"[2] However, in the fall of 2008, at the age of 17, McCuen suffered a serious back injury that forced him to take a year off from his training, effectively putting an end to his dreams of Olympic gold.
[1][2][3][7] In 2005, at the age of 14, McCuen began his acting career when a talent scout contacted the gym where he was training looking for a boy who could do a flip for a lightsaber toy commercial.
[1] In the subsequent years, McCuen modeled for famed photographer Bruce Weber and appeared in advertorial campaigns for Abercrombie Kids, Dillard's, JCPenney, and Neiman Marcus, among others.
[2][8] In 2006, McCuen began attending Cathryn Sullivan's Acting for Film school in Lewisville, Texas, and in 2008, after an injury that put an end to his Olympic training, decided to explore the possibilities of a full-time career in entertainment.
[6][9] McCuen landed his first film role in the 2010 independent movie A Bag of Hammers, and was next cast as Bodie, the heart-throb surfer opposite Caroline Sunshine in the 2010 motion picture Marmaduke.
[1][2] Although he didn’t get the part, he was asked back a few days later to read for another new Nickelodeon series, the tween-targeted kids comedy, Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures.