Buddy Handleson

Buddy Handleson (born November 1, 1999) is an American actor,^[3] best known for playing Henry Dillon in Disney Teen sitcom Shake It Up, Wendell Bassett in Nickelodeon comedy series Wendell & Vinnie, and Newt on Bella and the Bulldogs, also on Nickelodeon.^[4]

Buddy Handleson
Handleson in 2016
Born	(1999-11-01) November 1, 1999 (age 25)[1] Danville, California, U.S.[2]
Other names	Buddy Keaton
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2006–present

Early life and career

Buddy is the son of Jay and Athena (née Poulos) Handleson.^[5] He has an older sister named Brooke (b. 1998).^[6] At the age of 3, his parents tried to introduce him to modeling, but the young Buddy Handleson did not like it.^[7] He was spotted by the talent agent Cathy Steele based in Orlando.^[5]

He started auditioning for acting roles at the age of 7^[7] and taking acting lessons with Romeo Marquez.^[5] In 2010, he co-starred in an episode of 'Til Death, and guest-starred in an episode of Sons of Tucson^[5] (role of Gabe AKA "Asskiss" in episode Kisses and Beads^[8]). In February 2013, he landed the lead role of Wendell Bassett in Wendell and Vinnie.^[7]

Filmography

Television and film roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Hannah Montana	Boy	Episode: "Jake... Another Little Piece of My Heart"
2009	Trauma	Lost Boy Jonah	Episode: "Masquerade"
2010	'Til Death	Timmy	Episode: "Dog Fight"
2010	Sons of Tucson	Gabe	Episodes: "Golden Ticket", "Kisses and Beads"
2010–2012	Shake It Up	Henry Dillon	Recurring role, 9 episodes
2011	Mr. Sunshine	Timmy	Episodes: "Lingerie Football", "Family Business"
2011	Coming & Going	Christopher Crump	Film
2012	Doc McStuffins	Luca	Voice role
2012	Bad Fairy	Rocco DiRizzo	TV movie
2013	Wendell & Vinnie	Wendell Bassett	Lead role
2014	Little Savages	Vinny	Film
2015–2016	Bella and the Bulldogs	Newt	Main role
2017–2018	Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn	Wally	Episodes: "Quadpendence Day", "We'll Always Have Parasites"
2019	Sydney to the Max	Gerald	Episode: "The Parent Track"
2024	DL Guy	Cameron	Short

Personal life

Handleson lived in Burbank with his mother in 2012 until they moved to Redondo Beach, California in 2014.^{[citation needed]}

On June 25, 2017, Handleson came out as gay through a caption on an Instagram photo depicting him in front of a pride flag. He wrote, "Over the past couple of years I've become more and more comfortable with my sexuality and I think I'm ready to share it with the world. I'm finally at a place in life where I can say 'I'm proud of who I am. I'm proud to be gay.'"^[9]