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Avan Jogia

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Avan Jogia
Jogia at red carpet of Emmy Awards, in 2012.
Born
Avan Tudor Jogia

(1992-02-09) February 9, 1992 (age 32)
Killarney, British Columbia, Canada
Citizenship
Occupations
  • Actor
  • activist
  • director
Years active2006–present

Avan Tudor Jogia (born February 9, 1992) is a Canadian actor, activist and director, who first came to prominence with his portrayal of Danny Araujo in the 2006 biographical television film A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story. After moving to the United States, he has since had significant roles in television series', such as Ben Stark in Caprica (2009–10), Beck Oliver in Victorious (2010–13), Danny Desai in Twisted (2013–14), and Pharaoh Tutankhamun in the miniseries Tut (2015). Jogia's numerous film credits, include Finding Hope Now (2010), Ten Thousand Saints (2015), and I Am Michael (2015). In 2011, he co-founded the LGBT online organization Straight But Not Narrow, which seeks to shape the viewpoints of teenagers and adults on matters pertaining to the LGBT community. Amongst Jogia's current projects, is the 2016 comedy film, The Outskirts and Last Teenagers of the Apocalypse, a web series he has directed.

Life and career

1992–2006: Early life and career beginnings

Jogia was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. His father is a British Indian expatriate of Gujarati ethnicity, who immigrated to Canada, and his mother is of English, Welsh and German descent.[1] Jogia is the younger brother of Ketan, a music producer in London.[2][3][4] Besides English, Jogia learned to speak some Gujarati and French.[5]

Until the age of 16, Jogia was a student at Killarney Secondary School. He left school during the 10th grade in order to pursue acting full-time; at this point in time, Jogia had already amassed a number of small television credits.[1] By the age of 17, he moved to Los Angeles, United States, on the trial-basis that he would land a role within a six-month period – or return to schooling.[6]

Jogia has cited British actor Tim Curry as one of his early acting inspirations, particularly Curry's role as Long John Silver in the 1996 musical adventure comedy film, Muppet Treasure Island. British actor Sir Ben Kingsley is another of Jogia's inspirations; the two would later appear in the 2015 miniseries Tut, and work together on the 2016 short film Of Dogs and Men.[7]

2006–09: Minor roles in film and television

His first role came in 2006, when he portrayed Danny Araujo –the younger brother of teenage transgender woman Gwen Araujo– in the biographical television film A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story, directed by Agnieszka Holland. In 2007, he had a recurring role in The CW television sitcom Aliens in America as the character Sam, and also appeared in the television movie Devil's Diary.

Jogia next appeared in the 2008 Nickelodeon network original film Gym Teacher: The Movie, as Champ Sinclair, a role opposite Law & Order: Special Victims Unit actor Christopher Meloni. He returned to the network the following year, starring in the 2009 film Spectacular! as Tajid, alongside future Victorious co-star Victoria Justice.[8]

2009–14: Victorious, Twisted and other projects

From 2009 to 2010, Jogia had a recurring role in the television series Caprica, a spin-off of Battlestar Galactica, on Syfy. He had been cast in the role of Ben Stark in August 2008, with production of the series' pilot episode completed by the conclusion of that year.[9] Caprica was shot in and around Vancouver, British Columbia.[3]

In late 2009, Jogia joined the cast of Nickelodeon television program Victorious.[10] Starring alongside Victoria Justice, Ariana Grande, and Elizabeth Gillies, Jogia played Beck Oliver, the boyfriend of Jade West (Gillies).[11] This was the actor's first main role in a television series; a role, which lasted from the series' inception in March 2010, through to the conclusion of the fourth and final season of the show in 2013. Jogia also appeared as Oliver in the Nickelodeon film, iParty with Victorious, a Victorious crossover movie with iCarly.

Throughout his tenure on Victorious, Jogia starred in various films. In 2010, he appeared in the drama film Triple Dog,[12] and the gang-crime film Finding Hope Now (filmed in 2009) as the lead character, Santos Delgado.[13] Jogia later directed and starred in Alex, a short film; this marked his first project he directed.[14] During the following year, he appeared in the 2012 Nickelodean television movie Rags, along with Keke Palmer and Drake Bell, where Jogia portrayed Finn Covington.[15]

