Tristan Wilds Biography

Tristan Paul Mack Wilds (born July 15, 1989) is an American actor, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Wilds is credited as Tristan Wilds as an actor and Mack Wilds as a recording artist. He is known for his roles as Michael Lee on the HBO original drama series, The Wire, and as Dixon Wilson on the CW teen drama series, 90210. He was also featured in the Adele music video for "Hello". His debut album, New York: A Love Story was released on September 30, 2013 and was nominated for the Best Urban Contemporary Album at the Grammy Awards in 2014. Wilds' sophomore album was released on April 7, 2017.

Early life and education

Wilds was born and grew up in Staten Island, New York City. His mother, Monique Moncion, is of Irish and Afro-Dominican descent, and his father, Paul Wilds, is African-American. His mother was first a beautician and then a stockbroker. Wilds attended and graduated from the Michael J. Petrides School in Staten Island.

Acting career

His acting debut came in Miracle's Boys, a drama mini-series produced by Spike Lee on The N (now called TeenNick). Wilds then made guest appearances on television shows such as Cold Case and Law & Order. The following year Wilds made his film debut in a bit-role in the independent drama film Half Nelson alongside Academy Award nominee Ryan Gosling.

Wilds appeared in such music videos as "Roc Boys", "Teenage Love Affair" and "Ghetto Mindstate", among others.

In 2006, Wilds joined the cast of the HBO drama television series, The Wire (then into its fourth season) in a major recurring role. He portrayed Michael Lee, a smart but troubled middle school student who lives in poverty and cares for his younger brother.

In 2007, he appeared alongside Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, and Dakota Fanning in The Secret Life of Bees, the film adaptation of the novel of the same name. Soon after his run on The Wire, he attended an acting workshop at the Roundabout Theatre Company where he worked alongside actress, Phylicia Rashad in productions of Stockholm Brooklyn and Wool at the Cherry Lane Theatre.

In 2008, Wilds returned to television in The CW's teen drama series, 90210, a spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210. He played Dixon Wilson, a teenage boy who is adopted and moves with his family to Beverly Hills. The show ran until 2013. In March 2009, he secured a role in the George Lucas-produced war film Red Tails. The film follows the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American United States Army Air Force (USAAF) servicemen, during World War II. Wilds portrayed Ray "Ray Gun" Knight. The film, which also starred Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Terence Howard, was eventually released in January 2012 after numerous push-backs.

In 2015, Wilds starred as Adele's love interest in the music video for her song, "Hello", directed by Xavier Dolan. In early 2016, he starred in the VH1 television movie, The Breaks about the hip hop industry in the 1990s. On the heels of its successful January TV movie premiere, VH1 greenlighted a full first season for the hip-hop drama, which started airing in 2017. He also played Officer Beck, the Black officer at the center of the controversial shooting of a young white male in a racially-charged town in the TV show Shots Fired.

Music career

Wilds met producer Salaam Remi in 2008 at the BMI Awards, which sparked Wilds' initial interest in becoming a music artist. In 2010, Wilds signed a recording contract with independent record label, Ten2one. He released several singles, including "2 Girlz" which was featured on the fourth season of his TV show, 90210. The song Fall 4 Her was produced by Rico Love. Wilds' debut EP, Remember Remember, was released toward the end of 2011.

Wilds began working with Salaam Remi on his debut studio album in 2012. He signed to Remi's Sony Music imprint, Louder than Life, that same year. He released the first single off the album, "Own It," in June 2013. The album, New York: A Love Story, was released in September 2013. It was well received by critics earning a Grammy nomination for the Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 56th Grammy Awards in 2014. The album would lose to Rihanna's Unapologetic.

In November 2015, Wilds released the first single, "Love in the 90z", off his second album that's being released sometime in 2016. In March 2016, it was announced that Wilds had signed a management deal with Roc Nation.

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US	US R&B	US Indie	US Heat
New York: A Love Story	Released: September 30, 2013 Label: Louder Than Life, Sony RED Formats: CD, Digital Download	179	28	36	7
AfterHours	Released: April 7, 2017 Label: The Ninety Five Percent, EMPIRE Formats: CD, Digital Download	"?	"?	46	15
""?" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
		US	US R&B	US Heat
"Own It"	2013	"?	35	18	New York: A Love Story
"Henny"	2014	"?	"?	"?
"Love in the 90z"	2016	"?	"?	"?
""?" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Guest appearances

List of guest appearances

Title	Year	Other performer(s)	Album
"Situationships"	2013	Fabolous, Tiara Thomas	The Soul Tape 3
"Banned From Radio"	2014	Maino, Bodega Bamz, Chinx, Troy Ave, City Boy Dee	rowspan="2"
"Debut"		DJ Prostyle
"Low"		Mobb Deep	The Infamous Mobb Deep
"Henny (Remix)"		Mobb Deep, Busta Rhymes, French Montana
"All About You"		Maino	King of Brooklyn 2
"Bottle Girl (Remix)"		Consequence, Blue Gem	Movies on Demand 5
"Good Money"	2015	N.O.R.E., Troy Ave, Tweez, City Boy Dee	Drinks
"Act Like That"		Bridget Kelly
"50 Shots"		Method Man, Streetlife, Cory Gunz	The Meth Lab
"Troubled Times"	2016	Torae	Entitled
"Money Dance II"		J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Rick Ross, Camp Lo

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Half Nelson	Jamal
2008	'	Zach Taylor
2012	Red Tails	2nd Lt. Ray "Ray Gun" Gannon

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Miracle's Boys	A.J.	3 episodes
2006-08	'	Michael Lee	22 episodes
2007	Cold Case	Skill Jones (2002)	Episode: "8:03 AM"
2008	Law & Order	Will Manning	Episode: "Driven"
2008-13	90210	Dixon Wilson	111 episodes
2016	The Breaks	DeeVee	Television Film
2016	Dinner in America with Brett Gelman	Himself	Television Special
2017-present	The Breaks	DeeVee	Series Regular
2017	Shots Fired	Deputy Joshua Beck	10 episodes

Music Video

Year	Title	Artist	Director
2009	"Roc Boys"	Jay-Z	The Hitmen
2015	"Hello"	Adele	Xavier Dolan

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Black Actress	Jared Smith	Episode 5

Awards and Nominations

Film

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2008	Black Reel Awards	Breakthrough Performance	The Secret Life of Bees

Television

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2009	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Breakout Star: Male	90210
2010		Choice TV Actor Drama
2011	ALMA Awards	Favorite TV Actor - Supporting Role
2012	Prism Award	Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline - Substance Use
		Male Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline

Music

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2014	Grammy Awards	Best Urban Contemporary Album	New York: A Love Story
	BET Awards	Best New Artist	Mack Wilds