Netflix's new drama "Made," a poignant show about poverty in America, follows a young single mother as she fights to build a better life for her daughter. After breaking up with her abusive boyfriend, Alex (Margaret Quarrie) (opens in new tab) must find a new home and job with little money, while simultaneously fighting for custody of 2-year-old Maddie. In the process, Alex receives help from Nate (Raymond Ablack), a kind-hearted single father who is an old friend and new love interest.

As Nate, Ablack reprises the heartfelt role that made him famous on Netflix earlier this year in "Ginny and Georgia" (open in new tab). While many may be seeing him for the first time in "Ginny and Georgia" and "The Maid," the Canadian actor has been in beloved roles on Broadway and television since he was a kid growing up in Toronto. Here is everything we know about Raymond Ablack.

Ablack was born in Toronto, Canada in November 1989. He appeared as a child actor in various commercials and advertisements, and in 2001 played Young Simba in the Toronto production of The Lion King musical at the Princess of Wales Theatre. He told "Talk Nerdy With Us" (opens in new tab) that after his parents went to see the performance, he asked if he could audition. [Two weeks later,] I saw the audition in the newspaper and asked if I could go, and I was lucky enough to get in," he said.

Ablak joined the teen soap icon in season 7 (2007) and graduated from school (and the show) in season 11. He was popular, played in the band Stüdz with friends Peter and Danny and Degrassi OG Spinner, and even dated singer Keke Palmer when she played herself in one episode.

He also stayed in school while appearing on the show. He completed his senior year while appearing on Degrassi and enrolled at Ryerson University, where he will receive a bachelor's degree in radio and television and media production in 2019, with a minor in English. He told Talk Nerdy With Us that his backup plan if acting does not work out is to become a sportscaster.

In addition to acting, he also played field hockey as a child with hopes of becoming a National Hockey League (NHL) player. He said in a 2011 interview (open in new tab) that he played every position in his 14-year career and was a goaltender when he landed in Degrassi. I really think (and perhaps I'm a bit delusional), he said, "If I still had the time, the drive and love for the game that I have now, I could have made a legitimate run in the NHL - at least that's what I tell myself."

TV fans will have seen Ablak on one of their favorite shows long before he appeared on Netflix. In addition to "Degrassi," he has appeared in "Life with Derek," "Orphan Black," and "Shadowhunters. His first Netflix show was Narcos, in which he played a new DEA agent named Stoddard.

Ablack first fell in love with the Titanic theme and Celine Dion as a child; in 2010, he told Seventeen (open in new tab) that diva Celine Dion was his favorite singer.

"My mom and I love Celine Dion. She was my first concert. Then I saw 'Titanic' when I was really little and sang "My Heart Will Go On" at my third grade talent show. Actually, I went up on stage with the puppets and we did comedy first. Then I sang "My Heart Will Go On" and won the talent show."

The 31-year-old was able to share the screen with his sister Rebecca Black when she landed the role of Marcus' girlfriend, Padma, in "Ginny and Georgia." He shared a behind-the-scenes photo of the two of them on set on Instagram and wrote, "I can't tell you how impossible the odds were and how lucky I was to share my dream with my sister. I am so grateful. 0]

Ablak said that playing Joe, the restaurant owner and Georgia's romantic leading man, as an Indian-Guyanese kid who watched "Friends" and "The Office," the type of role he always wanted to play but never got to play himself He told Bustle (open in new tab) that he was able to.

"Playing the lead role as a POC youth in a Netflix series is for me personally ...... more important to me than getting the job." As for his character, he said, "I took in all the aspects of Ross, Chandler, and Jim that I didn't see in my own skin color. And hopefully, he's someone that people will want to relate to"

.

He added, "I have seen this type of character represented by white men. Like Apu from The Simpsons. [Joe] is not just a laughing stock. I wanted to turn that idea on its head and show that [brown people] can be the star, not just a joke."