Biographie
Emmanuel Lewis was born on March 9, 1971, in Brooklyn, New York. The youngest son of Margaret Lewis, a former computer science professional, he attended public schools in Brooklyn until his acting career led him to Hollywood. He has four siblings. His acting journey began when he was jogging with an actor friend who suggested he enter the business. The friend recommended that Emmanuel's mother contact the Shuller Talent Agency, which specializes in talented children for TV commercials, believing Emmanuel had the ideal look and personality. The agency signed him immediately, and soon he was featured in commercials for products like fruit juice, cars, stereos, glue, soup, toys, coffee, pudding, pizza, and Burger King. He appeared in around 50-60 commercials, including ones for Campbell's Soup, Life Cereal, and four Burger King spots. His Colgate commercial can be seen in the movie Splash, playing on TVs in the background when Madison visits the mall.
Emmanuel’s first non-commercial acting role was as The Changeling Boy in the Joseph Papp New York Shakespeare Festival production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He also guest-starred on talk shows such as The Tonight Show and The Phil Donahue Show, but his first major TV series role was on Webster.
He became a major star in both America and Japan, making three personal-appearance tours there. A record he released in Japan topped the charts, and he starred in a Japanese TV movie called Samurai in New York.
Emmanuel has maintained a long-standing friendship with music icon Michael Jackson, which began at an awards ceremony. Michael often invited Emmanuel to accompany him to events like the Emmy Awards and the Academy Awards, where they frequently dressed alike. The two spent many hours discussing performing and the entertainment industry.
Beyond Webster, Emmanuel appeared on The Love Boat, In the House, Family Matters (as himself), Malcolm & Eddie (as himself), and Moesha (in the episode "The Short Story"). In 1985, he starred in the TV movie Lost in London alongside Ben Vereen and also appeared in The New Adventures of Mother Goose Special with Sally Struthers.
Standing 3'6" tall, Emmanuel notes there is no known medical cause for his stature, though he has grown six inches since age 12. He graduated from Clark Atlanta University in 1997 with a degree in theater arts. He has expressed interest in pursuing another TV series and possibly directing. Emmanuel is good friends with Marc Price (known as Skippy on Family Ties and now a stand-up comedian), touring and making promotional appearances with him.
He founded his own music label, Emmanuel Lewis Entertainment. A martial arts expert, he reportedly holds a black belt in karate and studies Billy Blanks' Tae-Bo.
Emmanuel guest-starred in the USA Network thriller GvsE. In the August 1, 1999 episode, he portrayed an explosive character, proving that great things come in small packages.
In February 2002, he appeared in a commercial for Denny's.
