Background
Short was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to a family he has described as "musical". His mother, Janette, has a talent management company.
Short was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to a family he has described as "musical". His mother, Janette, has a talent management company.
He attended Marcos De Niza High School in Tempe, Arizona, as well as El Segundo High School and the Orange County High School of the Arts, before leaving to join the Broadway tour of Stomp.
He choreographed Britney Spears"s Onyx Hotel Tour and worked with Brian Friedman (of So You Think You Can Dance fame). He is best known for his roles in the films Stomp the Yard, Cadillac Records, Armored, and The Losers. He previously starred as a series regular in the American Broadcasting Company drama Scandal, as Harrison Wright.
On April 26, 2014, it was announced that Short would leave Scandal after three seasons with the show.
He has two brothers, John Rancipher and Chris Staples. Short relocated to Los Angeles when he was five years old and immediately began working in a youth theater.
Short"s acting debut came as a dancer in You Got Served and he later appeared in Accepted, starring Justin Long. He then took lead roles in the direct-to-Digital Video Disc movie Save the Last Dance 2 alongside Izabella Miko and Stomp the Yard.
Other television appearances include Emergency and Judging Amy.
In 2006, he appeared in National Broadcasting Company"s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip as novice show-writer Darius Hawthorne. He was among the presenters at the 2007 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 2007, Columbus appeared in the movie This Christmas also starring Chris Brown and Lauren London.
In 2008, Short appeared in the movie Quarantine, co-starring Jay Hernandez and Jennifer Carpenter, and played the part of musician Little Walter in Cadillac Records, with Jeffrey Wright, Beyoncé Knowles, and Oscar-winner Adrien Brody. In 2010, he played "Pooch" in the film The Losers, based on the graphic novel, co-starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, and Zoe Saldana, and directed by Sylvain White (Stomp The Yard).
Black Reel Music Television Movie.
He has also appeared twice in the Disney Channel Original Series That"s So Raven as Trey, a member of the fictional boy band "Boyz n" Motion".