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James David Maslow (born July 16, 1990) is an American actor singer dancer & model. He is best known for playing the role of James Diamond on Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush and is a member of the boy band with the same name.

James & Fox
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He also starred in an episode of iCarly starring as Shane.

Early Life[]

James Maslow was born in New York City, New York and raised in La Jolla, California. He is the son of Cathy Burge and Mike Maslow. He has an older brother named Philip Maslow and a half-sister named Ali Thom.[1] His father is Jewish and his mother is Catholic. Maslow was raised Jewish and attended Hebrew school six days a week during his childhood.[2] He has described himself as a "religious and spiritual person".

Maslow began training as a singer t the age of six, when his parents placed him in the San Diego Children's Choir. He attended La Jolla and Torrey Pines elementary schools, Muirlands Middle School, and San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts (SDSCPA). He had a small role in the San Diego Opera's production of La bohème when he was 10 years old. He attended acting camp at the La Jolla Playhouse, and got his first agent when he was 14. At SDSCPA, he portrayed lead roles in select feature productions, including Danny Zuko in "Grease" (2004) and Marius in "Les Miserables" (2006). Maslow transferred from SDSCPA partway through the tenth grade, switching to Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA). He graduated from CoSA's musical theater department in 2007.[3][4]

Acting Career[]

2008-2014: Nickelodeon & Big Time Rush Era[]

Maslow his television debut in 2008, as Shane in an iCarly episode "iSaw Him First".

In 2007, Maslow sent his audition tape for a new Nickelodeon sitcom and received the role of James Diamond two years later in the show Big Time Rush, along with Kendall Schmidt, Carlos Pena Jr., and Logan Henderson. They also formed the real boy band Big Time Rush.

The show premiered to a record-breaking 6.8 million viewers, making it the highest-rated premiere for a live-action series in Nickelodeon history. The show would also last 4 seasons spanning over 74 episodes, and would also have a television movie, Big Time Movie, released on March 10, 2012, to 13.1 million viewers in the U.S. alone.

He has a scar on his elbow which he received while performing a hockey-related stunt for the first episode of Big Time Rush.

During his BTR era, Maslow along with his bandmates would also guest star in other Nickelodeon shows, such as How To Rock and Marvin Marvin.

He also appeared in urFRENZ in 2009, Wild Things: Foursome in 2010, and Arena in 2011. In 2010, he appeared in Easy A as himself. In 2013, he appeared in Getaway as Max and The Frozen Ground as Daniel O'Brian. Also in 2013, he filmed an episode of See Dad Run, playing the role of actor Scott Baio's former TV son, Ricky.

2014-Present[]

In 2014, Maslow was cast in the 2015 Lifetime television movie Seeds of Yesterday in the leading role of Bart Foxworth. In 2018, Maslow competed in the first American season of Celebrity Big Brother where he was evicted on day 24. In May 2019, it was announced that Maslow would be starring in independent film We Need to Talk, co-starring Emily Bett Rickards, and written and directed by Todd Wolfe.

Music Career[]

2009-2014: Big Time Rush Era[]

In 2009, Maslow was cast for the TV show Big Time Rush, where he also became a member of boy band Big Time Rush. Nickelodeon signed Big Time Rush and the debut album, titled B.T.R., was released on October 11, 2010 and debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200. It sold 67,000 copies in its first week and was certified Gold by the RIAA five months later in March 2011. The album included songs such as "Boyfriend", "Any Kind of Guy", "City Is Ours", "Halfway There", "Famous", and "Stuck".

In November 2010, it was announced that a Christmas special of Big Time Rush would debut later that month, and that a Christmas EP would be released to coincide with the episode. On November 30, 2010, they released the Holiday EP Holiday Bundle, with two songs: "Beautiful Christmas" and the cover of "All I Want for Christmas is You", originally performed by Mariah Carey. On February 15, 2011, "Boyfriend" was released as the band's first official single to mainstream US radio and peaked at number seventy-two on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their most successful song to date.

Maslow and the group announced they would be recording their second studio album, just after Nickelodeon renewed the series for a third season. On November 21, 2011, the band released their second album, "Elevate" which sold over 70,000 copies on in its week. Though for a lower peaking than their previous, the album sold more copies than the previous album. The first single, "Music Sounds Better with U", was released on November 1, 2011. James and his bandmates co-wrote 8 out of the 12 songs. Maslow wrote "Elevate", co-wrote "Love Me Love Me" and the first single from the album, "Music Sounds Better With U". The UK version of the album included a bonus song called "Epic" which he also helped write.

