Biography

James Walker-Ziegler was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. As a young boy growing up in the Hollywood Hills, he began learning the alphabet by picking out letters on the HOLLYWOOD sign across the canyon from his house.

James made his first appearance on camera as a toddler in the 2008 marriage-equality short film "The Constant Process." He and his family were also featured in French filmmaker Julie Gali's 2011 documentary "Illegal Love," about the impact of California's anti-gay Proposition 8 on families like his.

A curious, rambunctious kid who loved make-believe, James loved nothing more than raiding his costume drawer and dreaming up new adventures for his favorite movie characters -- Curious George, Harry Potter, Superman, Batman, Captain America, and Ralphie from "A Christmas Story."

A natural athlete from an early age, James dove into every sport that caught his fancy -- gymnastics, swimming, skateboarding, snowboarding, basketball, softball and soccer.

Lanky and long-limbed, in middle school he joined his school's cross-country and track-and-field teams. He excelled at middle-distance races and even tried his hand at the shot put, until he picked up a javelin for the first time and discovered the power in his left arm. He finished the season ranked first among all competitors in his league.

After the Covid pandemic shut down all Los Angeles schools and most sporting activities, James began exploring his creative side. Enrolling in Get Lit's online mixtape masterclass, he discovered the pleasure of making his own music. After finding his way around GarageBand, he learned to lay down beats and shortly after began transforming his original poetry into rap lyrics. You can find his original recordings on Spotify, under the artist name Wa-Zi.

Acting happened by accident. In 2021, filmmaker Alexander Payne was looking for a teenager to play the lead in his upcoming movie "The Holdovers." An agent who'd seen James' photo thought he might be right for the lead role and reached out to see if he’d be interested in auditioning. Though James ended up being too young for the part, the agent was impressed enough by James' gift for transforming himself in front of a camera and began submitting him for other roles.

But as the pandemic lifted, and school sports resumed, acting fell by the wayside. Over the next four years, a new sport -- volleyball -- became his all-consuming passion. By junior year, his club team took 2nd place at nationals, where James' powerful left arm attracted the attention of several top Division 1 college scouts, but he was sidelined by a back injury.

While James recuperated, the scouts moved on to other draft picks. But by the end of senior year, James had fought his way back, captaining his team to win the playoffs and being voted Los Angeles Citywide Player of the Year in his division.

Passing up a shot at a leading role in his favorite TV show -- "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" -- James spent the next two years as a starting oppo playing volleyball for the SBCC Vaqueros in Santa Barbara, CA.

Wrapping up his college sports career in the spring of 2026, James opted to take a gap year after being signed as an acting client by the powerhouse Los Angeles management firm Linden Entertainment.

Repped by the team of legendary talent manager JoAnne Colonna and her protegé, Linden colleague Tori Mason, James is excited to see what the future holds.
- IMDb mini biography by: WLW