No matter if junior Robert Dameron is on stage or walking through life, he said, he always plays the same role: himself. He claims this character proudly, as almost every part he’s been cast as has been the comedic relief- it’s even his signature style on TikTok. What many fans and followers do not know is that Dameron has never played the part, he lives it instead.
While Dameron proclaims himself as a “weirdo,” he said he takes pride in the title. His handle on TikTok is literally @RoberttheWeirdo, and he has a following of over 690,000. His videos usually reach at least 20,000 likes and 300,000 views. Content-wise, there is a continuation of the personality that his audience is used to.
“On TikTok my videos are a mix of creepy and relatable. When people see them they seem to like them, so that’s why I have so many followers. I went viral during lockdown and originally acquired 3 million followers, that is until trolls got my account taken down,” said Dameron.
In response to his deleted account, he learned a new philosophy about how to deal with what he calls “trolls.” To Dameron, trolls aren’t a concern, in fact he welcomes the hate.
“I do have a lot of haters. The people who don’t like my content because they’ve never seen anything like it, so it makes them uncomfortable, and they choose to be hateful instead of accepting the uniqueness of my content,” he said.
When it comes to his online persona, Dameron said he doesn’t shy away from being himself at all times. He said he appreciates a quirkiness that most people can’t understand. “A really long time ago I came across this guy on TikTok, he was super goofy, really just his own character. He was slightly off-kilter, almost creepy. When I first saw him I was confused but knew I appreciated his personality immediately,” said Dameron.
Since he can remember, Dameron has labeled himself as a natural performer: singing and dancing around whenever possible. “Robert was born a star. He would memorize movies and act them out for the next week or so. I’ve never heard of a more natural actor,” said Rachel Dameron, Robert’s mother.
Rachel Dameron said she believes that this personal confidence comes from years of living in an open and accepting home environment with only moms. Robert said that his mothers are still his favorite people to perform for.
“Growing up with more than one mom has 100 percent allowed me to become more accepting of others. In a way, it’s all that I’ve known,” Robert said.
Robert said his mom pushed him to audition for his first role as Bert Healy in “Annie: the Musical.” Robert immediately clung to the animated character, and before he knew it, he reprised the role the following year at Summit Lakes, his seventh grade year.
“In all honesty, I feel like I played Bert so well that I was able to perfect it in middle school. He helped me develop my confidence on stage, and he unknowingly helped me develop my own ‘character’ if you know what I mean,” said Robert.
Off the stage, Robert describes his own personality as very comparable to the characters he’s portrayed on stage. Personalities like Olaf from “Frozen,” Perrivinchini in “The Mousetrap,” the Earthworm in “James and the Giant Peach,” Munchik in “Little Shop of Horrors,” and Carlos in “Legally Blonde — to name a few.
“All of my roles have shared a creepy, sometimes unsettling, but also comedic feel to them. It’s easy to play those characters because they remind me of myself, and I can make them my own in that way too,” he said.
“Robert is unique in a way another person couldn’t replicate. I think the best way to say it is: Robert loves theater and theater loves Robert,” said senior Addison Foote.