Jogia was cast in the lead role of Danny Desai on the ABC Family mystery–thriller series Twisted (originally titled Socio), in October 2012.[16] The role saw Jogia opposite main cast members Maddie Hasson and Kylie Bunbury, and supporting cast members including Denise Richards and Sam Robards.[17] The series pilot was greenlighted in August 2012, and was filmed in October in New York City.[18] In February 2013, ABC Family ordered the show as a series[19] and production commenced in Studio City the following month, on April 3, 2013.[20][21] On the themes of the series, Jogia remarked, "Twisted is similar to Pretty Little Liars in that it's about trying to find out who did it, but it's more about the human relationships between characters and the strain that things can put on them. It's also a little bit of a social commentary piece, because it covers very timely issues."[22] The series premiered on June 11, 2013 and ran for 19 episodes; for his role as Desai, Jogia received two nominations at the 2013 and 2014 Teen Choice Awards, in the categories "Summer TV Star: Male" and "Actor: Drama", respectively.[23][24] ABC Family opted not to renew Twisted for a second season, in August 2014.[25][26]

2014–present: Tut and upcoming works

In 2014, Jogia was cast in the Spike TV miniseries, Tut, alongside English actor Sir Ben Kingsley.[27] In the lead role of the titular Pharaoh Tutankhamun, Jogia was reunited with Twisted actress Kylie Bunbury, who portrayed Suhad –Tutankhamun's love interest.[28] On the casting of Bunbury, Jogia noted that, "[i]t was cool to be able to work with someone [Bunbury] you have built-in chemistry with. Going into this situation, I had no idea what it was going to be like, so knowing I was taking this on with someone I knew really helped."[29] The miniseries, filmed in Morocco, premiered on Spike on July 19, 2015, and concluded on July 21, 2015.[30]

Jogia returned to film, after joining the cast of I Am Michael in August 2014.[31] Based on Benoit Denizet-Lewis' New York Times Magazine article "My Ex-Gay Friend" in 2011, the film's cast includes James Franco, Zachary Quinto and Emma Roberts, along with Jogia who portrays Nico, a gay Buddhist the protagonist (Franco) briefly falls in love with. Principal photography on the film commenced on August 11, 2014, in New York City and concluded later that month.[32] The film was released at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, in January 2015.[33] Jogia next appeared in the 2015 film, Ten Thousand Saints. Adapted from the 2011 novel of the same name by Eleanor Henderson, the film also starred Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld and Ethan Hawke.[34] Later that year, Jogia appeared as Dark in the short film, Here Now.[35] Further in 2015, he released a trailer for a horror–thriller short film he directed, entitled Of Dogs and Men. The short film had appearances by Sir Ben Kingsley, who previously worked with Jogia on Tut.[36]

He appeared as Bones, in the 2016 web series short Last Teenagers of the Apocalypse.[37] The four-part series, which was released on April 21, 2016, was produced and directed by Jogia.[38] Jogia's next film credit was in the 1970s–based crime drama film Shangri–La Suite (also known as Killing the King), together with Luke Grimes and Emily Browning.[39] The film was released in late 2016.[40]

Jogia will star in the upcoming comedy film The Outskirts, alongside lead actress Victoria Justice. He was cast in the role of Dave on May 13, 2014, and the film marks Jogia and Justice's third collaboration since the 2009 television film Spectacular!.[41] Future credits include The Year of Spectacular Men, a film directed by Lea Thompson. Thompson is the mother of Zoey Deutch, who also appears in the film opposite Jogia. He will portray Sebastian, the "loving boyfriend" of a movie star (Deutch).[42] Other future film projects include, the 2016 thriller The Drowning (previously, Border Crossing)[43] and A Midsummer Night's Dream, a contemporary film adaption of the comedy of the same name written by William Shakespeare.[44] Jogia also landed a co-lead role with Eve Hewson in Rebecca Addelman’s directorial debut, Paper Year. Production on the project commenced in October 2016, with an expected release in 2017.[45][46]

Personal life

Jogia has been in a relationship with actress Zoey Deutch since September 2011.[47][48] He describes himself as "spiritual", having spent months as a Buddhist, and has roots in Hinduism.[49] Jogia maintains that he has "looked at all kinds of ways of being, because I’m curious about what it takes to be human."[49] He is a dual citizen of Canada and the United Kingdom.[50] Jogia has a number of tattoos; one on his chest, leg, upper leg, shoulder, back, and his lower arm.[51]

