George Napoleon Thomas Martin Jr.
Annie Burnside Elementary School third-grader George Napoleon Thomas Martin Jr. made his television debut in the 2021 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Christmas commercial, “Why are Nathan’s SO GOOD?”
The eight-year-old is the premier actor in the 30-second advertisement and is portraying the role of a nephew at the dinner table who is distracted by the taste of Nathan’s famous franks.
The commercial is part of the company’s iconic Get Along Famously campaign, a series of vignette-type ads showcasing how the taste of Nathan’s Famous 100 percent beef franks can bring people together and produce genuine moments of connectivity.
Martin’s mother, Lawanda Champaign, credits his two sisters, who are studying as models at DeAbreu Modeling Consulting, LLC, for his interest in acting.
“The girls would come home and practice their commercials, and when I would correct them, he would say, ‘Girls, do it like this,’” said Champaign. “He just did an excellent job, and a light bulb went off.”
She credits agency owner Ericka DeAbreu with connecting them with the right people for the audition opportunity.
“She knows everybody in the industry, and she is the person who has all these connections,” said Champaign. “I wouldn’t know about any of this if it wasn’t for her.”
After the children’s father died on December 26 of last year, Champaign sought a way to keep them busy.
“I just had to find a way to channel their energies so I put them in sports. I put them in modeling,” said Champaign. “I didn’t want them to start slipping in school, so I did anything to keep their mind off the grief.”
Champaign’s strategy appears to have worked because they are looking forward to Martin auditioning for other roles in the near future.
When asked about the commercial, Martin couldn’t get over the taste, saying, “The food was good.”
The commercial is already airing on television and can be found on YouTube.
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