Noah Crawford talks about Nickelodeon's 'How to Rock' and the importance of persistence in forging an acting career

Oklahoma City native Noah Crawford, 17, who stars in the Nickelodeon series “How to Rock,” shared his philosophy on the value of hard work and not giving up during an interview on a recent visit back to his home state.

Crawford, whose credits include playing “Young Earl” on the NBC series “My Name Is Earl” and a supporting role in the film “The Killer Inside Me,” plays Nelson Baxter, the tech-savvy keyboard player and DJ for the band Gravity 5 on “How to Rock.”

The show, which airs Saturdays, is about Kacey Simon (Cymphonique Miller), a popular girl who, after getting ignored when she briefly has to wear glasses and braces, makes new friends by joining the band “Gravity 5.”

On the family front, Crawford has lots of support. His father, Rich, commutes between Oklahoma and California while running his pet sales business, and his mother, Jennifer, and three younger sisters, Bellah, Oliviah and Hannah (also pursuing acting careers), reside in Burbank. His older sister Lindsey lives in Norman.

Here are some of the topics Crawford discussed during our interview.

Q: How did you get your start in acting?

A: I was like 5 or 6, you know, the age when you're young and you're just trying everything, like every sport, and everything.

And, I was taking this acting class here in Oklahoma, and it was a day that I, I don't know, I didn't want to go. I had some excuse. I was tired or something. I didn't want to go to acting class.

And, I was a huge “Star Wars” fan growing up, and my mom said to me, she goes, “Well, do you want to be in movies like “Star Wars?” And, it didn't take me long at all to be like, “Yes, that's what I want to do.” And she goes, “Well, those guys are actors, so if you keep taking acting classes, maybe one day you will be.”

That's when it finally, like, it really clicked what I was doing and what acting was really about, and then I never stopped.

Q: You studied with Michelle De Long at ACTS Acting Academy — you must've enjoyed that a lot.

A: Yeah, I did. I learned like all of the basics, everything I needed to know. I did some plays and stuff there, and some theater which I really enjoyed. And then some more serious on-camera work, and I learned a lot of, like the terms and everything. And, so, that was great for me starting out, because it really showed me the basics in everything I didn't know, and that I needed to know, to start.

Q: You were 11 when you were on “My Name Is Earl?”