Maslow and Big Time Rush have a third album called 24/Seven which was released on June 11, 2013. The band promoted the album with the tour shared with Victoria Justice called the Summer Break Tour. which began on June 21 and ended on August 15. On late Winter 2014, Maslow and the band went on an American tour called "Big Time Rush Live 2014 World Tour", where they performed in Texas and 7 countries in Latin America.

2014-2019: Solo Career[]

James released his first single "Lies" on July 24, 2015. He also released another single called "Circles" on October 23, 2015. In addition, he has two covers, "Cheerleader" and "One Call Away" available for purchase on iTunes. In 2017, Maslow debuted his solo album titled, How I Like It from which he has highlighted the single by the same name.

In 2018, Maslow released new singles "Falling" and "All Day".

On April 26, 2019, Maslow released "Love U Sober", and announced that he is about to start releasing more singles.

2020-Present: BTR Reunion, Forever Tour[]

On April 20, 2020, the band reunited virtually, as they uploaded a video on the band's social media platforms, sharing some wishes to their fans about the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 19, 2021, the group released a video announcing reunion performances which occurred in December 2021. Since December, the group has released new music and went on tour in summer 2022.

Dancing With The Stars[]

On March 4, 2014, ABC announced that Maslow would take part in the 18th season of Dancing with the Stars. He was paired with professional dancer Peta Murgatroyd. Ultimately, Maslow made it to the finals, but was eliminated on the first night. Maslow finished in fourth place, with an average score of 26.9 (excluding scores from guest judges). In a vote on Twitter, Maslow was nevertheless chosen "in a landslide" to perform an encore of his freestyle dance during the season finale. During his time on the show, Maslow earned the first perfect score of the season for his contemporary dance to "Let It Go" from Frozen on Disney Night. He featured on the cover of the July 2014 issue of FitnessRx Magazine.

hideDancing with the Stars performances and results
Week # Dance/song Judges' score Result
Inaba Goodman Guest1 Tonioli
1 Foxtrot / "Story of My Life" 7 7 7 No Elimination
2 Salsa / "Follow the Leader" 9 8 8 Safe
3 Jive / "The Middle" 9 9 9 9 Safe
42 Tango / "Dark Horse" 9 8 9 9 No Elimination
5 Contemporary / "Let It Go" 10 10 10 10 Safe
6 Quickstep / "You're the One That I Want" 9 8 9 9 Safe
7 Samba / "Gasolina"

Team Freestyle / "The Cup of Life"

9

8

8

8

9

10

9

9

Last to be called safe
8 Viennese Waltz / "6'2"

Celebrity Dance Duel (Jive) / "Ain't Nothing Wrong with That"

8

9

9

10

10

10

9

10

Last to be called safe
9

Semifinals

Cha-cha-cha / "Love Never Felt So Good"

Rumba / "Islands in the Stream"

10

9

10

9

10

9

10

9

Safe
10

Finals

Tango / "Adore You"

Freestyle / "Original Don"

9

10

10

9

10

10

Eliminated

Personal Life[]

Maslow is Jewish. In an interview with Clever TV when asked his favorite holiday he replied Hanukkah. James is known for being very funny clever and cool. According to his co-mates he's an excellent friend. When he is acting he is conceited a cute player and is not very bright but when he is not acting he is generous, cute, and smart as seen on "Brain Surge" when he won 1st place and got slimed.

In an interview Maslow stated that he would probably be an architect like his sister if he was not an actor or singer (or if it did not involve so much math).

Discography[]

See also Main Article: Big Time Rush Discography

Studio albums[]

Title Album details
How I Like It
  • Released: March 3, 2017
  • Formats: CD, digital download
  • Label: Membran

Singles[]

As lead artist[]

Title Year Album
"Lies"

(featuring Unlike Pluto)

2015 Non-album single
"Circles"
"Cry"

(featuring City Fidelia)

2017 How I Like It
"How I Like It"
"Who Knows"
"Christmas Beautiful" Non-album single
"Falling" 2018
"All Day"

(featuring Dominique)

"Love U Sober" 2019
"Delirious"
"Did You Forget"
"History" 2020 Non-album single

As featured artist[]

Title Year Album
"Never Too Young"

(MattyB featuring James Maslow)

2013 Non-album single
"Now The Time Has Come"

(Ringo Starr featuring Billy Valentine, Casey McPherson, Christian Collins, Colin Hay, James Maslow, Kirsten Collins, Maddi Jane, Richard Page and Wesley Stromberg)

2017
Brayton Be Faking (Desmond Dennis Featuring James Maslow) 2021 Non-album single

Other appearances[]

Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Mirrors (featuring James Maslow)" 2013 Cimorelli Best Of 2013

