Long before he became the man Netflix viewers love to side-eye as Roy Bellarie, Julian Horton was chasing a very different kind of spotlight, the kind lit by Friday night stadium lights rather than soundstages. His career path went from college football to the Tennessee Titans roster to Tyler Perry’s biggest streaming hits. Here is everything currently known about his age, height, football career, music, family, and net worth.
Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Julian Horton |
| Date of Birth | December 12, 1991 |
| Age | 34 |
| Birthplace | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Raised In | Atlanta metro area, Georgia |
| Height | 6 feet (183 cm) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor, producer, record label founder |
| Known For | Roy Bellarie in Beauty in Black |
| College | University of Arkansas |
| NFL Team | Tennessee Titans (2010, preseason only) |
| Marital Status | Married (spouse’s name undisclosed) |
| Children | One daughter |
| Mother | Angelina Hannah |
| Cousin | Donald Faison |
| @julianhorton12 | |
| TikTok | @julianhorton12 |
| X (Twitter) | @JulianHorton12 |
| YouTube | @JulianHorton12 |
Biography
Julian Horton was born on December 12, 1991, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His family relocated to Georgia when he was still a newborn, and he grew up moving between Riverdale, Lawrenceville, Duluth, and Suwanee before settling into his teenage years in the Atlanta metro area. He attended Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross from first grade through graduation, and it was there that his athletic gifts first stood out.
Horton played football, basketball, baseball, and track growing up, but football and basketball became his two strongest sports by high school. He lettered in both at Greater Atlanta Christian, with football eventually becoming the sport that carried him to the next level. In interviews, he has described his upbringing as modest even while attending a school with wealthier classmates, recalling that his mother worked as a cleaner at the school and that he sometimes cleaned the stadium after games just to help make ends meet.
Career
Football Career
Horton earned a scholarship to play college football as a wide receiver for the Arkansas Razorbacks. He stood 6 feet tall and weighed 197 pounds during his playing days, according to Pro Football Reference. His performance at Arkansas was strong enough to draw professional interest, and in May 2010, following his senior season, he signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent. Horton has not shared a current weight, but given that he still appears lean and athletic in his Beauty in Black promotional photos more than a decade after leaving football, a reasonable estimate would put him somewhere in the 205 to 215 pound range today, modestly above his 2010 playing weight rather than significantly heavier.
His NFL career was brief. Horton has said the entire run lasted about four months, covering offseason workouts, training camp, and the preseason before rosters were trimmed down to the league-mandated 53 players. He appeared in a single preseason game with the Titans before the team waived him in August 2010, and he never made it onto a regular season NFL roster. Horton has said he did not see the cut coming but understood it as part of the business, noting that only a small fraction of high school and college football players ever make it to the professional level. The Titans have not publicly disclosed the financial terms of his original contract, and any online figures claiming to know his exact NFL salary should be treated with skepticism, since no verified source confirms them.
The years right after his release from the Titans were rough. Horton has spoken candidly about returning to Atlanta during that period while dealing with a difficult breakup, financial struggles, and a stretch of homelessness. He moved back in with his mother, and that low point became the turning point that pushed him to figure out what came next. Acting, something he had dabbled in during school plays and home videos with his siblings, started to look like more than a hobby.
Acting Career
Horton has said he started pursuing acting seriously around 2016, taking on stage plays and smaller productions years before he landed his first screen credit. His first film credit came in 2018 with the short film Addiction, followed by small roles in Closure and The Benefit List. His first notable exposure came through guest appearances on The CW’s Legacies and BET’s Bruh, both released in 2019 and 2020. Around this time, he was reportedly balancing acting auditions with day jobs, including stints in retail and business development roles, while building his resume.
His breakout feature film role came in 2021 with National Champions, a sports drama starring alongside JK Simmons and Stephan James. The following year, he landed a role as Gene Washington, a real-life former Michigan State wide receiver from the 1960s, in the film Black Spartans, working opposite Neal McDonough and J Alphonse Nicholson. Even after landing supporting film roles, steady work remained hard to come by. Horton has said he drove for Uber during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike to get by, underscoring how uncertain the years leading up to his breakout still were.
Horton’s biggest career moment arrived in 2024, when he was cast as Roy Bellarie in Tyler Perry’s Beauty in Black, Perry’s first series produced under his overall deal with Netflix. Casting directors originally asked him to audition for three characters, Calvin, Steven, and Roy, but Horton pushed specifically for Roy after reading the character breakdowns, sensing that Roy’s volatile, larger-than-life energy matched his own personality more than the other two roles. The audition process reportedly stretched over roughly three weeks before he landed the part. The role turned Horton into one of the most talked-about new faces to come out of the Tyler Perry universe, and he has continued in the part across multiple seasons of the show.
Netflix confirmed in December 2025 that Beauty in Black will return for a third and final season, and Horton is expected back as Roy. He has teased that the final season brings even more chaos and drama to the Bellarie family storyline, though he has said he does not yet know every detail of how the show will end. A release date has not been officially announced, but based on the show’s earlier release pattern, a fall 2026 premiere is considered likely. Beyond Beauty in Black, Horton has several other film projects awaiting release, including Black Spartans, North of Hollywood, and Left One Alive, alongside his ongoing work growing TMO Music Group.
Music & Production
Alongside acting, Horton founded and runs TMO Music Group, a record label he operates under the alias J12. In April 2026, TMO Music Group released “UH HUHH,” a single from rising artist Dae2x featuring Timo, produced by Horton under his J12 alias. In June 2026, Horton formally introduced TMO’s artist roster to the industry during a private listening session at Patchwerk Recording Studios in Atlanta, sponsored by Belaire, which doubled as the announcement for TMO signee Yn Tally’s single “Perfect Timing.”
