001PIC.COM: Backstreet Boys

Alexander James McLean "AJ"
"'I'm a big ham and I gotta be out there doing crazy stuff for no apparent reason, especially on stage!' admits A.J. But then one might have guessed that there was something brewing when, as a youngster in his very first acting job, A.J. brought down the house as Dopey in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." That's how A.J.'s Jive Records biography begins, but A.J. who was born on January 9, 1978, loves embellishing on that first moment in McLean stage history. He even told a Scholastic magazines writer that it was his best childhood memory! "It was my first performance. I started in musical theater and it was my first role. It's kind of funny. They weren't sure I was a good speaker. I grew up with a speech impediment. I had a lisp and I stutter -- I still do. I guess I think slower than my mouth speaks, but my first role was in a show called Snow White. I was Dopey. He didn't say anything. He was a little mute. I was about seven. Basically, for lack of a better word, I stole the show. I was the main squeeze. All the girls thought I was really cute. And I went out and signed autographs for all the little kids. And it was funny -- back then I signed my full name, because that's what I thought you were supposed to do. But now, I just write 'A.J.' because that's who I am. But back then I write 'Alexander James McLean.' It would take me forever!"
By the time A.J. was in sixth grade, he had appeared in twenty-seven productions, including The Nutcracker, The King and I, and Fiddler on the Roof. When A.J.'s family moved from West Palm Beach, Florida, to Kissimmee, which is right outside of Orlando, his show biz bug had really bitten! While he was in junior high, he won a part on Nicklelodeon's Hi Honey, I'm Home, and he also took son some Disney channel projects. During
that time, A.J. took numerous classes in dancing, singing, and acting -- he knew what he wanted to do. Of course, it all clicked when he met up with Nick and Howie. But what about those non Backstreet Boys times for A.J.? You might be surprised to know he loves to read the classics and poetry. Books of literary greats such as Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot and Edgar Allan Poe fill his own personal library. He also likes to write poetry, so it's not surprising that A.J. is very interested in song writing. "I like to sit by the pool and write music," he told BOP!, "and sometimes if I have the opportunity, I'll go to our manager Johnny Wright's house and record my own ideas." He might do something else with his poetry, too -- at least that's what he told a reporter for Teen Beat and All-Stars when she asked if he thought about publishing them as a book. "Maybe," A.J. said. "I've written about seventy-five poems between when I was about fifteen and now. If I ever get the real time to sit down and go back over them, spell-check them, proof-read them, and maybe make a couple of changes, maybe I will. Most of A.J.'s fans know he is very close to his mom, Denise. As a matter of fact, many of them have probably seen her and don't even know it! "I started traveling with the group with A.J. as his guardian because he started under eighteen," Denise told a Teen Beat and All-Stars reporter at the "As Long As You Love Me" video shoot. "I'm not the type to sit around, so I started helping him with wardrobe and makeup. I had done theater work, so I knew how to do that. So I styled him for photo shoots and things in the beginning. I did everything from selling T-shirts to getting him dressed, to selling cassettes, to doing everything on the road. I eventually got into wardrobe, and started doing that for all of them." Does it ever cause A.J. "problems" having his mom on the road with him? "No, we have a good time actually," Denise laughs. "It's been just he and I together most of his life, so we're buddies." Of course, like any mom, there are times Denise gets a little concerned about her son. "You know, typical things, like going out real late when he knows he has to get up for something in the morning," she admits. "Or eating the wrong foods and not taking care of himself. That's about it." Well, Denise's influence seems to have worked some magic, because A.J. recently said that he was making a concerted effort to change his ways! "I'm going to try to chill out on the McDonald's food," he said. "Sometimes I eat too much of it and I've had problems in the past with my stomach. I don't want to make it worse than it is, so I'm trying to eat less greasy, fattening foods, and take better care of myself.
Find other members of Backstreet Boys: Kevin - Howie - Brian - Nick

CLICK IF YOU ARE FROM U.S.
:: fitness :: viagra :: entertainment :: date :: sex ::

Poster Search