Karon Joseph Riley

Karon Joseph Riley was born a star, at least that is what his mother would tell him often while growing up in Detroit, Michigan.  Karon wanted to be an actor as early as the first grade, when he played Puss in Boots in a stage play. Soon after his theatre debut, his athletic talents also emerged. Being the crowd pleaser he is, he entertained everybody with his athletic prowess. He graduated from the University of Minnesota as and remains the All-Time Sack leader and  All-American football player. His performance on the gridiron stage led him to become a 4th Round Draft pick of the Chicago Bears. He played a total of 7 years between the NFL, CFL, and AFL respectively. After his career ran its course, he set his sights towards Hollywood as he always promised he would. 

Through sports, and many lessons from his mother, Karon was taught that hard work is the only way to make the blueprints that God downloaded into him work. Working off his faith, he took acting classes in his off seasons in Los Angeles. Once he officially retired, he dropped the football body and replaced it with the body of a leading man.  As a testament to his work ethnic he booked his first speaking role in Russ Parr’s classic romantic comedy “35 and Ticking,” starring Kevin Hart, and Meagan Goode. After that he booked steady roles on multiple networks on shows like “Single Ladies,” and “Necessary Roughness”. In 2015, Karon won the role of one of his childhood idols and dream roles portraying Muhammad Ali in the unreleased independent film “The Last Punch,” alongside Keith David (Greenleaf) and Ron Rico (The First Wives Club). Not to be slowed down, Karon then booked a major role for his career in the hit Christmas movie franchise “Marry Me for Christmas”, starring Malinda Williams and Victoria Rowell for the then UPTV network and Netflix. He would follow up that with four more installments of the successful series. “Marry Us for Christmas”, “Marry Christmas Baby”,  “Babies First Christmas”, “Chandlers Christmas Getaway”. As if he didn’t already own the title of “Mr. Christmas, he starred in another Christmas franchise for TVONE, called Coins for Christmas, with Essence Atkins and the two sequels that followed and a quick supporting role in the BET original “A Christmas Blessing”. Now a solid network talent, Karon set himself up for a huge year run with a role in Will Packer’s feature film “Little” starring Issa Ray, and Regina Hall. After that box office exposure, Karon booked two series regular roles on two hit shows. One being “Ambitions”, with Brian J. White and Robin Givens and the other being “Saints and Sinners”, with Clifton Powell and Vanessa Bell Calloway respectively.  In between climbing the ladder of “Hollywood South”, and setting his sights on becoming an author of his unreleased book “The Man Laws”, and producing and writing scripts for himself and others with his production company Dedicated Prophecy, he is raising his three beautiful kids, Daylen, Kal’El, and Lola with his beautiful Queen the incomparable, Terri J. Vaughn. Armed with an unwavering belief in himself, a good dose of talent, a cachet of charisma, and an indomitable work ethnic, the Will Smith, Dwayne Johnson and the World should expect a new lion to the pack, and he goes by the name Karon Joseph Riley.