Activism

Jogia co-founded the online PSA organization Straight But Not Narrow (SBNN) in 2011, with Heather Wilk and Andre Pochon, in conjunction with the support of fellow actor, Josh Hutcherson.[52] The non-profit organization is aimed towards changing the attitudes and viewpoints of young and adult straight people about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.[53] Jogia believed, "[t]here was no one making straight youth responsible for their apathy. When you see a bully beating up a kid and you stand idle, that’s as loud, or louder, than the actual oppression", and hence established the organization.[54]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Triple Dog Lemur
2010 Finding Hope Now Santos Delgado
2011 Alex Alex Short film
2015 Ten Thousand Saints Teddy
2015 I Am Michael Nico
2015 Here Now Dark Short film
2016 Shangri–La Suite Teijo Littlefoot
2016 The Drowning Danny
2016 The Outskirts Dave
2016 The Year of Spectacular Men Sebastian Post-production
2016 A Midsummer Night's Dream Puck Post-production
2017 Paper Year Dan Filming

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2006 A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story Danny Araujo Television movie
2007 Devil's Diary Teenage Boy #1 Television movie
2007 Aliens in America Sam Recurring role; 3 episodes
2008 Gym Teacher: The Movie Champ Sinclair Television movie
2009 Spectacular! Tajid Kalyan Television movie
2009–10 Caprica Ben Stark Recurring role; 3 episodes
2010–13 Victorious Beck Oliver Main role; 58 episodes
2011 iCarly Beck Oliver Episode: "iParty with Victorious"
2012 Rags Finn Covington Television movie
2013–14 Twisted Danny Desai Lead role; 19 episodes
2015 Tut Tutankhamun Lead role; miniseries

Web

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Last Teenagers of the Apocalypse Bones Web series; 4 episodes

Director

Year Title Notes
2011 Alex Short film
2016 Last Teenagers of the Apocalypse Web series
2016 Of Dogs and Men Short film

