Dallas Dupree Young (born October 25, 2006) is an American actor best known for his recurring role in The Fosters, and his starring role in the Nickelodeon sitcom Cousins for Life. In 2021, he joined the cast of the Netflix series Cobra Kai, a sequel to The Karate Kid films. Early life Young was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He is the son of Major League Baseball player Eric Young Sr. and his wife Beyonka Jackson. His older brother, Eric Young Jr., is also a professional baseball player. Young dreamed of becoming a professional athlete like his father and brother. He had aspirations of playing for the Colorado Rockies like they did. In addition to baseball, Young also loves basketball and football. Between the ages of 5 and 6, Young studied karate. He would later take kickboxing lessons as well.
Though he was sure he would become a baseball player, plans changed when a neighbor encouraged Young to go into acting. Young credited shows he grew up watching such as, Family Matters, Hannah Montana and Jessie, with helping him discover his passion for acting. He later met with talent scout Diana Horner. Young was invited to attend an acting showcase in Los Angeles where he met his manager. His manager then introduced him to an agent and Young began booking jobs immediately. He credits Denzel Washington as his biggest influence.
Career Young began acting at age 9 when he appeared in a short film. He later made his television debut in Investigation Discovery's documentary television series, Murder Among Friends. He filmed his audition on his on his manager's front lawn and he booked the gig the very next day. He would go on to appear in episodes of Shameless, The Mayor, The Good Place and The Fosters. He also landed a small role in the 2018 sci-fi film Ready Player One. In 2018, Young landed his first leading role when he was cast as Stuart in the Nickelodeon sitcom Cousins for Life, created by Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert. In 2019, he appeared in two episodes of ABC's Mixed-ish. Young was later cast in the Willie Aikens biopic The Royal.
In 2020, Young appeared in an episode of the Fox drama 9-1-1. That year, he would also book a recurring role on another Netflix series, The Big Show Show where he played a character named after singer Taylor Swift. In 2021, Young was cast in the recurring role of Kenny Payne in Netflix's critically acclaimed original series Cobra Kai. At age 15, Young was the youngest member of the cast. Young auditioned for the role in 2020 and the process took approximately three weeks. While he grew up on the original films, Young waited until he booked the role to binge the television series which only added to his excitement. To prepare for the role, he studied martial arts and also researched Bruce Lee and Wesley Snipes to develop his technique for the fight scenes. Young is set to appear in The Royal and has starred in 1-800-Hot-Nite, which released on Paramount+ with Showtime in 2022.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes 2016 Murder Among Friends Kevin Episode: "The Rabbit Hole" 2017 The Good Place Young Uzo Episode: "Chidi's Choice" The Mayor Elijah2 episodes Shameless De'Andre Episode: "Fuck Paying It Forward" Vampirina Student / ClassmatesVoice (4 episodes) 2018 Ready Player One Elementary Kid The Fosters Corey3 episodes 2018–2019 Cousins for Life Stuart Series regular 2019 Mixed-ish Rodney2 episodes Where's Waldo Mateo Voice; episode: "Bahama Drama" 2020 Glitch Techs Young Casino Voice; episode: "Smashozaurs" The Big Show Show TaylorRecurring role (5 episodes) The Main Event Mason Netflix original film 9-1-1 Bryce Episode: "The One That Got Away" 2021–2025 Cobra Kai Kenny Payne 32 episodes Recurring role (season 4)
Main role (seasons 5–6) 2021 Good Trouble Corey Episode: "Klompendansen" Sydney to the Max Benny Episode: "Tearin' Up My Room" The Royal Young Willie Aikens 2022 1-800-Hot Nite Tommy 2023 Urkel Saves Santa: the Movie Jordon Direct-to-Video
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