In Universal Pictures' "Shout," James Walters makes his debut in a starring role as Jesse Tucker, the rebellious teen orphan who shakes up the folks in the sleepy town of Claritu, Texas when he learns the power of rock n' roll. His co-stars are Heather Graham, Richard Jordan, Linda Florentino and John Travolta as Jack Cabe. The film was produced by Robert Simonds and directed by Jeffrey Hornaday.

"Jesse's been thrown around from orphanage to orphanage, foster home to foster home," continues Walters, "never quite fitting in or even wanting to fit in anywhere. He finally winds up in this reform school in Texas where he changes the attitude of the other guys and makes them realize that you've got to follow your heart."

In "Shout," Jesse develops a crucial relationship with the school's new music teacher, Jack Cabe (Travolta), who introduces him and the other orphans to the liberating power of the hot new music called rock n' roll.

Walters' musical abilities helped earn him the role of Jesse in "Shout." "Music was always a real big part of my life when I was growing up," says Walters. "My dad gave me a guitar when I was around 14. I was always in garage bands all through high school, and in college I played and sang with a band called 'House.'"

After graduating from Northfield Mount Hermon, a co-ed boarding school in Northfield, Massachusetts, Walters enrolled in New York University's Film School, where he studied for two years.

He took his first acting class at NYU and acted in other students' films. "I figured out that I liked acting more than I did the other side of the camera," says Walters. "When I took a scene study class I said, ' I can get into this, I like this.'"

His first professional acting job was in a Levi's 501 commercial in 1988. More commercials followed and he was soon cast in his first feature film, "Bed and Breakfast." starring Roger Moore, Talia Shire and Collen Dewhurst. this was followed by an independant film, "Pillars of Rage."

During this time Walters also worked on television, guest starring on "As The World Turns" and "Reaching Out," a syndicated prime time special.

On stage, Walters has appeared in "Flying Hormones," "Fool For Love," "Moon for the Misbegotten" and "The Skin of our Teeth. "I think stage work is the backbone of acting," commnets Walters, "that's where you really fine tune your skills. You have to know who your character is before you go on stage. On a film, you're still finding things out while you're rolling; you're realizing new things. Luckily, with film, you can always do it again."

Universal Pictures presents A Robert Simonds Production. "Shout." James Walters. Heather Graham. Richard Jordan. Linda Florentino. And John Travolta as Cabe. Music Score by Randy Edelman. Music Supervisor, Karyn Rachtman. Film Editor, Seth Flaum. Production Designed by William F. Matthews. Director of Photography, Robert Brinkmann. Executive Producer, Lindsay Parsons, Jr. written by Joe Gayton. Produced by Robert Simonds.
Directed by Jeffrey Hornaday.