Woody McClain, also known as ‘Woody the Great,’ is an American actor, comedian, and dancer best known for portraying American R&B and pop singer, songwriter, actor, and dancer Bobby Brown in BET’s 2017 miniseries ‘The New Edition Story,’ for which he received the ‘Black Reel Award for Television’ as the ‘Outstanding Actor, TV Movie/Limited Series. He agreed to reprise the character in the new two-part follow-up miniseries, ‘The Bobby Brown Story,’ in 2018. His other acting accomplishments include the TV series ‘Training Day’, ‘Tales’, ‘Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.’, and ‘Giants’, as well as the video shorts ‘You’re Sexist’ and ‘A Little Closure’. He has appeared as a dancer with Chris Brown and Fifth Harmony. He rose to prominence on YouTube for his rendition of Kevin Hart’s ‘Permission to Cuss’ routine, and he now executive produces the ‘Stories with Kev’ series. He also portrays Kevin in ‘Laugh Out Loud,’ Hart’s top-rated streaming video service, which releases a new video every Friday. He is set to make his feature film debut in 2018, portraying the roles of MayMay and Boris in the films ‘Canal Street’ and ‘All the Way with You,’ respectively.
Ascend to Stardom
Woody McClain relocated from Florida to Los Angeles in 2012 to seek a career as a professional dancer. He quickly rose to prominence as a backup dancer for well-known singers and bands such as Chris Brown and Fifth Harmony. During this time, his amusing videos on the short looping video platform Vine had won him a large fan base, launching his social media career. He’d always had a talent for making people laugh and creating exciting content, which he decided to pursue by starting a YouTube account and posting funny skit videos on it.
One of his videos, ‘Kevin Hart | Permission to Cuss,’ went viral on the internet and caught Kevin Hart’s attention, who signed him to his production company, HartBeat Digital, in December 2015, to create more skits and comic videos. However, he gained widespread recognition after playing R&B and pop singer Bobby Brown in the BET miniseries ‘The New Edition Story’ in 2017.
He was nominated for a ‘Black Reel Award’ and an ‘Image Award’ for his work in the series. He is now preparing to establish himself on the big screen, with films such as ‘Canal Street’ and ‘All the Way with You’ scheduled for release in 2018. He also frequently uploads short comic videos on his Instagram account, which has 863k followers.
What Makes McClain Unique?
Woody McClain is an excellent entertainer because he does not require a particular stage to make people laugh. Even when he was working as a professional dancer, he would frequently share videos of himself dancing with Chris Brown on Vine after being introduced to the platform by a friend. Interestingly, McClain, who preferred dancing to acting, only tried it after one of his friends’ recordings went viral.
He quickly rose to prominence on Vine and chose to branch out to other social media platforms. Later, he started posting videos on his Instagram account, sometimes random funny skits or videos of him recording skits with his co-star Splack, which earned him a large fan following on the platform.
He is now equally famous on YouTube for his ‘Stories with Plies’ series, in which he re-enacts a rapper’s funniest Instagram videos, and for ‘Permission to Cuss,’ his take on Kevin Hart’s stand-up routine about the first time he cursed.
He is equally dedicated as an actor, and after being chosen to portray Bobby Brown in BET’s biographical series, he spent time with him. He not only learned how to dance from the legend but also how to run from one side of the stage to the other to recognize fans screaming his name. He is now looking for a part in a Netflix series.
Woody’s Private Affairs
Woody McClain was born on May 14, 1989, in Charleston, South Carolina, and grew up with his sister in Jacksonville, Florida. He enrolled at Florida A&M University in 2008 but relocated to Los Angeles before finishing his degree. He adores basketball player LeBron James and cheers for whichever squad he represents.
Most people are unaware that he is also a music producer who co-founded a band called ‘BandGeeks’ with one of his high school pals named Damon. They were in the same military band at FAMU. He performs on the trumpet.
Estimated Net Worth
Woody is a wealthy Facebook Star who is also a famous Facebook Star. Woody McClain’s net wealth is $5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.