Filmography[]

Films[]

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Easy A Himself
2013 Getaway Max
The Frozen Ground Daniel O'Brian
2017 Love Exclusively Caleb
2018 Bachelor Lions Mark Meyers
Room for Murder Jake
2020 My Boyfriend's Meds Henry
Wolf Hound Captain David Holden
Hellstorm Bolton
Stars Fell on Alabama Bryce Dixon
We Need to Talk Scott Stewart
2021 Ron's Gone Wrong Bubble Employee (voice)

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
2008 iCarly Shane Episode: "iSaw Him First"
2009–2013 Big Time Rush James Diamond Main role
2011 Hand aufs Herz Himself Episode: "August 11"
2012 How to Rock Himself Episode: "How to Rock: An Election"
Big Time Movie James Diamond Television film
2012; 2013 See Dad Run Ricky Adams Episodes: "See Dad Wah-Wah'd" and "See Dad Campaign"
2013 Marvin Marvin Himself Episode: "Big Time Marvin"
2014 Dancing with the Stars Contestant Season 18
Sequestered Kevin Mohr Main role
2015 The Penguins of Madagascar Beaver James (voice) Episode: "Tunnel of Love"
Seeds of Yesterday Bart Foxworth Television film
2018 The Big Bang Theory Bartender Episode: "The Reclusive Potential"
Celebrity Big Brother Contestant Season 1
2019 The Big Stage Host
2020 World's Funniest Animals Guest 1 episode

Web[]

Year Title Role Notes
2015 Be Right Back Maury McQuarrie Main role
2016 Princess Rap Battle Kristoff Episode: "Rapunzel & Flynn vs. Anna & Kristoff"

[5]

Biography[]

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Little James

Singer, dancer, model, and actor James Maslow starred in the Nickelodeon live-action comedy series Big Time Rush, as music group member James who has the biggest ego of all his friends and believes that he and the group are the coolest guys ever.

After moving around in his early years Maslow’s family settled in La Jolla, California when he was six years old. Maslow joined the San Diego Children’s Choir, igniting a passion for singing and performing. “Some of my favorite memories are singing at the San Diego Padres game with the Children’s Choir and performing in La Boheme with the San Diego Opera” he said. Determined to be an entertainer he transferred in eighth grade to San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, despite that it was thirty miles away and he would have to rise before dawn to catch the bus to school and then endure a four-hour bus ride home. He later attended the independent study program at the Coronado School of the Arts, choosing the arts over his other great love…football.

Maslow guest starred on iCarly as the cute boy who causes a rift between best friends Carly and Sam when they fight over who saw him first. He also starred in the independent feature films Getaway & The Frozen Ground in 2013.

“Singing is what got me into everything and made me fall in love with this industry” Maslow said. “Both singing and acting are so rewarding that I couldn’t pick between the two.” Thankfully he doesn’t have to choose as his new role allows him to do it all. He adds “The great thing about playing James is that as an actor I get to take it to the extreme. It’s fun to show off when you’re being asked to do that — as my character is completely self-absorbed and is always making a fool of himself.”

When he is not working, Maslow enjoys surfing, riding horses, and mountain climbing. In June of 2009 he climbed Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the continental U.S. A singer/songwriter, he also plays the guitar and piano. Maslow also trains in Saito Ninjutsu, a form of martial arts his father introduced him to at the age of 10. Maslow used to spend much of his time on the 5 freeway driving back and forth from San Diego to Los Angeles. Maslow lives in Los Angeles, California with his dog Fox. He had previously owned a dog named Falco but he passed away at fourteen years old sometime during the making of Big Time Movie.

Trivia[]

