Neal Bledsoe
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Neal Bledsoe | |
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Born | |
Nationality | Dual American Canadian |
Occupation(s) | Actor, writer, filmmaker |
Years active | 2005–present |
Neal Bledsoe (born March 26, 1981) is a Canadian and American actor, writer, and filmmaker.
Early life
Bledsoe was born in Toronto, but grew up in Seattle, Washington. He was named after the Beat Generation icon and Merry Prankster, Neal Cassady, and a car thief from Seattle his father knew as a boy.[1] Both of his grandfathers served in the Air Force during World War II and his maternal grandfather was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in the bombing of the Nazi oil refinery at Ploiești. He is the second cousin of former NFL quarterback, Drew Bledsoe. His mother was a life insurance underwriter and estate planner before becoming an executive for a company that worked all over the world. His father has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Toronto where he studied under the philosopher Marshall McLuhan.[2]
He moved fourteen times around Seattle area growing up, living in Magnolia, Ballard, Fremont, Edmonds, Magnolia again, Ravenna, Downtown, Queen Anne, West Seattle, Queen Anne again, Fremont again, Queen Anne a third time, Bainbridge Island and Capitol Hill. He attended Roosevelt High School (Seattle) and Garfield High School (Seattle) in Seattle, including a brief stint at Ascent within the CEDU system of schools, before finally graduating from the Shawnigan Lake School and then spending a post-graduate year at the Idyllwild Arts Academy,[3] to grow as an actor and a writer. It was at the last of these two schools where he began to first publish his writing.
He went on to study at the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts where he was mentored by the renowned theater director, Gerald Freedman, earning a BFA in 2005.[4]
Career
Actor
Bledsoe got a quick start out of school, booking a pilot opposite Kelly Lynch less than a month after leaving school. He worked steadily for the next few years, until he had his breakthrough in 2009 on Gossip Girl and Ugly Betty. He then went on to star on the shows Law and Order: SVU, Smash, Ironside, The Man in the High Castle, The Mysteries of Laura, Timeless, Code Black and most recently, Shameless.
He has won several awards for his work in independent films such as Junction, West End and After the Sun Fell. He also has appeared in both Revolutionary Road and Sex and the City 2 in blink-and-you'll-miss-him types of roles. In Recently, he starred opposite Val Kilmer in the western Soldier's Heart.
On the stage, he worked on the Broadway production of Impressionism, the world premiere of Stephen Wadsworth's Figaro Plays at the McCarter Theatre and Michael Arden's award-winning production of The Pride at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.[5]
He appeared in several campaigns for Tiffany and Co, opposite Dutch model, Doutzen Kroes.[6]
He also was an Old Spice Man.[7]
Writer
As a writer, he has written films, poems, short stories, cartoons, essays and articles . In 2014, he became a contributor to Sports Illustrated's MMQB. His long-form series, The Delicate Moron, chronicled his attempt to play for the Los Angeles Kiss of the Arena Football League.[8] Recently, he published a profile in Men's Health magazine on former NFL running back and Ballers writer, Rashard Mendenhall.[9]
Filmmaker
In 2015, he received a commission to write and direct and star in the short film Primary. The film examines the subject of open relationships and was heavily influenced by the work of John Cassavetes, Esther Perel and Helen Fisher, as well as months of extensive interviews with a diverse range of people from across the relationship spectrum.[10]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | The Ridge | Noah | Direct-to-video |
2008 | Revolutionary Road | Party Guest | |
2009 | Winked Out | Satan | Short film |
Under New Management | FBI Agent #1 | ||
2010 | Sex and the City 2 | Kevin | |
2011 | The Walken Dead | The Walkens | Short film |
Highrise | Rory | Short film | |
A Kiss for Jed | Jed Wood | ||
2012 | Junction | Donald | |
2013 | You There? | Lance | Short film |
2014 | Grand Street | Hewitt Devoe | |
West End | Vic Trevi | ||
2016 | After the Sun Fell | Brandon | |
2017 | Police State | John | |
Primary | Mike | Short film | |
2020 | A Soldier's Revenge | Frank |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | Guiding Light | Quinn | 2 episodes |
2006 | The Hunters | Troy Hunter | Pilot |
2007 | CSI: NY | Sam Friar | Episode: "...Comes Around" |
Six Degrees | Roger | Episode: "Objects in the Mirror" | |
I'm Paige Wilson | Birdy McGinty | Pliot | |
As the World Turns | Gary Bradshaw | 3 episodes | |
2008 | Lipstick Jungle | Leading man | Episode: "Pilot" |
Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Kevyn | Episode: "Please Note We Are No Longer Accepting Letters of Recommendation from Henry Kissinger" | |
2009 | The Beautiful Life: TBL | Dmitiri Kane | Episode: "The Beautiful Aftermath" |
Gossip Girl | Josh Elis | Episode: "Enough About Eve" | |
2009–10 | Ugly Betty | Tyler Meade-Hartley | Recurring role |
2010–11 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | CSU Clifton Montgomery | 3 episodes |
2011 | Body of Proof | Stephen Burnett | Episode: "Society Hill" |
Blue Bloods | Cassidy | Episode: "Silver Star" | |
Danni Lowinski | Oliver Sachs | Pilot | |
2012 | Smash | John Goodwin | Recurring role |
2013 | Ironside | Teddy | Main cast |
2015–16 | The Mysteries of Laura | Tony Abbott | Recurring role |
2015 | The Man in the High Castle | Captain Connolly | 4 episodes |
2016 | Timeless | Robert Todd Lincoln | Episode: "The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln" |
Mars Project | David Lewis | Pilot | |
2017 | The Last Tycoon | Axel | Episode: "A Brady-American Christmas" |
Coming Home for Christmas | Robert Marley | Television film (Hallmark) | |
2018 | Chiefs | Enrizio | Pilot |
2018–19 | Shameless | Max Whitford | 4 episodes |
2020 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Wilfred "Freddy" Malick | 2 episodes |
References
- ^ "Neal Bledsoe". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
- ^ Bledsoe, James Barry (1979). The Autobiography of Inquiry Reflexive Comparisons Between Children's Culture and the Culture of Science. [S.N.]
- ^ "Neal Bledsoe – Alumni of Idyllwild Arts". Retrieved 2019-01-07.
- ^ Journal, Ken Keuffel, Winston-Salem. "Gerald Freedman to step down as drama dean at UNCSA". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Vankin, Deborah. "Neal Bledsoe on the love triangle of 'The Pride' and finding home onstage — and in downtown L.A." latimes.com. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
- ^ Melody (2010-11-25). "Magically yours, Tiffany & Co". ♡ Pretty Fashion Forward. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
- ^ "Old Spice keeping Danger Zone pitchman Neal Bledsoe abroad (for now?)". EW.com. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
- ^ https://www.si.com/mmqb/author/neal-bledsoe
- ^ Bledsoe, Neal (2018-09-06). "What Happens to NFL Stars When They Retire at 26?". Men's Health. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
- ^ "Primary". MONROWE Magazine. 2017-10-27. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
External links
- 1981 births
- 21st-century Canadian male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States
- Canadian male film actors
- Canadian male musical theatre actors
- Canadian male soap opera actors
- Canadian male television actors
- American male film actors
- American male musical theatre actors
- American male soap opera actors
- American male television actors
- Living people
- Male actors from Seattle
- Male actors from Toronto
- University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni