Story + Styling / Phil Gomez
Glam / Rory Alvarez
Pictures / Andrew White and Sam Bates
Video / Weston Flemmons
Picture Assistant / Nas McKay
Modifying / Andrew White, Sam Bates and Weston Flemmons
Location / The Marquis Theatre
Kalen Allen meets us on the high of the aspect stage stairs on the Marquis Theatre, radiating a vibrant vitality that immediately lights up the room. Polished and sharp, he exudes the identical charisma that captivated tens of millions in his viral movies. But, the Kalen sitting throughout from me is a lot greater than “the man who reacts to meals.” He’s an actor, singer, storyteller—and above all, an individual fiercely dedicated to residing authentically and unapologetically.
“The humorous factor is to me the movies are the outliers. This feels regular. Even at the moment, I used to be in class for theater, I received my diploma in theater and movie with a focus in performing. ”Kalen says “The objective was all the time to behave and carry out. So now, I see it as an alternative for folks to truly see what I’ve executed my complete life. And that is in all probability extra of who I’m on the core, as a result of the meals movies had been an accident.” A cheerful accident for a broke faculty scholar attempting to make it work.
That “accident” became a launchpad, resulting in viral fame and finally to a internet hosting position on The Ellen DeGeneres Present. However for Kalen, this was just the start. His path has all the time been about evolution, and he’s fast to make one factor clear: he’s not outlined by these early viral moments.
“Individuals all the time ask, ‘Kalen, when are you going to do extra meals movies?’ And I’m like, honey, simply take into account me Rihanna—it’s not coming again!” he says with amusing. “It doesn’t fulfill me artistically anymore. I’m the factor, I’m the second”. And whether or not he’s on Broadway or sitting in entrance of you’re nonetheless going to get Kalen.
Kalen’s latest activate Broadway in Elf is proof of this. The position lets him shine as his genuine self. “I don’t thoughts being typecast,” he explains.
“I identical to entertaining and I’m okay with doing roles which might be near me or near who I’m as a result of that’s the humorous. And that’s what I care about.”
That philosophy is woven into every part Kalen does, from performing to music. His newest album, Christmas Reminiscences, is a mirrored image of his development and his potential to embrace each aspect of himself. “The album journals my life by means of the lens of Christmas,” he says. “It begins with grownup Kalen and goes again to child Kalen. It’s a mirrored image of all of the totally different variations of me and the concept we don’t have to stay to only one model of ourselves.”
As a Black queer man, Kalen is conscious of societal pressures to evolve. “They need us to be one sure manner,” he says. “One factor that’s so irritating to me is once I dress up they’re like, oh, you’re like a younger Billy Porter, and I’m like,Ya’ll act like Billy Porter was the primary individual to placed on any garments.“ However you don’t see folks saying, ‘You’re like a younger Neil Patrick Harris,’ to a Troye Sivan.”
Regardless of these challenges, Kalen stays true in his mission to point out up authentically. “I’ve conditioned myself to do the work while not having validation. I do it as a result of I imagine in myself and for future generations to see it’s potential.”
That willpower to face in his fact has led him to locations he as soon as dreamed of, from internet hosting occasions for Michelle Obama’s or having a relationship with Oprah. “After I take into consideration iconic moments, like, as an example, going to the White Home, being like,yeah, that is my eighth time right here” He recollects. “The opposite day I used to be watching me and Mariah Carrie’s collab for the twenty fifth anniversary of “All I Need for Christmas is You”, and with the ability to have a look at that stuff, particularly taking a look at stuff once I was youthful, in pondering of how a lot I’ve grown and adjusted, I feel that’s the present.”
Sustaining pleasure in a demanding profession isn’t all the time straightforward, however Kalen has realized the significance of boundaries. “It’s being conscious however not in it,” he explains. “Individuals underestimate how a lot work that is. My objective is to work now and retire later.”
Trying forward, Kalen is targeted on constructing an empire. Balancing performing, music, content material and a grasp’s diploma in journalism from NYU. Quickly he can be educating. “I’ve all the time needed to show,” he says, visibly lighting up on the thought. He’s set to show a summer season course on content material creation and journalism, bringing his experience to the subsequent era of storytellers.
With Elf closing in January, Kalen plans to take a well-deserved break. However he’s additionally laying the groundwork for future endeavors, “My objective is to create a basis for myself the place I’m not reliant on others to approve or dictate my alternatives. I need to create one thing sustainable that permits me to thrive independently, with out having to rely upon model offers to pay the payments. In essence, my subsequent large venture is me.” The imaginative and prescient is the Kalen Allen Community, the place every platform serves a definite goal with particular sorts of content material. For instance, Fb will focus solely on cooking, TikTok will launch a podcast within the works, Instagram will act because the central hub for selling every part, and platforms like Threads and Twitter will have interaction audiences with popular culture polls, and sizzling subjects. This can make his content material extra impactful and streamlined for audiences to know the place to seek out it.
Kalen’s story isn’t about going viral; it’s about transformation. It’s about defying expectations, embracing evolution, and displaying the world what’s potential whenever you dwell authentically. Whether or not it’s on Broadway, a cheeky vacation tune, or educating, he simply needs folks to see all of the totally different sides of Kalen.
And with each step ahead, Kalen Allen is doing simply that—a journey that could be a crash course in authenticity, resilience, and staying true to your desires. From viral movies to Broadway and past, he’s proving that with expertise, exhausting work, and a bit of bit of religion, something is feasible.
Try the unique photographs under:
Full look, KidSuper. Shirt + Flower Broach, Classic. Sneakers, Dr. Martens.
Full look, HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE. Hat, Kabute. Sneakers, Dr. Martens. Eyewear, Luar.
Full look, UGG. Jewellery, ALEXIS BITTAR.
