Youth Spotlight on Angelo Gray: Worcester 7th Grader Makes it to Hollywood and Receives a Key to the City
Worcester Rolled Out the Red Carpet for Burncoat Middle Schooler Angelo Gray’s Big Screen Debut in The Running Man at Millbury’s Blackstone Theatre on Friday, November 14, 2025.
Millbury, MA- The Running Man, featuring a star-studded cast, premiered in NYC on November 10, 2025. Angelo Gray and his mother Jaime Gray attended the premier, and returned home to celebrate his Hollywood breakthrough with Worcester family, friends and press at Blackstone Valley Cinema this past Friday. Worcester, MA is known to “show up for their own”, and they did. The red carpet rollout included a ceremonial granting of a Key to the City by Mayor Joseph M. Petty to 12 year old Gray.
In your occupation as both an actor and a singer originally from Worcester, you represent the opportunities available for all those hoping to engage with the arts. In The Running Man, you appear on the big screen alongside prominent stars, proving the talent and success that can begin here in the city with hard work combined with support from local organizations and groups.
Award Letter from Mayor Joseph Petty
Typically keys are awarded to those who have a far longer lifetime of achievement in Worcester, such as centenarians and retiring members of local leadership and corporations. Occassionally, a little league team or Eagle scout is honored. Jordan Robbins, Intern at the Office of the Mayor, who is partially responsible for recording Key awards, told What’s Up Worcester “receiving of a Key to the City was certainly unique and he is one of the youngest honorees!”
The honor went to Gray just after working on a movie in pre-production called Weekend Warriors with another Massachusetts native, Mark Wahlberg, said Ms. Gray. But Friday night was about Gray’s red carpet reception for The Running Man, written by Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright, directed by White, a second adaptation of Stephen King’s 1982 dystopian novel by the same title. The premise of the movie is a live game show driven by fabricated media and malicious government actors in which contestants compete in a life-or-death man hunt for a chance to win a billion dollars.
Gray’s role is Stacey, a tough kid who assists the hero (played by mega-star Glen Powell) and delivers a very memorable Worcester-feeling line, “I ain’t no snitch!”. Gray filmed his scenes last winter in the United Kingdom and Bulgaria with other Hollywood superstars including the film’s producer Josh Brolin and masked villian Lee Pace. His grandfather, Joseph Simone accompanied Gray in London and said they had fun doing some sightseeing between filming because “he is still a normal kid”.
This Burncoat Middle Schooler is “normal”, humble and polite. Gray told What’s Up Worcester that “most of [his] friends” were at the red carpet event, and they were excited for him. He also said he thinks the movie is “really good” and seemed very comfortable shifting between press interviews and chatting with his buddies as if they were all just going to see a movie together on a Friday.
Ms. Gray said her son is an excellent student and basketball player and loves to hang out with his friends. He has been singing, modeling and acting for several years, keeping his portfolio on his very own Facebook page. Worcester folks have likely seen this handsome, multi-talented young man singing at local games and events or on the courts and fields of the city. One such event was his breathtaking performance of” I’ll be There” at the Solomon Pond Mall back on September 12, 2024. If that performance was not his jumping off point, The Running Man is sure to be the first step to Hollywood fame.
Angelo Gray is, without a doubt, extremely and uniquely talented. One of Angelo’s biggest fans (besides Mom and Grandpa) is Woodrow Adams Jr, President of 508 Forever Young INC (FB link) and Worcester Boys and Girls Club “Hometown Hero” in 2020. Adams, a champion for Worcester’s youth told What’s Up Worcester,
“He has a gift. I take that back; he has many gifts.”
Adams got to know Gray when he was looking for a young person to sing the National Anthem at an event at Holy Cross several years ago. Gray’s name came up on Facebook, and Adams said “I clicked on the link for the video and the rest is history! He blew it out of the water.” Gray went on to sing at a Celtics game and other events, and when he and his mom went to a modeling/acting call in New York City, he was signed immediately with two LA agents.
The rest is history, or rather, Angelo Gray is making history for Worcester. Congratulations!
Betsey Taft Kennedy, Managing Editor, What’s Up Worcester, betsey@whatsupworcester.com
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