Oscar buzz in North Carolina after former Fayetteville student nominated for role in Causeway

Brian Tyree Henry is up for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Causeway.

Henry is a graduate of E.E. Smith High School – and his former chorus director has been beaming with pride.

It'll be March before we know whether he wins, but that doesn't matter to the students at his former high school. Win or lose, in their eyes he's already a winner – and an inspiration.

Every big Hollywood star has a beginning. For Henry, that start was in a chorus class in E.E. Smith High School in Fayetteville. Sharon McNair was his Choral Director.

"He auditioned in his sophomore year and made the group," she recalled. "He was a little shy at first. Good singer. Great mover. And liked to joke around a lot."

His list of acting credits is very impressive, including Law & Order, The Good Wife and How to Get Away with Murder. He's talked about his role in Bullet Train opposite Brad Pitt on the Kelly Clarkson Show on WRAL. That movie was filmed during the pandemic.

“They built cars of the train. There was a huge screen with moving pictures going. I felt it was like it was very classic Hollywood like back in the 20s when there’s like 30 people moving the set and turning and you had to get to the bare minimum," he said. "But yeah, like it’s a huge action movie. The cast is insane and I got to fight Brad Pitt."

McNair saw him perform on stage when he was a student at Yale. She knew then – he was going to be a star.

"I was just memorized and I thought – I told my daughter – if Brian wants to go further, he's got it," she said.

Now, his Oscar nomination is an inspiration for others at his alma mater.

"The moment I found out, I showed it to my kids the next day because basically he's proof that it can be done," said Monique McLead, the current chorus director.

Tyvhon Davis, a current student, shared a powerful insight, saying, "It's always good to have to have a Black man up there in those high places. But it's even better to know that Black man is from where I'm at right now. It shows that if I make a goal and I keep that goal and I continue to achieve that goal, then eventually I can end up wherever I want."

That's how successful dreams begin: In classrooms just like those in Fayetteville, NC.

Who knows what the future will hold for the next generation, inspired by watching Henry making it to the top.