Charles “Charlie” Jeffrey Gillespie was born on August 26, 1998, in the cozy town of Dieppe. Growing up in a big family—three older brothers and one younger sister—his mom encouraged musical education for all the kids. Charlie started playing instruments early and is impressively multi-talented: he can play guitar, bass, trombone, tuba, piano, violin, and saxophone. After finishing high school ahead of schedule, he moved first to Toronto, then later to Los Angeles to chase his acting dreams.
Charlie’s first taste of the screen came in 2014 with the film The Outlaw League (La gang des hors-la-loi), where he played “Tiger”. From there, he popped up in a range of shows and movies: Degrassi: Next Class (2017), The Next Step, 2nd Generation, Charmed (2018), I Am the Night, Consequénces (2019), The Rest of Us, and the indie film Runt (2020).
Everything clicked for Charlie with the Netflix musical series Julie and the Phantoms (2020), where he plays Luke Patterson—a cool, guitar-strumming musician with major heart. To land the role, Charlie practiced electric guitar at open mic nights around L.A., leaning into the vibe Kenny Ortega was looking for. In the show, he co-wrote and performed the touching song “Perfect Harmony” with co-star Madison Reyes—a standout moment that fans still replay.
Since Julie and the Phantoms, Charlie’s had a slew of new roles including Love You Anyway (2021), The Class (2022), Deltopia and Totally Killer (2023), Suze (2023), and upcoming projects like Splitsville and Shattered Ice (2025). His performance in Suze even earned a Special Jury Citation at the Calgary International Film Festival in 2023.
Awards & Recognition Highlights
•2017 Joey Awards: Nominated for Best Leading Actor (for 2nd Generation) and Best Ensemble .
•2021 MTV Movie & TV Award: Won Best Musical Moment for Julie and the Phantoms, shared with his co-stars .
•2023 Special Jury Citation at Calgary for Suze
This post has already been read 1090 times!
