Ashton Sanders

Who is Ashton Sanders?

Ashton Durrand Sanders (born October 24, 1995) is an American actor best known for his acclaimed portrayal of teenage Chiron in the Academy Award-winning film Moonlight (2016). Sanders was born in Carson, California. He attended Grand Arts High School in Downtown Los Angeles, from which he graduated in 2014. He was studying towards a BFA at The Theatre School at DePaul University, before leaving after three years in 2016 to focus on his acting career. He has since acted in films such as The Equalizer 2 (2018), All Day and a Night (2020), and Judas and the Black Messiah (2021). He portrayed Bigger Thomas in Native Son (2019) and Bobby Brown in Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022). Sanders made his film debut in The Retrieval, directed by Chris Eska. The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2013.

It was released in a limited release on April 2, 2014, by Variance Films. In 2015, Sanders had a small role in Straight Outta Compton.

Historical significance

In 2016, he appeared in an episode of Refinery29's web series The Skinny. The same year, Sanders appeared in the drama film Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins.