# Daryl Sabara
**Daryl Sabara** (full name Daryl Christopher Sabara; born 1992 in [Torrance, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/torrance-california)) is an American actor best known for playing child spy Juni Cortez in [Robert Rodriguez](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-rodriguez)'s *Spy Kids* film trilogy and for voice roles including Hero Boy in *The Polar Express* (2004) and the title character in *Generator Rex*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0754512/bio/) • [2](https://www.nndb.com/people/865/000131472/) He is also known to a wide audience as the husband of pop singer [Meghan Trainor](https://www.edgepedia.org/meghan-trainor), appearing in her music videos and viral TikTok clips.[3](https://mrfeelgood.com/articles/daryl-sabara)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1992, Torrance, California; full name Daryl Christopher Sabara[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0754512/bio/) |
| Breakout role | Juni Cortez in *Spy Kids* (2001), *Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams* (2002), and *Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over* (2003)[2](https://www.nndb.com/people/865/000131472/) |
| First role | Murphy Brown's baby son on the CBS sitcom *Murphy Brown*, alternating with his fraternal twin[4](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/daryl-sabara/9076/) |
| Notable voice work | Hero Boy in *The Polar Express* (2004); Rex in *Generator Rex*; Hunter in *Father of the Pride*[5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/daryl-sabara/bio/3030416010/) • [6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/sabara-daryl-1992) |
| Awards | 2005 Young Artist Award winner for *The Polar Express*; 2004 Young Artist Award nomination for *Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over*[5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/daryl-sabara/bio/3030416010/) |
| Marriage | Married Meghan Trainor on December 22, 2018; sons Riley (born 2021) and Barry Bruce Trainor (born 2023)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0754512/bio/) |
## Early life and start in acting
Sabara was born in 1992 in Torrance, California, to mother Sandy Sabara.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0754512/bio/) • [7](https://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/3d/meet10.htm) His first acting work came in infancy: he and his fraternal twin took turns playing [Murphy Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/murphy-brown)'s baby son on the CBS sitcom *Murphy Brown* beginning around 1992, a role too early for him to remember.[4](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/daryl-sabara/9076/) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/08/05/spy-kid-eyes-a-dream/e0e523fe-229c-43b3-8169-7dcf541c86dc/) By age four he had joined the South Bay Ballet Company, and he continued training in dance, gymnastics, and tae kwon do through his childhood.[4](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/daryl-sabara/9076/) • [5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/daryl-sabara/bio/3030416010/) Guest roles on series such as *Life's Work*, *Love & Money*, *Roswell*, and *Will & Grace* followed.[4](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/daryl-sabara/9076/)
The identity of his twin is reported inconsistently across sources: several filmography and profile sources describe a fraternal twin brother, Evan Sabara, also an actor,[7](https://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/3d/meet10.htm) • [5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/daryl-sabara/bio/3030416010/) while IMDb lists a sibling named Eve Sabara and some fan-maintained biographies describe a twin sister, Eve.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0754512/bio/) • [9](https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Daryl_Sabara)
## Spy Kids and child stardom
At age eight, Sabara was cast as Juni Cortez, a boy who discovers his parents (played by [Antonio Banderas](https://www.edgepedia.org/antonio-banderas) and [Carla Gugino](https://www.edgepedia.org/carla-gugino)) are retired spies, in *Spy Kids* (2001).[4](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/daryl-sabara/9076/) The film earned over $100 million at the domestic box office and spawned two sequels released in quick succession, *Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams* (2002) and *Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over* (2003), with Alexa Vega playing his on-screen sister Carmen.[4](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/daryl-sabara/9076/) • [10](https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2023/09/19/spy-kids-returns-to-austin-over-two-decades-later) In a 2026 retrospective interview with *Us Weekly*, Sabara and PenaVega described the experience as warm rather than exploitative, saying the adult cast, including [Alan Cumming](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-cumming), Banderas, and Gugino, treated them like peers.[11](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/alexa-penavega-daryl-sabara-recall-spy-kids-25-years-later/)
The trilogy shaped his childhood in ways he later described ambivalently. "I felt like I was retired at 12," he told *Mr Feelgood* in 2023, explaining that the three films were shot back to back over five years and that puberty afterward felt strange.[3](https://mrfeelgood.com/articles/daryl-sabara) He attended public school and was bullied as "the 'Spy Kids' kid," and as a teenager he sometimes denied having been in the films.[3](https://mrfeelgood.com/articles/daryl-sabara) In a 2002 *Washington Post* interview at age 10, he named Rodriguez, who writes, edits, and directs his own films, as his role model and said he wanted to direct as well as act.[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/08/05/spy-kid-eyes-a-dream/e0e523fe-229c-43b3-8169-7dcf541c86dc/)
## Transition to adult roles
Sabara deliberately sought more grown-up material after the trilogy, saying he turned down "younger, cheesier" roles.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0754512/bio/) He has called a workshop of the musical *13*, which he performed at age 13 playing a boy with muscular dystrophy, a turning point that reconnected him with character work.[12](https://www.mandatory.com/fun/642853-exclusive-interview-daryl-sabara-on-after-the-dark-the-green-inferno) A second turning point was *World's Greatest Dad* (2009), in which he played Kyle, the son of [Robin Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/robin-williams)'s character, opposite [Bobcat Goldthwait](https://www.edgepedia.org/bobcat-goldthwait)'s direction; he has described the part as an honor and a thrill.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0754512/bio/) • [12](https://www.mandatory.com/fun/642853-exclusive-interview-daryl-sabara-on-after-the-dark-the-green-inferno)
His adult film work includes *Halloween* (2007), *Keeping Up with the Steins* (2006), *A Christmas Carol* (2009, as Peter Cratchit), *Machete* (2010), *John Carter* (2012, as [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgar-rice-burroughs)), *After the Dark* (2013), and [Eli Roth](https://www.edgepedia.org/eli-roth)'s *The Green Inferno* (2015).[2](https://www.nndb.com/people/865/000131472/) • [4](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/daryl-sabara/9076/) • [13](https://cinemovie.tv/index.php/interviews/where-are-they-now-catching-up-with-spy-kid-daryl-sabara) On television he appeared in *Friends* (2003, as Owen, the boy Chandler accidentally reveals is adopted), *House*, *Weeds*, and a recurring role as T.J. on [Disney Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/disney-channel)'s *Wizards of Waverly Place*, and he was a celebrity judge on *America's Most Talented Kids* in 2003.[5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/daryl-sabara/bio/3030416010/) • [9](https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Daryl_Sabara)
## Voice acting
Voice work has been a steady thread in Sabara's career. He provided the voice of Hero Boy in [Robert Zemeckis](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-zemeckis)'s animated *The Polar Express* (2004), a performance that won him a 2005 [Young Artist Award](https://www.edgepedia.org/young-artist-award), and voiced Hunter in NBC's *Father of the Pride* (2004–05).[5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/daryl-sabara/bio/3030416010/) • [6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/sabara-daryl-1992) His most prominent voice role is the title character of the [Cartoon Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/cartoon-network) series *Generator Rex*, and he later voiced Heatblast and other characters in the *Ben 10* reboot from 2016 to 2021.[5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/daryl-sabara/bio/3030416010/) • [14](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0754512) He was also the voice of Rhino in *Ultimate Spider-Man*.[13](https://cinemovie.tv/index.php/interviews/where-are-they-now-catching-up-with-spy-kid-daryl-sabara)
## Personal life
Sabara married singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor on December 22, 2018, and has appeared in multiple music videos alongside her.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0754512/bio/) Their son Riley was born in 2021 and their second son, Barry Bruce Trainor, in 2023.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0754512/bio/) A 2026 *Us Weekly* report states that the couple share two children.[11](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/alexa-penavega-daryl-sabara-recall-spy-kids-25-years-later/) Sabara has spoken about fatherhood as a corrective to his own childhood: his father left when he was one year old, he was raised by his mother, and he has said that when Riley turned one he had a breakdown on realizing he had surpassed the amount of time his own father spent with him.[3](https://mrfeelgood.com/articles/daryl-sabara) His Instagram bio reads simply "Riley's Dad."[3](https://mrfeelgood.com/articles/daryl-sabara)
## References
1. [Daryl Sabara – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0754512/bio/)
2. [Daryl Sabara, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/people/865/000131472/)
3. [Daryl Sabara: 'I Missed Out on a Lot of Childhood. Riley is Teaching Me to Play', Mr Feelgood (June 16, 2023)](https://mrfeelgood.com/articles/daryl-sabara)
4. [Daryl Sabara Biography, Tribute.ca](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/daryl-sabara/9076/)
5. [Daryl Sabara Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/daryl-sabara/bio/3030416010/)
6. [Sabara, Daryl 1992–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/sabara-daryl-1992)
7. [Meet Daryl Christopher Sabara (Juni Cortez), Scholastic News](https://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/3d/meet10.htm)
8. [Spy Kid Eyes a Dream, The Washington Post (August 4, 2002)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/08/05/spy-kid-eyes-a-dream/e0e523fe-229c-43b3-8169-7dcf541c86dc/)
9. [Daryl Sabara, Criminal Minds Wiki](https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Daryl_Sabara)
10. ['Spy Kids' returns to Austin over two decades later, Axios (September 19, 2023)](https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2023/09/19/spy-kids-returns-to-austin-over-two-decades-later)
11. [Alexa PenaVega, Daryl Sabara Recall Spy Kids 25 Years Later, Us Weekly (June 25, 2026)](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/alexa-penavega-daryl-sabara-recall-spy-kids-25-years-later/)
12. [Exclusive Interview: Daryl Sabara on After the Dark & The Green Inferno, Mandatory (February 7, 2014)](https://www.mandatory.com/fun/642853-exclusive-interview-daryl-sabara-on-after-the-dark-the-green-inferno)
13. [Where Are They Now: Catching Up with 'Spy Kids' Daryl Sabara, CineMovie (June 14, 2016)](https://cinemovie.tv/index.php/interviews/where-are-they-now-catching-up-with-spy-kid-daryl-sabara)
14. [Daryl Sabara, IMDb filmography](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0754512)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames S to Se*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license