Don't ask Jessie T. Usher to do a layup. It's not exactly his strong suit, but he can certainly fake it on the new Starz series Survivor's Remorse, where he plays a rising basketball star.
But Usher told BuzzFeed News that, given the right circumstances, he'd rather be baking.
Before the 22-year-old actor decided to make a go of it in Hollywood, he was preparing for a career as a chef — he actually studied at a California culinary school. Now he's starring as Cam Calloway in a new series, produced in part by LeBron James, giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a big-deal and ridiculously rich basketball star.
Here are a few other fun facts to know about Usher.
1. He actually can't play a lick of basketball, but he's dying to challenge LeBron to a game.
"I've played a little bit of soccer here and there, been swimming my whole life. I even played lacrosse for a little bit … I've tried so many different sports. Some of them I'm not so great at, some of them I'm pretty decent at, but basketball and football..."
2. His first role was in an Oscar Meyer commercial.
"We had to spell it out! We had to do it for so long. 'My baloney has a first a name, it's O-s-c-a-r...' You know, the song! They had the huge wiener truck behind us."
3. He's acted alongside Miley Cyrus. No twerking was involved.
"I did an episode of Hannah Montana my senior year. It wasn't a huge role; I was a guest star. I just came in for one day. That was my first time actually doing anything in front of a live audience, other than stage. Miley was extremely nice. She taught me a lot in a very short amount of time. And it was a great experience."
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4. He could read at 2 years old, so his mom says.
!["I don't remember those kind of things, but that's one of the things that my mom constantly talks about. She likes to brag [about] the things that me and my sister were accomplishing at very young ages."](https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2014-10/9/11/enhanced/webdr08/longform-original-29620-1412868859-13.jpg)
"I don't remember those kind of things, but that's one of the things that my mom constantly talks about. She likes to brag [about] the things that me and my sister were accomplishing at very young ages."
5. But it wouldn't be surprising, considering he graduated from high school at 15. And he was the salutatorian.
"I was in alternative schooling and I was able to move at my own pace and take whatever classes that I wanted, whenever I wanted. The curriculum that I chose was at an extremely fast rate. I actually finished school in the fall and had to wait an entire four or five months just so I could actually graduate with my class. I just took college courses after that."
