's a very big jump," said T.J.'s mom, Glenda Burnett. "The whole him getting the part in The Kingdom is so surreal. .... You always want them to get the part, but I didn't think he would."

Before making the move to the silver screen, T.J. got his start in commercials about two years ago, his mom said.

First there were Exxon and Roundtable commercials, then a small part in a Nickelodeon TV high school comedy called "Shredderman Rules" -- which came out in June -- and then "The Kingdom," Burnett said.

"It's fun," T.J. said. "It's cool being with the stars and meeting them."

About working with Foxx and on the set of a feature film, in particular, he added that it was definitely more work than the commercials. There more lines to memorize and hundreds of other people -- especially famous ones -- walking around the set, he said.

"When I first met Jamie Foxx and all those different characters, I felt kind of shy," he said.

Now, when T.J. rattles off the names of Golden Globe winners like Jennifer Garner and Christopher Cooper, it's more like he is reciting the names of friends he met on the playground at lunch, rather than stars that grace the red carpet.

That's probably because of the fact that when you get down to it, he is still just kid, his parents and teachers said.

T.J. has to finish his homework before memorizing lines and making it to auditions. He loves reading and math, and enjoys making new friends. His role model is his teenage cousin. His favorite actor is not someone he worked alongside, but the Human Torch from the Fantastic Four because he flies while on fire. T.J. isn't allowed to see R-rated movies -- even when he acts in one, such as "The Kingdom."

"He's a really good actor, when he's acting, but when it's time to be kid, he is a kid," T.J.'s dad, Terrell Burnett, said. "... When he is done, it's (Sony's) Playstation time, it's Wii time, it's basketball time."

Marsi Anderson, a second-grade teacher at Conway Elementary, where T.J. attends school, agreed.

Anderson said he doesn't let his on-set work interfere with school and he tries to not make big of a deal about it.

"I was teasing him one day on the playground, saying when you are famous you have to remember your friends and people who aren't famous. And he said, 'I'm always going to be nice, and I'm always going to help people,' " Anderson said. "He's just an awesome little boy."

-- Contact staff writer Shayna Chabner at (760) 740-5416 or schabner@nctimes.com.