  • Middle Name: David
  • Date of Birth: July 16, 1990
  • Place of Birth: New York City, NY
  • Height: 6’1" 
  • Weight: 175 lb
  • Nickname: JD, Jamie, Jamez, and Iron Man
    James1
  • Favorite Color: Green
  • Favorite Number: 12
  • Favorite TV show: Entourage
  • Favorite Flower: Poppy
  • Favorite Book: Ender’s Game
  • In school he did pretty well and got mostly A’s
  • Favorite Animal: Horses, dogs, and snakes
  • Favorite Band: Maroon 5
  • Favorite Song: Maroon 5
  • Favorite Music Artist: Maroon 5
  • Favorite Holiday: Hanukkah
  • Favorite Sport: Football
  • Favorite Football Team: Los Angeles Chargers
  • Favorite Cereal: Cinnamon Toast Crunch
  • Favorite Superhero: Spider Man, Iron Man & Super Man
  • Favorite Pizza Topping: Hot Vegetarian Pizza
  • Favorite Ice Cream Topping: Vegan Ice Cream
  • Favorite Actor: Johnny Depp
  • Favorite Hobby: Horseback Riding
  • Favorite Food: California Burrito
  • Favorite Movie: Zoolander
  • James has an Alaskan Klee Kai named Fox.
  • James had a 100lb yellow Labrador named Falco that passed away.
  • James has never had braces, he's always had straight teeth.
  • James wants to be made fun of on Family Guy.
  • James makes great omelets.
  • He started living by himself when he was 17.
  • He appeared in the iCarly episode iSaw Him First as Carly's (Miranda Cosgrove) love interest Shane. Ironically, Miranda appears in Big Time Christmas.
  • James and also Malese Jow were guest stars on iCarly.
  • When he was 6 years old he was in a terrible car crash that broke his skull back and a few more bones and almost got him paralyzed but because he was so young, he healed very fast and a few months later he was doing everything that he loves like nothing happened. The doctor was surprised at this.
  • James Maslow and Carlos Pena joined Halo (a new app that they discovered).
  • James has a brother named Philip Maslow (now a doctor) and a sister named Ali Thom. In an interview James said that he would probably be an architect like his sister if he was not an actor or singer (or if it did not involve so much math).
  • James' Race or Ethnicity Jewish Russian Irish English, and Scots-Irish.
  • James named his dogs (Fox and Falco) from characters off of Nintendo's Star Fox.
  • He starred as Maze in the Comedies For Kids show WildSide.
  • He has a crush on Emma Watson, saying that her accent is attractive.
  • He says that he got a peck on the lips in third grade but sixth grade was his first real kiss.
  • He loves spaghetti.
  • He started acting when he was ten years old.
  • He enjoys horse riding, mountain climbing, and martial arts.
  • James prefers vanilla over chocolate.
  • James dated Halston Sage. He confirmed their break up on The Tad Show on Star 999 on May 17, 2013.[6]
  • James used to spend his summers as a kid at a camp called Rawhide Ranch, where he learned to ride and work horses.
  • James attended San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts after his dad gave him a choice to either get a horse or go to the performing arts school.
  • James performed in shows like Footloose and Les Miserables in his past and someday, he'd like to be a Broadway star.
  • His favorite board game is "Risk".
  • When he was younger he wanted to be an Architect. His sister went to school for 8 years to study to be an architect. He gave up after seeing all the math that went into it.
  • His favorite Chick Flick: Bring it on
  • He said another one of his favorite songs off the BTR album is Halfway There and Worldwide.
  • He invented a game on the tour bus called Elevated foot boxing.
  • He has a scar on his right arm because he was injured during a hockey stunt filming the pilot.
  • When he was younger he didn't want to act, he wanted to star in rodeos.
  • He likes Italian food.
  • He is slightly lactose intolerant.
  • The craziest thing a BTR fan has ever done is sneak into his hotel room.
  • James' older brother Philip was involved in a very serious motorcycle accident that left him in ICU for almost 3 months. He was in a coma for an entire month and has lost some vision in his right eye.
  • He has appeared in the movie " The Getaway" along with Selena Gomez.
  • He competed with Peta Murgatroyd in Dancing With The Stars on Season 18th.
  • It was revealed on Dancing With the Stars that he was bullied in his youth due to being a bit overweight.
  • Celebrity Crush: Jessica Alba
  • He is friends with Chloe Bridges.
  • He was invited by a girl with Down's syndrome to prom and dedicated his contemporary routine to her during "Disney Night" on DWTS.

Official Accounts[]

Gallery[]

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Navigation

v · d · e Big Time Rush
Discography · Videography · Awards and nominations · Songs · Live performances
Members Kendall Schmidt · James Maslow · Carlos PenaVega · Logan Henderson
Studio albums BTR (2010) · Elevate (2011) · 24/seven (2013) · Another Life (2023)
Compilations The Greatest Hits (2016) · L'Intégrale (2016) · Ultimate Fan Edition (2016)
Extended plays Best of Season 1 (2010) · Holiday Bundle (2010) · Big Time Movie Soundtrack (2012) · Untitled Spanglish EP (2023)
Concert tours Big Time Rush in Concert · Better with U Tour · Big Time Summer Tour · Summer Break Tour · Live World Tour · Forever Tour · Can't Get Enough Tour
Promotional tours Big Time Rush & Walgreens · Big Time Rush Live
Virtual concerts Big Time Rush: The City Is Ours
Television 7 Secrets with Big Time Rush · Big Time Rush: Live from Times Square · Big Time Rush: Party All Night · BTR: Music Sounds Better with U · Big Time Tour
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