The young actorNoah LaLondehas appeared in several movies and TV shows prior to starring in the 2023 Netflix dramaMy Life With The Walter Boys,including an appearance in the popular Paramount+ proceduralCriminal Minds: Evolution.Born in 1998, LaLonde is a native of Detroit, Michigan, with many of his earlier movies and TV shows being independent productions made and filmed locally in the city.
Studied acting in Detroit too, dropping out of Grand Valley State University to pursue his training independently with the many filmmakers and other actors in the area. Noah LaLonde’s first role outside of independent films came in 2022 when he appeared as an UnSub in the first season ofCriminal Minds: Evolution.However, this cannot truly be said to be his big break, asit’s playing Cole Walterin the coming-of-age seriesMy Life With The Walter Boysthat seems to be putting him on the map.
Noah LaLonde’s Short Film Appearances
LaLonde’s Career Started With A Handful Of Short Movies
Prior to his career taking off and appearing in shows likeCriminal MindsandMy Life With The Walter Boysas well as movies likeAsbury Park,Noah LaLonde started out appearing in a variety of short films.Like most short films, tracking these down online can be quite tricky, but all of them are worth noting given that they established the foundations for LaLonde’s career.
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2021
Asbury Park (2021)
Noah LaLonde Plays Rece
Noah LaLonde’s first role outside short films was a small part in 2021’sAsbury Parkfrom director Ken Williams, who creates movies under the name Legend.Asbury Parkwas an independent movie, with the plot focusing on four youths from Detroit who attempt a variety of means to escape their impoverished upbringing. Some characters attempt more traditional paths to success, while others focus on a life of crime.
While Noah LaLonde appears as Rece inAsbury Park,his role wasn’t as one of the main cast. The film is important to consider in the actor’s wider filmography, though his part wasn’t central to the key plot. He played a friend of one of the four youths, with his dialogue mainly enforcing that Black Americans have more to fear from the law than their white neighbors.LaLonde delivered a solid performance, though it was far from a career highlight.
Deer Camp ‘86 (2022)
Noah LaLonde Plays Wes
Following on fromAsbury Park,the next Noah LaLonde movie saw the actor as one of the main cast members.2022’sDeer Camp ‘86is a low-budget horror movie from director L. Van Dyke Siboutszen. The plot sees six friends from Detroit head up north for a drink and drug fueled hunting trip as per their annual tradition. However, once there, they quickly learn their debauchery has awakened an ancient and sinister presence.
Noah LaLonde plays Wes inDeer Camp ‘86,leading the cast alongside the likes of Jay J. Bidwell, Arthur Cartwright, Tina Joy, and a handful of other cast members who were in similar early career stages as LaLonde himself.As a movie,Deer Camp ‘86is a fairly tongue-in-cheek horror that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It has as many comedic moments as it does scary ones, and its 80% audience score onRotten Tomatoesshows that it definitely appeals to many horror movie fans (just as its lack of critical score reveals how under-the-radar the movie truly is).
Criminal Minds: Evolution
Cast
InCriminal Minds: Evolution, the FBI’s elite team of criminal profilers come up against their greatest threat yet, an UnSub who has used the pandemic to build a network of other serial killers. As the world opens back up and the network goes operational, the team must hunt them down, one murder at a time. Original cast members continuing their roles include Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster. Zach Gilford joins the dynamic cast as a recurring guest star in a season-long arc.
After appearing in numerous short films and appearing in the cast of a handful of independent feature-films, Noah LaLonde’s big break came when he appeared in the popular proceduralcrime showCriminal Minds: Evolution.Evolutionis a spin-off ofCriminal Minds,created for a streaming audience on Paramount+ several years after the main show concluded. One of the key draws forCriminal Mindsfans are the “UnSubs” — the criminals that members of the show’s FBI team (the Behavioral Analysis Unit) track down and bring to justice across each episode.
Since Gale Bruneau also operated as one half of a team alongside his brother, Noah LaLonde had more opportunities than most UnSub actors inCriminal Mindsto show he could handle emotional moments
The new UnSubsinCriminal Minds: Evolutionwere one of the most highly anticipated aspects of the reboot, and Noah LaLonde played the season 1, episode 4 UnSub Gael Bruneau when he appeared on the show.As a character, Gael Bruneau allowed LaLonde to display a wide range of skills as an actor. Bruneau was a home-invading serial killer with a penchant for hacking.
Since Gale Bruneau also operated as one half of a team alongside his brother, Noah LaLonde had more opportunities than most UnSub actors inCriminal Mindsto show he could handle emotional moments as well as scenes that simply required him to act as a bloodthirsty sociopath. Noah LaLonde has only appeared in one show sinceCriminal Minds: Evolution,though his appearance in the procedural will hopefully lead to him once again playing a serial killer or antagonist, since he clearly has a talent for this types of roles.
My Life with the Walter Boys
My Life with the Walter Boys is a 2023 series about a teenage girl who moves in with her guardian’s large family following a personal tragedy. Set in a small town, the story explores themes of love, hope, and friendship as she navigates her new life.
Noah LaLonde’s most recent TV show is also his most prominent appearance to date. The 2023 dramaMy Life With The Walter Boysis a teen drama created by Netflix, and is based on the 2014 coming-of-age novel of the same name by Avi Novak. The story focuses on Jackie (Nikki Rodriguez), a teen from Manhattan who’s relocated to Colorado following the death of her parents.Noah LaLonde plays Cole Walter of the titular Walters, and is central to the romantic subplot that becomes the defining aspect of Jackie’s time in Colorado.
My Life With The Walter Boyshas already been renewed for season 2. In the book, Jackie ultimately ends up with Cole, so future episodes of the show should feature much more of Noah LaLonde unless the plot of theNetflix show wildly deviatesfrom the source material. While playing Cole Walter inMy Life With The Walter Boysmay not allow him to display as wide a range as his single episode ofCriminal Minds: Evolution,the leading role will likely be integral for the young actor as his career progresses.
