INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. -- Caleb Garner, a fifth-grader from Poplin Elementary, might be signing autographs when school starts next year, after starring in an episode on Nickelodeon with Panther quarterback Cam Newton.
Caleb, the son of Ellen and Ben Garner, has an engineer’s brain, his mom says, which is why she submitted his information in a casting call for the new television show “All In With Cam Newton,” which premieres at 8 pm, Friday, (June 3) on Nickelodeon.
“Caleb works on a lot of inventions, but this one in particular I felt was pretty brilliant,” Ellen said. “So on a whim, I submitted his name online. A week later, they said they wanted a Skype interview with Caleb.”
Ellen didn’t tell Caleb that she had submitted his name, and he only found out when the casting agent called to say she wanted to know more about him.
“I was kind of surprised and nervous at first, because nobody really knew that I invented things,” Caleb said. “So it wouldn’t seem like it was me on the show, but it really is me. But I’m not nervous any more. “
The day finally arrived for filming, which began at the Garner’s Indian Trail home.
“When I went to the door, I was really excited to see Cam Newton was standing there. He’s like a giant,” Caleb said. “I shook his hand and invited him to come in and meet my family.”
Ellen said she was very impressed with Newton. “Cam is so natural and warm, it would be almost impossible to not feel comfortable around him. He’s so sincere and so normal. He sincerely loves children.”
When filming at the Garner home was finished, the family, Newton and the camera crew moved to other locations, including downtown Charlotte. Caleb was thrilled when he was introduced to an inventor who looked at his inventions.
“It was great to meet a grown up inventor because he inspired me to invent more and it was cool to compare myself to someone I might become one day,” Caleb said.
Caleb had a taste of being a celebrity when he walked through Charlotte with Newton. “There were even a couple of children that wanted photos of Caleb,” Ellen said. “They knew he had to be somebody when he was walking basically arm-in-arm with Cam Newton.”
After about 15 to 20 hours of shooting, Caleb’s filming adventure came to an end. But before he said goodbye, Caleb made a special gift for Cam. “He was really excited about it. He put it on and we got a picture of us together,” he said.
Although it’s uncertain which episode of “All In With Cam Newton” Caleb will appear, he and his family look forward to seeing the finished product.
“I’m really excited about the show coming on, because I do want other people to see it, but mainly, I want to see it,” Caleb said. “Plus, I would like kids that are like me to feel inspired when they watch my episode; so they know that you can bring things to life if you want to.”
Caleb’s teacher, Michele Martin, says when school starts back in the fall, students will most likely have seen Caleb’s episode. “The kids will be excited for Caleb. They’ll say, ‘You really did meet Cam,’ but I believe they will show more interest in his inventions and what he does.”
Not only was the experience exciting and fun, but it helped Caleb in an unexpected way.
“My favorite part was that Cam Newton and my mentor helped me make a better prototype for one of my inventions,” Caleb said. “It meant a lot to me when Cam Newton said that he believed in me because, well, he’s Cam Newton.”
