Ted Jan Roberts was born on September 24th 1979. He began his karate training at age seven and got his first black belt at age twelve. Soon after, his family moved to L.A. so young T.J. could become an actor. (Nice family) T.J. became one of the lucky few that became a film star over night. He got a guest roles onEvening Shade, and Married With Children and then got the main role on a film called gMagic Kid.h Several other film roles came soon after, the staring roles in Magic Kid 2, A Dangerous Place, and Tiger Heart, before T.J. got perhaps his most famous role as Dex in Masked Rider. The last role (that I know of) was as Josh in the movie Hollywood Safari. The last I heard of him was that he got married on June 3rd, 2000 to Jill Shockey.
You could say that T.J. was a born actor. He used to sing and dance for people in shopping malls when he was a kid and his audience would actually pay him money. These days, T.J. enjoys listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and loves to go to the mountains to get away from it all. His hobbies include going to the movies, playing the guitar, dancing, and singing. He describes himself as fun loving, humorous, generous, easy going, and understanding. T.J.fs motto in life is "Never give up. When you want something, you really have to stick to it," says T.J. "If you keep trying, you'll make it to wherever you want to go."
The following article about T.J. appeared in the September 1996 issue of Tutti Frutti.
TALKING WITH T.J., THE MASKED RIDER
Who is that Masked Rider? It's none other than T.J. Roberts! The guy behind that costume every Saturday morning is a martial arts expert, a dedicated actor, and a very handsome face! We spoke with T.J. and asked him everything you'd want to know! Check out our exclusive interview!
TUTTI: Tell us, what does T.J. stand for?
T.J.: Ted Jan!
TUTTI: Does anyone call you Ted or has it always been T.J.?
T.J.: My mom and dad call me Ted but, when I'm on the set or out doing business, everyone calls me T.J.
TUTTI: Tell us a little bit about your character on The Masked Rider.
T.J.: Well, I play two characters. One is Dex, he's the human; and then there is the Masked Rider who is a superhero. My main purpose for being here is to save the planet from my uncle who wants to take it over.
TUTTI: Besides the fact that your character is from outer space and you are from Earth, are you anything like him?
T.J.: I'm very much like my character because I want to help kids and be a good role model for them. The Masked Rider's main purpose is to be a good role model for kids and to tell them not to do drugs, not to get into fights, listen to their parents, do good in school, things like that. So I would say we're very much alike.
TUTTI: We hear you're a karate expert!
T.J.: I started martial arts when I was very young, I was seven years old. My dad was into karate too. He was one of Chuck Norris' old black belts from the '70s, before Chuck became a movie star. So my dad primarily got me into martial arts for the discipline and the exercises. It's good for the mind and the body all around. I got my black belt when I was 12 years old, and that's when I decided I wanted to move to Los Angeles to be an actor. I finally convinced my family to move, I bugged them to death! My dad made an audition reel for me, and it was the hardest thing I ever had to go through! It was harder than any producer or director I ever worked with. He was really tough!
TUTTI: What happened next?
T.J.: Well, we moved to Los Angeles, and I got really lucky! The first couple of weeks I was there, I got a guest spot on Married With Children. A couple of weeks after that, I went after this film called The Magic Kid, auditioned for it, landed the part and then they signed me for three more pictures! It all happened so fast!
TUTTI: What advice would you give to kids who want to become actors?
T.J.: Make sure you really, really want to do it, because it's a very tough business! There's a lot of competition so make sure you never give up. If you stick to something and never give up your dreams, you'll get it one day!
TUTTI: Great! Thanks T.J.!
T.J.: Thanks! And thanks to all the fans for their support and letters!
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