Young Las Vegas actor makes mark in hit Disney time travel mystery series

Fans of Preston Oliver can catch him on TV easily enough on the episodes of “This Is Us” and “Chicago Fire” on which he appeared, or even the first season, and upcoming second season, of “Secrets of Sulphur Springs,” the Disney series in which he stars.

But if they’re lucky enough to live in Las Vegas, fans also could just head over to a certain quick-service restaurant where the 15-year-old works when he’s not building a career as an up-and-coming actor.

It’s a lifestyle that the down-to-earth native Las Vegan seems to enjoy. And while he’d certainly love for acting to become his full-time career, for now he’s enjoying the dual-track pleasures of pursuing his dreams while also living the life of a regular teenager.

Secrets of ‘Secrets’

“Secrets of Sulphur Springs” is a Disney Channel and Disney+ adventure series that begins its second season Jan. 14. Oliver plays Griffin Campbell, a 12-year-old who moves from Chicago to Sulphur Springs, Louisiana, when his father buys and renovates the Tremont Hotel, which supposedly is haunted by a girl named Savannah who had disappeared 30 years earlier. Griffin and a friend, Harper, try to solve the hotel’s, and the town’s, mysteries with the help of a time portal they have discovered.

The series premiered last January. Oliver says he’s “super-excited” that the drama was picked up for a second season and doesn’t know all of the details of how the mystery will unspool.

“But I would say it definitely gets a little scarier, a little more intense throughout the season,” he adds, and this season focuses a bit more on Harper’s storyline.

“Secrets of Sulphur Springs” seems to be a good fit for Oliver, who says he’s a fan of paranormal-flavored TV shows. “I loved watching ‘Ghost Hunters’ and stuff like that with my brother and cousin when we were kids, and I definitely like time-travel stuff,” he says.

But Oliver admits that he’s surprised by how avidly viewers have taken to the show. “I definitely wasn’t expecting it to really blow up like this. My Instagram account had, like, 1,000 followers. Now it’s like 22,000 followers.”

For that, he credits the show itself, which delivers age-appropriate chills while remaining suitable for viewing by the entire family.

“I would say it’s good for kids to watch. A lot of (series try to be) really scary and they try to (give kids) nightmares at night. Our show, we’ve got all of these different plot points in it … so any age can enjoy it.”

A career is born

Oliver was born in Las Vegas and grew up here. In fifth grade, during his final year at Calvary Chapel Christian School, he decided to audition for a role in a school production of “Peter Pan.”

“I never had an interest in acting,” he says, but “I figured the one thing I haven’t done is try out for a play. So I went back to where they were doing auditions. I never told my parents about it.”

Cast as a pirate, he discovered that he liked acting and loved being part of a production.

“I did the play and I loved every bit of it,” says Oliver, who did a drama in sixth grade and loved that, too. He signed up for after-school acting classes and, at one of those classes, a representative from Coast to Coast Talent Group saw him. The agency signed him and began to send him off on auditions.

At 12, he made his professional debut, landing the role of Riley Boyd on “Chicago Fire.” He followed that up with a guest-starring role on “This Is Us,” playing the future son of Justin Hartley’s character, Kevin.

Oliver says taking dance lessons from his mother, a dance teacher, helped him to be “just a little bit” nervous during those auditions. “I was comfortable having everyone looking at me. But I definitely got nervous in the ‘Sulphur Springs’ audition.

“I didn’t want to screw up and embarrass myself. I was cracking jokes when I could. That made them laugh and made me comfortable.”

He got the job. In fact, he says, “The thing with ‘Sulphur Springs’ is, I kind of thought I got the job before they told me. One of the callbacks, I was the only Griffin there, and there were six girls playing Harper. I was kind of suspicious.”

Oliver’s mother, Jen, admits, in an email exchange, that even after that first school play “we … never saw this coming. We could see he had talent and put him in acting classes to learn more technique and have fun, but never expected things to take off as they did.”

Reel, and real, life

The series is filmed in Louisiana and COVID-19 made shooting the second season more difficult than filming the first, Oliver says. “There are zones and stuff, and you’ve got to have masks and everything. Sometimes it’s harder to hear another person because they’ve got plexiglass (barriers) up. Sometimes they’ll yell at you across the stage for action and you can’t really understand them. There are a lot more safety protocols. So there is a lot more involved in it.”

On the other hand, “the acting part wasn’t too difficult. Once the camera starts rolling, I’ll take the mask off and it feels like it’s back to normal.”

Also pretty normal: life at the Las Vegas restaurant where he works when he’s not on set. Oliver’s older brother, Jordan, helped him get the job. “Now we’re not filming. So I’m working there, and I haven’t been noticed,” Oliver says.

His boss is “super-flexible,” says Oliver, who explains that he “takes orders and stuff. I’m the one who makes milkshakes, and sometimes I work the drive-thru and front counter.”

His co-workers are good about Oliver’s other job. “I came in one day and a new girl is working there. One of my friends says, ‘That’s Preston. He’s famous.’ They pulled out my Instagram and the new girl freaked out.”

But, he says, “no one really talks about” his acting career, and “my close friends don’t really care.”

He’s now awaiting word about whether “Secrets of Sulphur Springs” will be renewed for a third season. When he’s filming, Oliver’s mother travels with him while his father, Brandon, and brother stay at home. Oliver attends online school, and while his life has seen some dramatic professional changes over the past year or two, “personally, for me, not much has changed,” he says.

“Definitely, social media is different because I have a bigger platform now. I’ve got a lot of followers. But because of COVID and everything I haven’t been able to go out and do sit-down interviews. I’ve never been on a red carpet. I’m not out much because of COVID and masks. I haven’t been recognized at all, pretty much. I’m just playing basketball and video games, kind of the same things I’ve been doing.”

“We don’t treat him any differently than we did before,” mom Jen writes. “He’s still our son and we have expectations and responsibilities that he is accountable for. Plus, having a solid family support system is such a blessing.”

Oliver says that what makes acting so appealing is that “I love meeting new people. I think that’s the biggest thing. When I get to audition for a project, the first thing I want to do is (ask), ‘Who’s working on it? Who’s making it?’ Meeting new people is the biggest thing. I also love being able to turn into this character.”

Among the characters he’d like to turn into someday: a superhero or two.

“I’m really into superhero stuff — Marvel, DC. I’d love to do Netflix, something serious like ‘Stranger Things.’ I guess I love action-packed things, any action movie.” For now, he’s thrilled to be acting on a Disney show. But, he says, “I’m still waiting on a Marvel call. That’s my big one.”

Contact John Przybys at reviewjournal.com. or 702-383-0280. Follow @JJPrzybys on Twitter.