Jeremy Suarez

Suarez is of African and Cuban descent, and is the oldest of three siblings.He was raised in the Muslim religion.^[2]

In 1996, he made his debut in Jerry Maguire as Rod Tidwell's son Tyson.^[3] He appeared in the short-lived sitcom Built to Last (1997) as Ryce Watkins,^[4] the youngest son in a family of seven.^[5] Suarez made guest appearances on sitcoms Sister, Sister (1996) and The Wayans Bros. (1998), and had a recurring role as Raymond Wilkes on medical drama Chicago Hope (1996−98).

When Suarez was 8 years old, he joined the cast of the sitcom The Bernie Mac Show (2001−06) as Jordan Tompkins, the nephew of the titular character Bernie Mac.^[6][7] For portraying Jordan, Suarez received two NAACP Image Award nominations.^[8][9] Suarez appeared on Larry King Live in 2008 with his fellow cast to discuss Mac's death.^[10]

He voiced Koda, a bear cub whose mother was killed by the protagonist,^[11] in the Disney film Brother Bear (2003).^[12] A book author believed Suarez's performance was the best in the film.^[13] Suarez received an Annie Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in a Feature Production as Koda, but lost to Ellen DeGeneres.^[14] He reprised the role of Koda in sequel Brother Bear 2 (2006).^[15]

In 2004, Suarez appeared in two feature films. He provided the voice of Russell in an animated sequence of Fat Albert^[16] and portrayed Li'l Gawain in The Ladykillers.^[17] Following the end of The Bernie Mac Show, Suarez struggled to find acting work and found employment in more conventional jobs outside of the film industry, including as a boilermaker.^[18]

Most of Suarez's work post-Bernie Mac have been in voice-overs, guest starring on King of the Hill and voicing a puppet in Nike commercials during the 2009 NBA Playoffs. He provided Kai's voice in the animated feature film, Zambezia (2012).^[19] In Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (2014), Suarez played Cooper Folly, the nerd's sidekick.^[20][21]

• Jeremy Suarez at IMDb