Early life and education

Wilds was born and grew up in Staten Island, New York City. His mother, Monique Moncion, is of Irish and Afro-Dominican descent, and his father, Paul Wilds, is African-American. His mother was first a beautician and then a stockbroker. Wilds attended and graduated from the Michael J. Petrides School in Staten Island.

Acting career

His acting debut came in Miracle's Boys, a drama mini-series produced by Spike Lee on The N (now called TeenNick). Wilds then made guest appearances on television shows such as Cold Case and Law & Order. The following year Wilds made his film debut in a bit-role in the independent drama film Half Nelson alongside Academy Award nominee Ryan Gosling. Wilds also appeared in a number of music videos early in his career, including Jay-Z's "Roc Boys," Alicia Keys' "Teenage Love Affair," and Lil' Flip's "Ghetto Mindstate" among others.

In 2006, Wilds joined the cast of the HBO drama television series, The Wire (then into its fourth season) in a major recurring role. He portrayed Michael Lee, a smart but troubled middle school student who lives in poverty and cares for his younger brother. In 2007, he appeared alongside Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, and Dakota Fanning in the drama film The Secret Life of Bees, an adaptation of the novel of the same name. Soon after his run on The Wire, Wilds attended an acting workshop at the Roundabout Theatre Company where he worked alongside actress, Phylicia Rashad in productions of Stockholm Brooklyn and Wool at the Cherry Lane Theatre.

In 2008, Wilds returned to television in The CW's teen drama series, 90210, a spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210. He played Dixon Wilson, a teenage boy who is adopted and moves with his family to Beverly Hills. The show ran until 2013. In March 2009, he secured a role in the George Lucas-produced war film Red Tails. The film follows the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American United States Army Air Force (USAAF) servicemen, during World War II. Wilds portrayed Ray "Ray Gun" Knight. The film, which also starred Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Terence Howard, was eventually released in January 2012 after numerous push-backs.

In 2015, Wilds starred as Adele's love interest in the music video for her song, "Hello," directed by Xavier Dolan. In early 2016, he starred in the VH1 television movie, The Breaks about the hip hop industry in the 1990's.The Breaks is coming back to VH1 as a series. On the heels of it’s successful January TV movie premiere, VH1 has greenlighted a full first season for the hip-hop drama.

Music career

Wilds met producer Salaam Remi in 2008 at the BMI Awards, which sparked Wilds' initial interest in becoming a music artist. In 2010, Wilds signed a recording contract with independent record label, Ten2one. He released several singles, including "2 Girlz" which was featured on the fourth season of his TV show, 90210. The song Fall 4 Her was produced by Rico Love. Wilds' debut EP, Remember Remember, was released toward the end of 2011.

Wilds began working with Salaam Remi on his debut studio album in 2012. He signed to Remi's Sony Music imprint, Louder than Life, that same year. He released the first single off the album, "Own It," in June 2013. The album, New York: A Love Story was released in September 2013. It was well-received by critics earning a Grammy nomination for the Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 56th Grammy Awards in 2014. The album would lose to Rihanna's Unapologetic.

Wilds' second album is set to be released sometime in 2016. He released the first single, "Love in the 90z," off the album in November 2015.

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US	US R&B	US Indie	US Heat
New York: A Love Story	Released: September 30, 2013 Label: Louder Than Life, Sony RED Formats: CD, digital download	179	28	36	7
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
		US	US R&B	US Heat
"Own It"	2013	—	35	18	New York: A Love Story
"Henny"	2014	—	—	—
"Love in the 90z"	2016	—	—	—	TBA
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Guest appearances

List of guest appearances

Title	Year	Other performer(s)	Album
"Situantionships"	2013	Fabolous, Tiara Thomas	The Soul Tape 3
"Troubled Times"	2016	Torae	Entitled

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
2006	Half Nelson	Jamal
2008	Secret Life of Bees, TheThe Secret Life of Bees	Zach Taylor
2012	Red Tails	2nd Lt. Ray "Ray Gun" Gannon

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Miracle's Boys	A.J.	Miniseries
2006, 2008	Wire, TheThe Wire	Michael Lee	Recurring (season 4); main cast (season 5); 22 episodes
2007	Cold Case	Skill Jones (2002)	Episode: "8:03 AM"
2008	Law & Order	Will Manning	Episode: "Driven"
2008-2013	90210	Dixon Wilson	Main cast; 111 episodes
2016	The Breaks	DeeVee	TV Movie

Music Video

Year	Title	Artist	Director
2009	"Roc Boys"	Jay-Z	The Hitmen
2015	"Hello"	Adele	Xavier Dolan

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Black Actress	Jared Smith	Episode 5

Awards and Nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Outcome	Ref.
2008	Black Reel Awards	Breakthrough Performance	"The Secret Life of Bees"	Nominated
2009	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Breakout Star: Male	"90210"	Nominated
2010		Choice TV Actor Drama		Nominated
2011	ALMA Awards	Favorite TV Actor - Supporting Role		Nominated
2012	Prism Award	Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline - Substance Use		Nominated
		Male Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline		Nominated
2014	Grammy Awards	Best Urban Contemporary Album	"New York: A Love Story"	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]