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2013 Teen Choice Awards Summer TV Star: Male Twisted Nominated
2014 Teen Choice Awards Actor: Drama Twisted Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b Porter, Ryan (July 6, 2015). "The Vancouver Actor Who Would be King". The Star. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  2. ^ Jaar, Stephanie (December 12, 2013). "Avan Jogia Talks 'Twisted' at ABC Family's Winter Wonderland – Video". Pop City Life. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Lytal, Cristy (January 24, 2010). "Re-imagining Vancouver for 'Caprica'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  4. ^ Lawrence, Vanessa (December 30, 2015). "Style Twins: Avan Jogia Has a Twinning Moment With His Brother". Twist. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  5. ^ Eng, Jared (December 12, 2013). Avan Jogia: Just Jared Spotlight of the Week (Exclusive!). Just Jared. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  6. ^ Tishgart, Sierra (October 27, 2012). "What was your reaction to finding out Victorious was cancelled?". Teen Vogue. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  7. ^ Lawrence, Vanessa (July 14, 2015). "King Avan Jogia: The actor plays Tut in Spike's new miniseries". W Magazine. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  8. ^ (September 12, 2008). "Chris Meloni tries hand at comedy in 'Gym Teacher'". southcoasttoday.com. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  9. ^ Perry, Byron (August 13, 2008). "Avan Jogia". Variety. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  10. ^ (October 27, 2009). "Victoria Justice Is Ready To Be 'Victorious'". Shine On Media. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  11. ^ (December 17, 2010). "Avan Jogia Interview: "Some surprises for Beck"". The Star Scoop. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  12. ^ "Avan Jogia". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  13. ^ Araiza, Andres (May 25, 2009). "Film Crew Took Over Fresno's Fulton Mall". ABC-30. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  14. ^ (October 31, 2011). "Alex" (video). SandcastlePictures. YouTube. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  15. ^ (May 24, 2012). "J-14 Q&A with 'Rags' Avan Jogia". J-14. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  16. ^ Ng, Philiana (October 5, 2012). "'Victorious' Star Lands Lead in ABC Family Drama Pilot 'Socio' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  17. ^ Ng, Philiana (October 12, 2012). "Denise Richards Joins ABC Family Drama Pilot 'Socio'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 6, 2013). "Jennifer Lopez-Produced 'The Fosters' And 'Twisted' Get ABC Family Series Orders". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 18, 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (October 24, 2012). "ABC Family Begins Production on Drama Pilot 'Socio' Starring Avan Jogia and Denise Rchards". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 6, 2013. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ Laurel, Brown (February 6, 2013). "ABC Family picks up dramas 'The Fosters' and 'Twisted' to air in the summer". Zap2It. From Inside the Box. Retrieved February 6, 2013. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ Bibel, Sara (April 3, 2013). "ABC Family Drama Series 'Twisted' Begins Production Today". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 3, 2013. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ Lewis, Casey (June 11, 2013). "Avan Jogia Spills About His New ABC Family Thriller 'Twisted'". Teen Vogue. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  23. ^ MTV News Staff (August 11, 2013). "2013 Teen Choice Awards: The Winners List". MTV. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  24. ^ Huggins, Sarah (August 10, 2014). "2014 Teen Choice Awards full winners list". Zap2It. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  25. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (August 13, 2014). "'Twisted' Cancelled After One Season by ABC Family". TV By The Numbers. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  26. ^ Bell, Crystal (August 13, 2014). "Twisted Cancelled By ABC Family — Avan Jogia Tweets Heartfelt Thank You to Fans". Wetpaint. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  27. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (August 5, 2014). "'Twisted,' 'Victorious' Star to Play King Tut for Spike TV (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  28. ^ Swift, Andy (August 19, 2014). "Twisted Reunion: Kylie Bunbury Joins Avan Jogia's King Tut Event Series". TV Line. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  29. ^ Swift, Andy (July 2, 2014). "Tut's Avan Jogia Talks Twisted Cliffhanger, Shares Pitch for Season 2". TV Line. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  30. ^ Andrea, Morabito (July 11, 2015). "First look at Avan Jogia as 'Tut'". New York Post. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  31. ^ Yamato, Jen (August 15, 2014). "Avan Jogia Joins James Franco In 'Michael'; Oliver Platt Has 'The Ticket'; Carra Patterson Heads To 'Compton'". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  32. ^ Anderton, Ethan (August 11, 2014). "First Look: James Franco Goes Christian in Gus Van Sant's 'Michael'". firstshowing.net. Retrieved May 18, 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  33. ^ Debruge, Peter (January 24, 2015). "Sundance Film Review: 'I Am Michael'". Variety. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  34. ^ Ristau, Reece (August 12, 2015). "Hailee Steinfeld, Avan Jogia Dive Into '80s Punk Scene at 'Ten Thousand Saints' L.A. Premiere". Variety. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  35. ^ Stansfield, Ted (July 3, 2015). "Watch Gregg Araki's new film for Kenzo". Dazed Digital. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  36. ^ Jogia, Avan (November 22, 2015). "Of Dogs and Men - Trailer". Twitter. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  37. ^ Grant, Stacey (April 21, 2016). "Victorious Star Avan Jogia Is Completely Unrecognizable In New Role". MTV. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  38. ^ Hannah, Orenstein (April 22, 2016). "You Won't Recognize Avan Jogia in His Newest Role". Seventeen. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  39. ^ Yamato, Jen (February 6, 2014). "'Twisted's Avan Jogia Ropes Roles In 'Ten Thousand Saints' & 'Shangri-La Suite'". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  40. ^ DeFore, John (October 28, 2016). "'Shangri-La Suite': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  41. ^ McNary, Dave (May 13, 2014). "Victoria Justice Starring in High-School Comedy". Variety. Retrieved May 18, 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  42. ^ McNary, Dave (September 18, 2015). "Lea Thompson Directing Daughters in 'Year of Spectacular Men'". Variety. Retrieved May 18, 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  43. ^ "The Drowning". Electric Entertainment. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  44. ^ McNary, Dave (April 23, 2016). "'Midsummer Night's Dream' Movie Stars Rachael Leigh Cook, Paz De La Huerta". Variety. Retrieved May 18, 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  45. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (October 31, 2016). "Avan Jogia & Eve Hewson To Star In Rebecca Addelman's 'Paper Year' — AFM". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  46. ^ McNary, Dave (October 31, 2016). "AFM: Eve Hewson, Avan Jogia Starring in Romance-Drama 'Paper Year'". Variety. Retrieved November 18, 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  47. ^ Jogia, Avan (September 16, 2014). "Happy anniversary. To a woman I call home". Twitter. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  48. ^ Ennis, Lucia (July 17, 2015). "Twisted's Avan Jogia and Vampire Academy's Zoey Deutch have been smooching at LAX Airport". sugarscape.com. Retrieved May 18, 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  49. ^ a b Buchanan, Kyle (July 5, 2015). "Hot List: Avan Jogia". Out. Retrieved May 18, 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  50. ^ Jogia, Avan (November 2013). "Avan Jogia's official instagram: Picture of his two passports with him confirming in the comments that he has dual citizenship". Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  51. ^ Oltuski, Romy (July 21, 2015). "Avan Jogia sits with BAZAAR to discuss his new role". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved May 18, 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  52. ^ Gandhi, Neha (March 15, 2011). "Avan Jogia's Straight But Not Narrow Campaign". Seventeen. Retrieved May 18, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  53. ^ (April 13, 2013). "Straight But Not Narrow". No H8 Campaign. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  54. ^ Dresden, Hilton (July 24, 2015). "Tut Star Avan Jogia Talks Gay Bullying". Out. Retrieved May 18, 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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