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Jason Nathaniel Behr (born December 30, 1973) is an American film and television actor.

Biography

Early life

Behr, the second of four boys, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to David Paul Behr and Patricia Ann Steiner. When Behr was young, the family moved from Minnesota, living in several different states until his father left the family when Behr was around ten. Then Patricia Behr moved her sons back to Minneapolis, where Jason attended a private grade school. He eventually graduated, in 1992, from Richfield Senior High School, in Richfield, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis.

At the age of 19, after a chance meeting with Hollywood manager Marvin Dauer in Minneapolis, Behr moved to Los Angeles. In his early acting career, he made over 75 commercials, and in 1995 he landed the role of Tyler Baker in the Showtime series Sherman Oaks. Sherman Oaks ran for two seasons.

Career

After Sherman Oaks, Jason had a series of guest appearances in various television shows (Step by Step, The Profiler, 7th Heaven, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, JAG). He was cast in the ABC series Push, but the ill-fated show only aired a few times before being cancelled. Then Jason picked up a recurring role as the character Chris Wolfe in The WB series Dawson's Creek. While filming the show in North Carolina, Jason read the script for a pilot called Roswell High—later shortened to Roswell—and he felt an immediate affinity for the lead alien, Max Evans. Roswell had a moderately successful run on The WB for two seasons, then moved to UPN for its third and final season. While the show never hit it big in the ratings, the series had an extremely loyal fan base.

Since Roswell, Behr has taken on a variety of roles in independent films such as: Unsu Lee's Happily, Even After; Jefery Levy's Man of God, and Rebecca Cook's Shooting Livien, soon to be released on DVD. He also co-starred with Sarah Michelle Gellar in the hit Japanese/American film collaboration The Grudge. He has two more films in post-production, the Korean CGI dragon fantasy entitled D-War and Lions Gate's eagerly anticipated reinvention of the werewolf tale, Skinwalkers, which recently wrapped shooting in the Toronto area.

In the spring of 2006, Jason wrapped the CBS dramatic pilot, The Way, about a powerful New England family that uses witchcraft to further its business enterprises. Jason plays Michael Warden, the show's male lead, one of the family's children who is at the center of a sibling power rivalry. Jason is in good company with fellow castmates who include, Jane Alexander, Julia Ormond, Peter Strauss, Will Patton, and Andrew McCarthy. As of May 17, 2006, CBS announced its fall lineup—and The Way was not picked up.

In May 2006, Jason wrapped Senseless, filmed in and around Glasgow, Scotland, for Matador Pictures, Circle of Confusion, Shoreline Entertainment, and in association with Plum Films; a dark chiller written by Simon Hynd, based on the book of the same name by Stona Fitch. Once again, Jason takes the lead, playing Eliott Gast, an American economist who gets abducted in Europe by a shadowy anti-globalization group. Tentative release, 2007.

"Senseless unfolds as an affluent business man (Jason Behr) finds himself the unwilling hostage to political extremists who brutally torture him for acts he has no recollection of ever committing.

"Audiences of blood-thirsty home viewers fixate on their computer screens as his torment is streamed across the internet and delivers the most graphic and disturbing reality show ever to be broadcast."[1]

In August 2006 Variety Magazine reported that Behr has signed on to star in the upcoming thriller The Tattooist. Tattooist casts Behr as a tattoo artist who becomes fascinated by the Samoan tatau tradition, but his desire to learn the ancient skill brings him into conflict and danger with the island mysticism and a deadly spirit is released as a result. The film will be commercial director Peter Burger's feature film debut.[2] Filming started in Auckland, New Zealand, in September, and finishes in early November.

Personal life

Jason previously dated his Roswell co-star Katherine Heigl. While shooting The Grudge in Japan he met actress Kadee Strickland, who he married November 10, 2006 in Ojai, California.

Filmography

• 2007: The Tattooist as Jake Sawyer (Post Production)
• 2007: Senseless as Eliott Gast (Post Production) Trailer
• 2007: Skinwalkers as Varek Official Site
• 2006: D-War as Ethan Kendricks Official Site
• 2005: Shooting Livien as John Livien (DVD Release in May 2006) Official Site
• 2005: Man Of God as Ben Cohen
• 2004: Happily Even After as Jake Singer Official Site
• 2004: The Grudge as Doug
• 2001: The Shipping News as Dennis Buggit
• 1999: Rites of Passage as Campbell Farraday
• 1999: Pleasantville as Mark's Lackey #2
• 1996: Alien Nation: Millennium

Television

• 2006: The Way as Michael Warden (series pilot—not picked up)
• 1999 - 2002: Roswell as Max Evans
• 1998 - 1999: Dawson's Creek as Chris Wolfe
• 1998: Push as Dempsey Easton
• 1997: 7th Heaven as Brian Heaz
• 1997: Buffy The Vampire Slayer as Billy "Ford" Fordham
• 1997: Cracker as Andrew Lang
• 1997: Profiler as Waiter
• 1997: JAG as Midshipman Danvers
• 1996: Pacific Blue as Jack
• 1995 - 1997: Sherman Oaks as Tyler Baker
• 1994: Step By Step as Larry

External links

• Fansite at Jason Behr Unlimited

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