16-year-old Houstonian Akili McDowell the star of OWN network show

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Akili McDowell is just 16 years old. And yet, this North Shore High School student from the Houston area is already working with Academy award-winning screenwriters on the OWN network. 

He told me his desire to be on the big screen came from watching Michael Jackson dance and That’s So Raven Show. 

Akili said nothing was going to stop him, and he began begging his mom over and over until she just couldn’t say no. She signed him up for acting classes.

McDowell currently plays the main character of David on David Makes Man, a drama series on the OWN network. Executive produced by Tarell Alvin McCraney, Mike Kelley, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, it is centered around a teenage prodigy named David, who lives in the projects but attends a magnet school. Trying to balance both worlds comes at an emotional price.

He says the hardest part was about his journey so far? Having patience. 

David Makes Man airs Wednesdays on OWN.