New Albany Kindergartner makes his acting debut during Super Bowl commercial

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - One of the main attractions during the Super Bowl are the commercials.

Millions of people tune in each year to make the commercials an event of their own and one lucky kid from WAVE Country was in one of them.

Six year-old Smith Gilbert attends Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in New Albany and was briefly shown in a Super Bowl Ad as a part of a 100 million dollar campaign called “He Gets Us.”

The “He Gets Us” ad in the Super Bowl was his first gig, but his older sisters Reese and Bailey paved the way for his success.

“She got through these auditions and after that about 15 talent agents reach out to her,” Smith’s mom Bri Gilbert said. “So Reese actually got signed first and then through that they saw this cute face and asked him to get into it.”

So he did. The family put together their audition tapes and waited to hear back from their manager.

“Our manager reached out within a couple of days and said hey you’re on hold,” Gilbert said. “Then the casting director looked at it more and decided that they like Smith and unfortunately Reese didn’t make the cut.”

Yes, Smith beat out his own sister for the role and earned a trip to Texas.

And while he loved that he outdueled his sister, Smith’s favorite part of his trip had nothing to do with being on screen.

“‘What did you like best about it?’ Eating donuts and having gum,” Smith Gilbert said.

His family said they are excited about Smith’s big debut and the message about Jesus portrayed in the ad makes them even more grateful for the opportunity.

“It kind of breaks down the barriers and kind of takes it down to the bare bones of what it means to be loved, to get love and to be a community,” Smith’s dad Aaron Gilbert said. “And I love that and it’s one of my favorite things about that.”

Smith and his sister Reese both plan to continue their on screen aspirations while their oldest sister Bailey hopes to work behind the scenes.

For now, Smith has the bragging rights in the household and said he can’t wait to go to school this week.

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