Blake Cooper Griffin is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on HBO Max's Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, AMC's Preacher, TNT's Animal Kingdom, and Ryan Murphy's Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Griffin was also the star of Beerfest: Thirst for Victory, CW Seed's first original film. His notable film work includes Leah Mckendrick's Scrambled, D. J. Caruso's Standing Up, Helen Hunt's Ride, Life of a King with Cuba Gooding Jr., and Love Is All You Need?, portraying the role of Bill Bradley.
Blake Cooper Griffin | |
|---|---|
 Griffin at the premiere of Love Is All You Need? in 2016 | |
| Born | Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina School of the Arts |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2008–present |
Early life
editGriffin was born in Columbia, South Carolina.[1] He has one sister.[2]
Career
editGriffin is a graduate of the prestigious School of Drama at the North Carolina School of the Arts.[3] Once graduating, he signed with an agent who convinced him to move Los Angeles to begin his career.[1]
Soon after moving to Los Angeles, he performed the role of The Prince, opposite Broadway actress Ashley Brown, in the world symphonic premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - A Symphonic Retelling, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conducted by John Mauceri.[4]
In 2011, Griffin was cast as Trent Rogers on the USA Network drama Necessary Roughness.
In 2014, Deadline Hollywood announced that Griffin had joined the cast of the twenty-something ensemble drama Flipside being executive produced by Mark Feuerstein in conjunction with Wind Dancer Films.[5]
He has appeared on many television shows including Castle, Jessie, Castle, Greek, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Major Crimes, Mad Love, 90210, NCIS: LA, as well as the NBC television event Game of Your Life, where Griffin starred opposite Leah Thompson. Griffin can be seen in the 2016 made-for-TV movie Before You Say I Do.[6]
In 2016, Griffin was cast in an episode of House of Lies; the episode was directed by Helen Hunt. He was previously directed by Hunt in the feature film Ride.[7]
Other major film roles include: Eric in Standing Up with Val Kilmer, J. Thomas Gaines in the chess drama Life of a King, and Bill Bradley in 'Love is All You Need? directed by K. Rocco Shields. The film also stars Tyler Blackburn, Emily Osment, Briana Evigan, and Jeremy Sisto.
In 2018, Griffin starred in the CW Seed reboot of the Warner Bros film Beerfest. Beerfest: Thirst for Victory is inspired by the 2006 Broken Lizard/Warner Bros cult classic film; it the first original film from the network. Griffin portrays the character Scott.[8]
Griffin guest starred in Marvel's Cloak & Dagger and the Mad About You Reboot, where he again worked with Helen Hunt. In 2020, it was announced that Griffin would be a part of the fifth season of Animal Kingdom on TNT, portraying the role of Lewis.[9] In 2021, Griffin joined the HBO Max series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty that chronicles the creation of the Los Angeles Lakers; the series stars John C. Reilly. Griffin is portraying the role of Wesley.[9]
In 2022, Deadline Hollywood announced that Griffin had joined the cast of Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, the Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s limited series that chronicles the story of one of America’s most notorious serial killers. American Horror Story alum Evan Peters stars as Dahmer and also executive produces. Griffin portrays the role of Charles in the series that will play on Netflix.[10]
In 2024, Griffin played the hilarious, obsessive, cult leader "Owen" in Leah Mckendrick's Lionsgate feature film, Scrambled.[6]
Politics and Philanthropy
editIn 2016, Griffin joined several other Hollywood actors on the campaign trail as a vocal surrogate for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Griffin travelled to several battleground states,[11] giving speeches at campaign rallies in support of Clinton.[12] The actor also appeared at various fundraisers and was among the celebrity hosts at the Los Angeles launch of Millennials for Hillary.[13]
In 2017, Griffin gave the keynote speech outside of the Georgia State Capitol building at a rally designed to push back against Congressional efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.[14]
Griffin has lent considerable charitable efforts to various anti-bullying causes, routinely appearing at events as a show of support.[15] Griffin even collaborated with NPR to develop a 'listening kit' which examined the topic of bullying in depth.[16]
