* Meaning of name "Alexander James Mclean":
ALEXANDER -Protector of Mankind (Latin)
JAMES -Supplanter (I looked this up and it means "...")
Denise McLean is a very proud mother , but what do you expect when her son is none other than AJ McLean himself ? She could always tell in his earliest years that he was an extrovert who sought attention constantly.As an only child he was given this .
AJ was born on 9th January 1978 which now makes him 23 years old . Since been a toddler he has always been the energetic ,noticable entertainer . As he got older he would sing for anybody who would listen . He admits himself that he was unbearably demanding and an attention seeker . He believes that this is down to the divorce of his parents , he was only 5 when his parents Denise and Robert split up .This had a major effect on him. Denise brought AJ up as a single parent while Robert disappeared from their lives and played no part in AJ's childhood . He visited once ,at christmas, when AJ was only 10. It was confusing growing up with a dad around as AJ says...
" My father was never around when I was a kid and it was pretty tough on me . He never wrote and I never got any birthday cards or anything.I would watch the other kids go out and play basketball or baseball with their dads , but I never had that.
" We never spoke about my dad around the house so I never really understood why he left us . I think one of the reasons i craved so much attention was because my dad wasn't around .With him gone I had to make sure I got all the attention I could from everyone else . But , even though I didn't have a dad , I had a great childhood. I got all the love and support I needed.My mom and my grandparents were fantastic and I owe everything to them . There were always there for me and supported me in everything I wanted to do . They gave me the security I needed in my life . Without them , who knows how I would have turned out "
AJs mother had always been interested in acting and the entertainment buisness . When she saw that AJ was a natural performer she was eager to help him pursue it. She put AJ forward for a fashion show in a shopping mall seeking kids .He got the job at only 7 years old and was very confident.He was a natural ham who loved attention ...
"I was always talking and would drive my grandparents mad.I would talk their ears off until they couldn't hear me no more and dance around making sure everyone was looking at me.I just loved everyone looking at me and laughing."
A woman in the audience spotted AJ , she was called Nona Lloyd and she knew AJ had natural ability on the stage and thought he was cute.She was the director of the local children's musical theatre and organised productions,always on the look out for talent and was now searching for little boys to play dwarfs in a production of Snow White . She had problems finding youngsters but when she saw AJ she knew he'd be perfect.
"Nona liked me but she wasn't sure if my skills were up to par for a speaking part . I hadn't done much acting before but she felt i could handle the role of Dopey because he didn't have to say a word . It was a fantastic break for me
"When the show opened I was very nervous , but also very excited.I'd learnt a bit of sign language for the show but didn't really understand what I was doing.I was the comic relief character and got everyone laughing .Iwas just being myself and it was working.I don't mean to be conceited but i stole the show and I loved every second of it .
After the opening night ,I got my first taste of being sort of famous .A lot of kids came up to me and asked for my autograph .I couldn't really believe it , but it was great . I signed my full name for them-Alexander James McLean . It was really cool."
Transcript of a Johnny No Name chat !