Ethan William Childress was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the youngest child of four. He was enrolled in a charter school for the arts and began to thrive as an actor, eventually realizing that this was his calling. He decided to give up playing on a competitive soccer team to focus on acting, and it was soon after that his parents enrolled him in an actor showcase to help him pursue it full time.

Childress starred in two short films: Happy Place, written and directed by B. Gordon Stovall and Darryl Pugh; and The United States of Tomorrow, written, directed and produced by David Keith.

When Childress is not acting, he enjoys playing video games, flag football, soccer and swimming. His favorite school subjects include science and math, in which he can create and conduct fascinating experiments.