Ahead of the 2020 Presidential election, Blake acted as a surrogate for Democratic Presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden, posting social media endorsement videos and hosting a #TeamJoeTalks Live on Instagram Live with former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.[17] Griffin travelled to the battleground state of North Carolina for the campaign the final week of the election, in a get out the vote blitz for the former Vice President and his running mate Kamala Harris, alongside other Hollywood performers including Common.[18]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Princess Alisanne | Prince Edward | Short |
| 2008 | Milk | Castro Man | Uncredited |
| 2009 | Spread | Man at Bar | Uncredited |
| 2009 | Greek | Condon Debney | Episode: "Condon Debney" |
| 2009 | Dire Wolf | Jim Martin | |
| 2010 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Jason Lankaster | Episode: "Abel & Willing" |
| 2010 | Sex Tax: Based on a True Story | Newsman Jake | |
| 2011 | Mad Love | Terry | Episode: "Pub Quiz" |
| 2011 | LA Noire | Christopher Majewski | Video Game, Voice |
| 2011 | Necessary Roughness | Trent Rogers | 3 episodes |
| 2011 | 90210 | Ronnie | Episode: "Project Runaway" |
| 2011 | Game of Your Life | Andy Rychman | TV movie |
| 2011 | Super Shark | Thomas Carmichael | |
| 2012 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Marine Gunnery Sergeant Booker | Episode: "Vengeance" |
| 2013 | Unattainable | Rex | Short |
| 2013 | Standing Up | Eric | |
| 2013 | Life of a King | J. Thomas Gaines | |
| 2014 | Castle | Ross De Koning | Episode: "Law & Boarder" |
| 2014 | Los Feliz: 90027 | Lucas Collins | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2014 | Ride | Waiter | |
| 2015 | Jessie | Scott | Episode: "What a Steal" |
| 2015 | Major Crimes | Brad Pearson | Episode: "Turn Down" |
| 2016 | Love Is All You Need? | Bill Bradley | |
| 2016 | House of Lies | J.P. Driver | Episode: "Violent Agreement" |
| 2016 | Exit Survey | Geof | Short |
| 2017 | Preacher | Jimmy | Episode: "Pig" |
| 2017 | Before You Say I Do | Stephen Hower | TV movie |
| 2018 | Beerfest: Thirst for Victory | Scott | TV movie |
| 2019 | Cloak & Dagger | Meathead | Episode: "B Sides" |
| 2019 | Mad About You | Aaron | (Reboot), Episode: "Real Estate for Beginners" |
| 2020 | Animal Kingdom | Lewis | |
| 2021 | Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty | Wesley | |
| 2022 | Shoulder Dance | Tony | |
| 2022 | Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story | Charles | Netflix |
| 2023 | Shoulder Dance | Tony | |
| 2023 | Scrambled | Owen | Lionsgate |
| 2023 | The Holiday Exchange | James |
References
edit- ^ a b "Actor Blake Cooper Griffin talks new films and acting projects (Includes interview)". April 8, 2015.
- ^ "Catching up with Blake Cooper Griffin: New Year's Resolutions (Includes interview)". November 24, 2015.
- ^ "Blake Cooper Griffin: On living in the moment and surrounding yourself with a support network - ORIGIN Magazine". www.originmagazine.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2016.
- ^ "The Disney Symphonic Legacy Featuring John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra | LA Phil". Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
- ^ Yamato, Jen (February 20, 2014). "'Royal Pains's Mark Feuerstein Shopping Twentysomething Ensemble Drama: Video". Deadline. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- ^ a b "Blake Cooper Griffin". IMDb.
- ^ "Film Review: 'Ride'". April 27, 2015.
- ^ Desk, TV News. "BEERFEST: THIRST FOR VICTORY Debuts Tonight on CW Seed". Retrieved June 7, 2018.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ a b c "Blake Cooper Griffin". IMDb. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- ^ Petski, Denise (September 16, 2022). "'Monster' Trailer: First Look At Evan Peters As Jeffrey Dahmer In Ryan Murphy's Netflix Series". Deadline. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
- ^ "Iowa caucus results: Clinton and Sanders too close to call; Cruz bests Trump". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- ^ Blake Cooper Griffin (September 4, 2016), Blake Cooper Griffin-- Hillary Clinton speech in SC, retrieved June 12, 2017
- ^ "Celebrities Spotted Out and About – Week of April 15". OK! Magazine. April 15, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- ^ "Georgia health advocates rally against Congressional effort to take 1 million from healthcare". Atlanta Daily World. February 19, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- ^ Boo2Bullying (March 1, 2016), Emily Osment & Blake Cooper Griffin | A Boo2Bullying Benefit, retrieved June 12, 2017
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Guest Curator: Blake Cooper Griffin". NPR Generation Listen. July 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- ^ "Blake Cooper Griffin on Instagram: "Thanks to the Mayor and all who joined in!! #TeamJoeTalks"". Instagram. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
- ^ "Blake Cooper Griffin (@blakecoopergriffin) posted on Instagram: "Getting out the #vote for @joebiden today with @common !! 🇺🇸#bidenharris2020" • Nov 1, 2020 at 7:21pm UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2020.