John Gluck Is the Breakout Star of the Original NBC Show ‘Ordinary Joe’

TV networks hope to hit it big when they launch new programming. It’s hard to keep peoples’ attention these days and competition is stiff. However, NBC is hitting it big early in the season, and they have John Gluck, who has been cast on the new show Ordinary Joe, to thank.

Ordinary Joe is an original story that brings together three contrasted timelines following the show’s main character, Joe, played by James Wolk. Each timeline is shifted, changing the future by exploring how his life would turn out if he made different choices around the time he graduated.

In one realm, Joe becomes a police officer. In another, he’s a singer. And in the third realm, Joe becomes a nurse. When Joe is a nurse, he has a son named Christopher, played by John Gluck. When Joe is a police officer, he doesn’t have a son, but a young boy named Lucas, also played by John, is a part of the story.

Both of those boys are played by a new young actor, John Gluck, who takes on playing both roles and does it amazingly. And fans are already talking about his incredible acting — and singing — skills.

There isn’t a whole lot known about John at this time. With this being his first role and the show very early in its release, we’re sure that over time we will get to know this incredible actor more. But from what we do know already, he’s likely going to be a part of the Hollywood scene for a while.

According to his biography on IMDb, John Gluck is only 12 years old and is already super talented. His dual characters on Ordinary Joe is his first big role and it isn’t an easy first job. He’s essentially playing two parts and makes a convincing character in each one.

Although he’s playing two characters, there are a lot of similarities between Christopher and Lucas, including the fact that both are disabled. John himself is disabled too. His bio shares that when he was born, he was diagnosed with a rare disease called collagen VI muscular dystrophy.

Both characters he plays in the NBC show have a diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy, which is a related disorder, though not the same diagnosis, according to RareDiseases.org. John is a strong advocate for the disabled community even at such a young age and is an avid and vocal supporter of CureCMD.org, a non-profit whose mission is to support research to hopefully lead to a treatment for his condition.

The young actor has received rave reviews from the people he works with and the audience who are watching the new show. According to Entertainment Weekly, John is “wonderfully charismatic,” while Decider calls him the “Sleeper Star,” adding, “In both timelines he’s in, he seems to be the smartest and wisest character on screen.”

Fans took to social media to share their appreciation for the young one’s talent too.

“The actor who plays Christopher/Lucas is obviously tremendously talented too,” one fan tweeted. Another shared, “Rockstar Joe needs to find Christopher/Lucas.”

“Indeed, John Gluck is quite the talent,” tweeted another fan of the show. “It was nice [to see] the show showcase his lovely singing skills as well! Glad [to see] that he has been added to the cast on Ordinary Joe's IMDb page, with his own IMDb page. Cheers to the show [for] representing people with disabilities authentically!”

And the writers of the show have been sharing their appreciation for John’s talents as well. “Yes, that was actor #JohnGluck singing,” they explained. “Yes, we also tear up when he sings!”

Beyond John's wonderful talents, fans are also cheering on the writers for bringing in consultants to create authentic experiences for Christopher and Lucas.

Catch new episodes of Ordinary Joe every Monday at 10 p.m. EST on NBC.