Justin Bruening

Last updated

Justin Bruening
Born (1979-09-24) September 24, 1979 (age 44)
Occupation(s)Actor, model
Years active2003–present
Spouse
(m. 2005)
Children3

Justin Bruening (born September 24, 1979) is an American actor and former fashion model. He was discovered at a McDonald's in Escondido, California, and within a week, he was shooting photos with Bruce Weber. In 2003, his acting career began when he was cast in the role of Jamie Martin on the daytime drama All My Children , earning him a Soap Opera Digest Award in 2005 for the portrayal. In 2007, Bruening was cast as Mike Traceur, the son of character Michael Knight, a new take on the original Knight Rider series. In 2011, he was cast as Tyler Berrett, a recurring role on The CW series Ringer starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and in 2013, he joined Ravenswood.

Contents

Early life

Bruening was born on September 24, 1979, in St. Helena, Nebraska. [1] Raised in the small town (a then-population of 85), he graduated from high school with only nine classmates. [2]

Career

Following graduation, Bruening moved to San Diego, California. It was there that he was discovered by Sue Nessel, a talent scout for Scott Copeland International, at McDonald's in Escondido just north of San Diego. [2] Soon afterwards, Copeland got him his first modeling job for Abercrombie & Fitch. [2]

Following his first commercial job, Bruening was encouraged to study acting by Copeland and was noticed by All My Children casting director Judy Wilson. [2] Bruening originally auditioned for the role of JR Chandler on All My Children, but was eventually cast in the role of James "Jamie" Martin in July 2003. [1] For a brief time, in 2004 and 2005, Bruening also portrayed Jamie Martin on One Life to Live during a crossover storyline. During his role of Jamie, Bruening was featured as Daytime's Hottest Star in Teen People , Us Weekly , Star and J-14 magazines. [3]

In addition to his work on soap operas, he has had a guest appearance on Hope & Faith [1] and a small part in the film Fat Girls. He was up for the role of Superman in Superman Returns , but the part was won by Brandon Routh instead. [4] He also appeared in the Britney Spears music video "Boys". [1] On October 21, 2007, he appeared on CBS's Cold Case , in the episode "Thick As Thieves".

2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR Coupe 7.jpg
2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR

In February 2008, Bruening starred in a new rendition of the original Knight Rider series, portraying the original Knight Rider's son, Mike Traceur, for a two-hour film on NBC. [5] David Hasselhoff had a guest role, reprising his role as Michael Knight. [5] The film and subsequent TV series also featured KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand), a 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR, with Val Kilmer as the voice of the highly advanced robotic automobile. [5] [6] NBC decided after successful ratings for the film to continue the story as a series, and commissioned an official series for its debut for the 2008–2009 television season. [7] [8]

In 2011, Bruening began a recurring role on the CW mystery series, Ringer . [9] In 2012, he began a recurring role on the ABC family drama, Switched at Birth . In 2013, he had a recurring role on the ABC drama, Grey's Anatomy as Paramedic Matt. [10] He then featured in the limited season run of the Pretty Little Liars' spin-off Ravenswood in 2013. In 2018, he was cast as 'Nash' the co-star of the Hallmark Channel tv movie Last Vermont Christmas. [11]

Personal life

Bruening proposed to former All My Children co-star Alexa Havins on the set of the soap opera. They were married on June 5, 2005. The two were friends first before becoming romantically involved. [12] After Bruening left All My Children, Havins exited shortly after and the couple moved to Los Angeles. They have three children: Lexington Grace, born in 2010, Zane in 2013, and Zoe in December 2015. [13]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2006 Fat Girls BobbyDebut film [14]
2008 Knight Rider Mike TraceurTelevision film
2010ClassWhitt SheffieldTelevision film [15]
2012 Blue Eyed Butcher Jeff WrightTelevision film
2013The Thanksgiving HouseEverett MatherTelevision film
2017 The Monster Project DevonFilm
2018 He's Out There ShawnFilm
2018 Indivisible Darren TurnerBased on a true story [16]
2018Last Vermont ChristmasNashTelevision film

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2003–2007, 2011 All My Children James Edward "Jamie" MartinPortrayed the role from September 8, 2003 – August 22, 2007 and September 21-23, 2011; 163 total episodes
2004–2005 One Life to Live Jamie Martin8 episodes from October 20, 2004 – February 21, 2005
2004 Hope & Faith JakeEpisodes: "Hold the Phone" & "Do I Look Frat In This?"
2006 3 lbs Personal trainerEpisode: "The Cutting Edge"
2007 Cold Case Spencer MasonEpisode: "Thick as Thieves"
2007 CSI: Miami Craig AbbottEpisode: "My Nanny"
2008–2009 Knight Rider Mike TraceurLead role
2011 Wonder Woman Steve Trevor"Pilot" (Never aired)
2011 Castle Rod TredwyckEpisode: "The Dead Pool"
2011 State of Georgia BradEpisode: "Flavor of the Week"
2011 CSI: NY Hank FrazierEpisode: "Air Apparent"
2011–2012 Ringer Tyler Barrett9 episodes
2012–2013 Switched at Birth Chef Jeff Reycraft9 episodes
2013, 2018 Grey's Anatomy Paramedic Matthew Taylor16 episodes
2013 Hawaii Five-0 Lt. Commander William "Billy" Harrington5 episodes
2013–2014 Ravenswood Benjamin Price4 episodes
2014 Royal Pains ChaseEpisode: "A Bigger Boat"
2015 CSI: Cyber Evan WescottEpisode: "The Evil Twin"
2015 The Messengers Leo Travers3 episodes
2015 Blood & Oil Richard FordEpisode: "Pilot"
2016–2017 Good Behavior Kyle Dash5 episodes [10]
2020–present Sweet Magnolias Cal MaddoxMain role
2020 Lucifer DJ Karnal (Jed)Episode: "BlueBallz"
2020Swept Up By ChristmasReedTelevision Film (Hallmark)
2022Reindeer Games HomecomingChase WestonTelevision Film (Lifetime)
2022Vanished: Searching for My SisterWarrenTelevision Film (Lifetime)

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResultRef.
2005 Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Male Newcomer All My Children Won [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Justin Bruening (Jamie, AMC)". Soap Opera Digest . Primedia Magazines, Inc. 2004. Archived from the original on January 10, 2005.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "About the Actors: Justin Bruening". Soap Central . Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved September 15, 2007.
  3. "Original 2003 to mid 2008 Cast Bios: Justin Bruening". abc.go.com.
  4. Bhattacharjee, Mala. "AZ You Like It". Soap Opera Digest. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved September 6, 2007.
  5. 1 2 3 "Knight time". Chicago Tribune . December 27, 2007. p. 52. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  6. Collins, Michael (December 21, 2007). "2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR lands starring role on TV show". Asbury Park Press. p. D1. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  7. Adalian, Josef (March 30, 2008). "NBC offers escape with new slate". Variety . Archived from the original on April 2, 2008.
  8. McDonough, Kevin (September 24, 2008). "Knight Rider remake flat, tired". Intelligencer Journal. p. B10. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  9. Orlando, Christine (February 16, 2012). "Ringer Interview: Justin Bruening on One Dizzying Ride". TV Fanatic. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  10. 1 2 Abrams, Natalie (January 25, 2018). "Grey's Anatomy: Justin Bruening returning as April's ex". EW.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  11. "Last Vermont Christmas". Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  12. "Chatterbox: AMC's Justin Bruening Answers Your Questions". Soap Opera Weekly . February 13, 2007. p. 28.
  13. Clifford, Kambra (June 5, 2018). "AMC's Alexa Havins relives her Pine Valley days in rare interview". Soap Central. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  14. "Fat Girls". Los Angeles Times . September 9, 2007. p. E36. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  15. Elavsky, Cindy (August 15, 2010). "Bruening has Class". Tulsa World . p. 39. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  16. Walsh, Katie (November 2, 2018). "Indivisible, a war story that balances home, abroad stories". The Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.