Horton has also tried to build out his own artist persona alongside his label work. Guests at the Patchwerk listening session heard him perform as an artist in addition to hearing his vision as a producer and label executive, and he has taken on multiple production roles for at least one of his own music releases. He has said he creative directed the accompanying music video, cast it, wrote the script for its short-film opening segment, executive produced the project, and produced the record itself, bringing in his friend and director Tyreek Pinnick, who works under the name Spike Reed, to direct. Despite that hands-on effort, Horton has said his biggest current challenge is getting audiences to take his music seriously, since most viewers still see him strictly as Roy rather than as a recording artist. He maintains an official YouTube channel under the handle @JulianHorton12, where he has shared some of his own musical work alongside acting content.
Personal Life
Horton is the first cousin of actor Donald Faison, known for his role in Scrubs. He describes himself as a religious person and has volunteered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. His mother, Angelina Hannah, has been a recurring presence on his social media, including a November 2025 Instagram post where he celebrated her birthday and credited her with making his childhood holidays feel magical despite the family’s modest means.
In a November 2025 conversation on BET’s “ForTheFellas” segment, Horton opened up about fatherhood, revealing that he has a young daughter who was three years old at the time. He said navigating fame while being present as a father is his biggest personal challenge, and he credited a strong support system, including his family and his partner, with helping him manage both. Horton confirmed during that same conversation that he is married, though he has not publicly shared his wife’s name or his daughter’s mother’s identity.
Online chatter has occasionally linked Horton romantically to Beauty in Black co-stars, including speculation tied to actress Kajanee Smith, but these claims stem from unverified fan and gossip content rather than confirmed reporting.
Julian Horton has not publicly disclosed his specific ethnic background. Based on his appearance in interviews and photos, along with the communities and schools he has described growing up in, he is widely presumed to be African American, though this is an inference rather than a confirmed statement from Horton himself.
Net Worth
Julian Horton’s exact net worth has not been independently verified, and any figure circulating online should be treated with caution given how little of his financial history is public. What can be reasonably pieced together comes from a few identifiable income streams.
As an NFL undrafted free agent who was waived after one preseason game in 2010, Horton would not have collected the kind of signing bonus or extended salary that drafted players receive, and no reliable source has published the actual terms of his brief Titans deal. His acting income likely makes up the bulk of his current earnings. Streaming series regulars working under SAG-AFTRA’s rules updated in July 2024 must earn a minimum of $35,000 per episode on a one-hour streaming drama, which would put his Beauty in Black earnings at a meaningful floor across the show’s 16-plus episodes to date, though Tyler Perry’s productions are known for paying above minimum and compressing filming into just a few weeks per season.
Beyond acting, Horton earns income through TMO Music Group, though as a young independent label, its revenue contribution is likely modest at this stage. Given all of this, Horton’s net worth is estimated to fall somewhere in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars, with room to grow substantially if Beauty in Black continues and his production ventures expand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Julian Horton stop playing football? He was waived by the Tennessee Titans in August 2010 after appearing in a single preseason game as an undrafted free agent. No specific reason for the roster cut, such as injury, has been made public. The period afterward was difficult for Horton personally, involving financial hardship and a stretch of homelessness, before he eventually turned his attention to acting.
Does Julian Horton have kids? Yes. He has a daughter who was three years old as of November 2025, when he spoke about fatherhood during a BET “ForTheFellas” segment.
What is Julian Horton’s salary? His exact salary has not been publicly disclosed, whether from his brief NFL stint or his acting work on Beauty in Black. Estimates can only be built from general industry minimums rather than confirmed figures.
Did Julian Horton play in the NFL? He signed with the Tennessee Titans in May 2010 and appeared in one preseason game, but he was waived before the regular season began and never played in an official NFL regular season game.
What is Julian Horton’s ethnicity? Horton has not publicly disclosed his specific ethnic background. Based on his appearance in interviews and photos and the communities he has described growing up in, he is widely presumed to be African American, though this is an inference rather than a confirmed statement from Horton himself.
Is Julian Horton married? Yes. Horton confirmed during a November 2025 BET “ForTheFellas” conversation that he is married, though he has not publicly shared his wife’s name.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Addiction | Brandon |
| 2019 | Closure | Ryan |
| 2020 | The House Invictus | Barry |
| 2020 | The Benefit List | Bobby |
| 2021 | Strictly for the Streets: Vol 1 | Scooter |
| 2021 | National Champions | Orlando Bishop |
| 2021 | Strictly for the Streets: Vol 2 | Bryant Bo Smith |
| 2022 | ToxiCity | TJ |
| 2023 | The Re-Education of Molly Singer | Bouncer |
| 2023 | On the Run with Love | Freddie Cole |
| 2024 | Colored Tags | Trey |
| 2024 | Release | Julius |
| 2025 | Legends of the Highway | Harold Newton |
| TBD | Black Spartans | Gene Washington |
| TBD | North of Hollywood | Daniel Anderson |
| TBD | Left One Alive | Til |
Television
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Takeout | Bravo |
| 2019 | Legacies | Cocky Vampire |
| 2019 | Homicide Hunter | Wade Douglas |
| 2020 | Fatal Attraction | Russell |
| 2020 | Bruh | Orlando |
| 2020 | Loose AF | Davis |
| 2020-2021 | NoHo: A North Hollywood Story | Daniel Anderson |
| 2021 | First Family | Jacori |
| 2022 | Tough Love: Atlanta | Drew |
| 2023 | Ruined | Jayce |
| 2024-2026 | Beauty in Black | Roy Bellarie |
