His voice sounded upbeat and positive as he lured me into his wonderful life.

The 27-year-old native of Clanton today lives in Nashville — he’s an accomplished musician who is turning heads with a new single and his bright red hair.

“I’m not sure how I got red hair,” Grayson Russell told me. “My father Jerry has a little red in his beard — maybe that’s how it came to be,” Grayson laughed.

He could have been an architect.

It was 2002, and Grayson Russell loved to draw. The 4-year-old only child also loved to perform.

“Grayson would sing and perform in front of anyone,” Grayson’s mother Crystal told me. “He loved singing Christian music. As long as there was an audience, Grayson was ready to put on a show.”

There was something about Grayson. Cute, yet not boorish. Quick to learn and quick to entertain. He was the 4-year-old who recorded a jingle and won a year’s worth of Rice Krispies cereal. He was the 5-year-old who starred as “Cowboy Grayson” in McKinnon Automotive TV commercials.

“My mom knew Mark McKinnon, and before I knew it, I was on TV,” Grayson told me.

He was the 7-year-old who landed a movie role that would make his life come at him like a spider monkey.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since he traveled with his mother to an open casting call at Clay-Chalkville High School. Grayson Russell and 2,000 other kids were looking to land a role in what would soon be a blockbuster movie.

“The only reason my mom and I went to the tryout was because my dad was taking part in a bass tournament at Lake Mitchell and we were bored,” Grayson chuckled. “They had us audition for what would be the dinner table scene in an upcoming movie called ‘Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby’.”

Life resumed for Grayson as he returned to Clanton Elementary School. Small town Clanton was Grayson’s respite. It was his place for friends and school and church. It was where Grayson joined his parents, singing gospel music and spreading the Word.

Two weeks after Grayson’s initial audition, Crystal’s phone rang.

“We were told to attend another audition in Charlotte,” said Grayson. “We didn’t think I would ever get the part, but we figured we could stop by Six Flags in Atlanta on the way to Charlotte and make a trip of it.”

He could have been George Strait.

Grayson returned home from Charlotte and formed a Bee Gee’s cover band at the age of seven. He had yet to learn to play guitar, but his soprano voice could make any of the Gibb brothers proud.

Grayson Russell was back home in his comfort zone. Until the phone rang again.

Grayson had landed the part of Texas Ranger Bobby, the youngest son of Ricky Bobby, played by Will Ferrell. Pell City’s Houston Tumlin landed the part of Texas Ranger’s big brother Walker.

“I didn’t know who Will Ferrell was,” said Grayson. “When Mr. Ferrell was on ‘Saturday Night Live’, I was 4 years old and I was not allowed to stay up late to watch the show.”

Filming of “Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby” was primarily in Charlotte, with some filming at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

“The dinner table scene took a week to film,” said Grayson. “It was a 5-camera shoot, and director Adam McKay had each of the actors sitting around the table to do several lines. 40 percent of the lines in the movie were ad-libbed.”

Grayson Russell and Houston Tumlin (who passed away in March of 2021) stole the dinner table scene. Grayson’s lines while yelling at his grandfather, “Chip, I’m all jacked up on Mountain Dew”, and “Chip, I’m gonna come at you like a spider monkey”, are iconic today.

And while the blockbuster film went onto earn $167 million worldwide, Grayson Russell returned to his hometown of Clanton, where he morphed back into being a friend and a neighbor.

“Grayson was always extremely grounded,” said Grayson’s mother Crystal. “We would be off on a movie shoot but always return to Clanton, where Grayson was just Grayson. We shot the three ‘Diary Of A Wimpy Kid’ movies in Vancouver , and each year returned to Clanton where Grayson lived his normal life.”

He could have been a preacher.

Grayson Russell is a licensed pastor today, and he was actually saved in Charlotte during the filming of ‘Talladega Nights’.

“We were at The Central Church of God in Charlotte, and we were sitting in an overflow room watching the church service on a monitor,” said Grayson. “The pastor called people to the altar, and I was moved to do so. I was later Baptized at my home church, Zion Ridge Church of God.”

It was a few years after the 2006 release of “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”. Grayson was busy starring in the ‘Wimpy Kid” movies (Grayson played ‘Fregley’, the hyperactive kid with a good heart), yet still found time to do more.

He starred in an independent movie called, “The Rainbow Tribe”. He learned to play the guitar, formed his second band in the 6th grade, appeared in regional McDonald’s commercials, and won a few county chess championships.

Grayson graduated from Chilton County High School in 2016 and went on to attend Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee.

In a flash, Texas Ranger was growing up. What freckles he did have seemed to be gone forever.

“Most of my freckles burned off in eighth grade when I was at Kevin Williams’ birthday party at Lay Lake,” laughed Grayson, once again reminding me of what sweet home Alabama means to him.

As Grayson Russell entered college, his love of music grew. He formed a band, and today — 8 years later — most of the band members consist of friends he met at Lee University.

Yet, while the band simply called “Grayson Russell” flourished, Grayson still had time to nab a roll in the movie “Greyhound” starring Tom Hanks (the movie was nominated for an Oscar and is now being shown on Apple TV).

And as the pandemic set in starting in 2020, Grayson discovered another talent: Song writing.

He was fine with covering classic Christian and country songs — after all, what musician wouldn’t get a rush out of a roaring crowd as he or she ripped into “Free Bird”? But Grayson found that the songs he was writing were actually very good.

His life and his spirit zoomed to another level, and today he’s found success as a singer-songwriter. His newest single, “Go Cry Somewhere Else” is getting play nationwide.

As the heat of May arrives, Grayson Russell is just heating up. While music gigs keep him busy, so too do TV and movie projects.

He just wrapped up 28 weeks of shooting another season of “Blue Ridge: The Series”, where he plays Dwayne Dixon, a hometown volunteer deputy — the series is on Peacock. He’s now been in 12 movies and five TV series, with more musical appearances to come. His band has opened for eight Grammy winners.

What struck me most about my conversation with Grayson was his love of his family and friends.

“Grayson’s love of people has grown over the years,” said mom Crystal.

Said Grayson, “The folks in Clanton don’t get overly excited about movie stars or famous people. They are good people who see their friends just as they are.”

He could have been a peach farmer.

But Grayson Russell planted seeds in other directions.

“Life never happens like everyone says it should,” Grayson told me.

The local neighbor from Clanton continues to work hard on his crafts, while staying humble and down home.

“It’s been a beautiful ride we never dreamed of,” said Crystal.

Added Grayson, “My life would have been great without the movies and the music — they have just made my life even better.”

Keep an eye out for Grayson this summer, as the 27-year-old will have more to offer.

Remember, when Grayson gets up a full head of steam, he’s hard to stop.

And he will come at you like a spider monkey.

Rick Karle, who writes a weekly ‘Good News’ story, is a 25-time Emmy winner and a 43-year veteran of broadcast news who has lived and worked in Alabama for 35 years. You can find his work on Facebook at RickKarleGoodNews and email him at [email protected]