[6] However, the film's director Gus Van Sant claimed Brown was the actor he was seeking to portray high school basketball player Jamal Wallace, and cast him in the role.

[13] The following year, he appeared as a high school student Jason "Rock" Rockwell in the dance film Take the Lead, starring Antonio Banderas and Alfre Woodard.

[21] In 2013, Brown was arrested for allegedly purchasing a watch for his mother with a "fake" credit card at Macy's in New York City.

Evidently, Macy's staff had become suspicious (possibly due to the cost of the watch, his age and/or his ethnicity) but had not taken basic steps to check the validity of the credit card with American Express or cross-check against his driving license.

Subsequently, CNN reported that the actor had "reached a 'settlement in principle' in his racial profiling lawsuits against Macy's and New York, according to court documents and a statement from the retailer.