Neal Bledsoe

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Neal Bledsoe
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Born (1981-03-26) March 26, 1981 (age 44)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Education University of North Carolina School of the Arts (BFA)
Occupation(s)Actor, writer, filmmaker
Years active2005–present

Neal Bledsoe (born March 26, 1981) is a Canadian-American actor, writer, and filmmaker. Known primarily for his acting work on Broadway, and on screens both large and small, Bledsoe has built a career spanning theater, film, television, filmmaking, art, poetry, short stories and journalism. He was once even an Old Spice Man.

Contents

Early life

Bledsoe was born in Toronto, but moved as a baby back to his family's hometown of Seattle, Washington where he grew up. He attended Roosevelt High School (Seattle) and Garfield High School (Seattle) in Seattle, 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, [1] to grow as an actor and a writer. It was at the last of these two schools where he began to first publish his short stories and poems.

In college, he was accepted to the North Carolina School of the Arts where he studied with their world-class faculty was mentored under the renowned theater director, Gerald Freedman, earning a BFA in 2005. [2]

Career

Actor

Bledsoe got a quick start out of school, booking a pilot opposite Kelly Lynch. He worked steadily for the next few years, until he had his breakthrough in 2009 first on Gossip Girl and then on Ugly Betty as, Tyler, the long lost son of Judith Light.

He then went on to star on the shows Law and Order: SVU, Smash, Ironside, The Man in the High Castle, with Rufus Sewell, The Mysteries of Laura as the long-time love interest of Debra Messing, Timeless, Code Black , Shameless opposite Emmy Rossum, among many others.

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 . He starred opposite Val Kilmer in the western A Soldier's Revenge. He will next be seen in Kathryn Bigelow's upcoming Netflix film A House of Dynamite (2025), as the husband of Rebecca Ferguson.

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. [3] Most recently, he appeared on Broadway opposite Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal in Othello (2025), where he played the Duke of Venice and was the understudy for Gyllenhaal's Iago.

He appeared in several campaigns for Tiffany and Co, opposite Dutch model, Doutzen Kroes [4] and for Old Spice. [5]

In December 2022, Bledsoe announced that he was leaving the Great American Family network because of their anti-LGBTQ stance. [6] Bledsoe stated, "the thought that my work could be used to deliberately discriminate against anyone horrifies and infuriates me." [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 2016 long-form series, The Delicate Moron, chronicled his attempt to play for the Los Angeles Kiss of the Arena Football League. [8] He's also written for Men's Health magazine on former NFL running back and Ballers writer, Rashard Mendenhall [9] and Variety. [10]

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. [11]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2005The RidgeNoahDirect-to-video
2008 Revolutionary Road Party guest
2009Winked OutSatanShort film
2009Under New ManagementFBI agent #1
2010 Sex and the City 2 Kevin
2011The Walken DeadThe WalkensShort film
2011HighriseRoryShort film
2011A Kiss for JedJed Wood
2012 Junction Donald
2013You There?LanceShort film
2013West EndVic Trevi
2013AmateursBrad
2014Grand StreetHewitt Devoe
2016The Morning the Sun Fell DownBrandon
2017 Police State John
2017PrimaryMikeShort film
2018The Labyrinth & The Long RoadThe client
2020 A Soldier's Revenge Frank
2022Susie SearchesBrady Wren
2025A House of DynamiteBen Walker

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2005 Guiding Light Quinn2 episodes
2007 CSI: NY Sam FriarEpisode: "...Comes Around"
2007 Six Degrees RogerEpisode: "Objects in the Mirror"
2007 As the World Turns Gary Bradshaw3 episodes
2008 Lipstick Jungle Leading manEpisode: "Pilot"
2008 Law & Order: Criminal Intent KevynEpisode: "Please Note We Are No Longer Accepting Letters of Recommendation from Henry Kissinger"
2009 The Beautiful Life: TBL Dmitiri KaneEpisode: "The Beautiful Aftermath"
2009 Gossip Girl Josh ElisEpisode: "Enough About Eve"
2009–2010 Ugly Betty Tyler Meade-Hartley7 episodes
2010–2011 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit CSU Clifton Montgomery3 episodes
2011 Body of Proof Stephen BurnettEpisode: "Society Hill"
2011 Blue Bloods CassidyEpisode: "Silver Star"
2012 Smash John Goodwin7 episodes
2013 Ironside TeddyMain role
2015–2016 The Mysteries of Laura Tony Abbott11 episodes
2015 The Man in the High Castle Captain Connolly4 episodes
2016 Timeless Robert Todd Lincoln Episode: "The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln"
2016 Code Black Paul WentworthEpisode: "1.0 Bodies"
2017 The Last Tycoon AxelEpisode: "A Brady-American Christmas"
2017Coming Home for ChristmasRobert MarleyTelevision film (Hallmark)
2018–2019 Shameless Max Whitford4 episodes
2019–2020 NCIS: New Orleans Man in the red suit3 episodes
2020 Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector Greg VaughnEpisode: "Requiem"
2020 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Wilfred "Freddy" Malick 2 episodes
2020The Christmas CarouselPrince WhitakerTelevision film (Hallmark)
2021 Younger VinceEpisode: "The Last Unicorn"
2022The Winter Palace [12] Prince Henry of ConcordiaTelevision film (GAC Family)
2022 The Blacklist Maverick SawyerEpisode: "Genuine Models Inc. (No. 176)"
2022Christmas at the Drive-InTelevision film (GAC Family)

References

  1. "Neal Bledsoe – Alumni of Idyllwild Arts" . Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  2. Journal, Ken Keuffel, Winston-Salem (2 December 2011). "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)
  3. Vankin, Deborah (14 June 2017). "Neal Bledsoe on the love triangle of 'The Pride' and finding home onstage — and in downtown L.A." Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  4. Melody (2010-11-25). "Magically yours, Tiffany & Co". ♡ Pretty Fashion Forward. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  5. "Old Spice keeping Danger Zone pitchman Neal Bledsoe abroad (for now?)". EW.com. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  6. Stephanie Wenger (5 Dec 2022). "Neal Bledsoe Exits Great American Family in Support of LGBTQ Community After Candace Cameron Bure Drama".
  7. Nolfi, Joey (6 December 2022). "Neal Bledsoe leaves Candace Cameron Bure's Great American Family over 'hurtful, wrong' LGBT exclusion". Entertainment. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  8. "Articles by Neal Bledsoe". 25 December 2018.
  9. Bledsoe, Neal (2018-09-06). "What Happens to NFL Stars When They Retire at 26?". Men's Health. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  10. https://variety.com/2023/film/features/self-tape-controversy-cost-sag-actors-1235617672/.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. "Primary". MONROWE Magazine. 2017-10-27. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  12. The Winter Palace