Sierra Capri, Jason Genao, Brett Gray and Diego Tinoco are all back to lead the On My Block Season 3 cast, but they are joined by some new faces for the new set of episodes, streaming now on Netflix. The ones who have most caught the attention of fans, however, are Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson and Mallory James Mahoney, who star as Kendra and Ainsley. Though both very young actors, together they have a surprisingly long list of acting credits.
Mallory James Mahoney – Ainsley Riches
Ainsley Riches is a brash caricature of a child star, who nevertheless gives Jamal (Gray) some sage advice in one episode of Season 3. The character is played by 15-year-old actor Mallory James Mahoney, who is also currently playing a role as Destiny on the Disney Channel comedy Bunk’d. She joined that show in its third Season in 2018.
Among her other credits are the 2016 TV movie reboot of Adventures in Babysitting and the Rooster Teeth post-apocalyptic drama Day 5. Per Texas Lifestyle, however, her first job was as a child when she appeared in a Chuck E. Cheese commercial.
Asked by that publication why she wanted to be an actor, Mahoney said: “When I was 4, my parents took me to see a Stuart Little play. When I watched it, something told me that is what I want to do. I was very shy at the time, so when I told my parents they were worried that I wouldnʼt like it. I ended up asking them for a year until they finally decided to enroll me with a local theater, thinking I would see that it was scary and not for me. Next thing I knew, the director called my parents to offer me a solo. Shortly after that, I realized I wanted to be on TV and in film. Then my career just kind of grew from there.”
In On My Block, she does double duty as a singer and actor. Not only does she star in the show, but her character performs the song “Lunch Money,” a viral video by the band Ainsley Riches and Father Goose that Jasmine (Jessica Marie Garcia) watches in Season 3, Episode 1.
Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson – Kendra
On My Block is likely to be the first time most viewers have seen Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson, who has so far only starred in one short film, but she is soon to star in two additional projects: horror movie Let’s Scare Julie and A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting, the latest movie from Tank Girl director Rachel Talalay, who recently has directed multiple episodes of Riverdale, Doctor Who and The Flash. In this movie, Johnson will star alongside Harry Potter star Tom Felton and Indya Moore of Pose.
In On My Block, she plays Jamal’s new girlfriend, the ultimate sign he has finally moved on from the curvaceous garden gnome Juanita. Gray said of the character, who he worries is a Prophet stalker before he starts dating her, to Entertainment Tonight: “It’s so funny because [Kendra’s] sort of the opposite of Jamal… She’s super shy and really creepy, and really quiet and weird. So, like, it brings him down. You get a little bit more of who Jamal is as a romantic, but it’s also the most ridiculous relationship ever.”
On My Block Season 3 is streaming now on Netflix.
