Bret Michael Harrison (born April 6, 1982) is an American actor. He is known predominantly for his work on comedy television series such as Grounded for Life, The Loop, Reaper, and Breaking In.

Bret Harrison
Born
Bret Michael Harrison

(1982-04-06) April 6, 1982 (age 42)
OccupationActor
Years active1999–present
Spouse
Lauren Zelman
(m. 2012)
Children1 [citation needed]

Early life

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Harrison was born in Portland, Oregon. In his senior year, he attended Tualatin High School in Tualatin, Oregon.[1] His first acting role came at the Hillsboro Artists' Regional Theatre in his home state where he had the role of George in Our Town.[2]

Career

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Acting

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One of his first TV appearances was in the third season of MTV's Undressed and the MTV film Everybody's Doing It. In 2002, Harrison appeared as Lonny in the movie Orange County.[3] His first major role was dorky next-door neighbor Brad O'Keefe on Grounded for Life.[4] In 2004, Harrison starred as Green Graves in the coming of age drama film Lightning Bug.[5]

Harrison appeared in four episodes of That '70s Show as Charlie Richardson, a character intended to be a replacement for departing cast member Topher Grace but Harrison decided to work on another series. He appeared in The O.C. as Danny, Seth's rival. He had a dramatic guest role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Sam Cavanaugh, a young victim of sexual abuse. In film, he appeared alongside Jack Black and Colin Hanks in Orange County. In addition, Harrison also starred in the movie Deal, which was released in the US on April 26, 2008.[6] During 2006–2007 he starred in The Loop, as a young professional trying to balance the needs of his social life with the pressures of working at the corporate headquarters of a major U.S. airline.[7] It was canceled following the second season in 2007. Later in 2007, he became the star of The CW series, Reaper as Sam Oliver. Reaper was canceled on May 19, 2009, after two seasons.[citation needed]

Bret Harrison played Dr. Sidney Miller on ABC's re-imagined V series. Harrison's character appears throughout Season 2 (2011) as an evolutionary biologist and eventual member of the counter-visitor resistance. Harrison starred as Jerry in a short film titled Cost of Living co-starring Brandon Routh.[8] He starred as Scottie Smith in the road trip comedy film Mardi Gras: Spring Break.[9] Also in 2011, he was signed by Fox to fill a main cast role in a mid-season replacement comedy called Breaking In.[10]

In 2015, Harrison signed on to play Gordon Cooper on ABC's The Astronaut Wives Club and played the role of Barry Burwood in movie See You in Valhalla.[11][12] In 2016, Harrison had a recurring role as Kenny in the Netflix sitcom series The Ranch.[13] In 2017, Harrison guest starred as Brad in an episode of Mom and in 2018, he guest starred as Sam Oliver in an episode of Kevin (Probably) Saves the World.[14]

Music

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Big Japan is a four-piece indie rock band from Los Angeles, with Nathanial Castro on vocals and guitar, Adam Brody on drums, Harrison on guitar and Brad Babinski on bass.[15] The band only performs, writes and records sporadically given Brody and Harrison's unpredictable acting schedules. Their first band name was Steven's Team, named after the film The Cable Guy.[citation needed]

Big Japan's first release, Music for Dummies, was digitally released through Nightshift Records on August 23, 2005. This CD originally titled Music for Dummies was changed to Untitled thus the limited number of CDs printed have become collectors items.[citation needed]

Personal life

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As a child, Harrison began studying acting with acting coach Sandra Peabody. Harrison reflects, "I met a lady named Sandra Peabody, who teaches through Northwest Children's Theater. Ever since I met her, she showed me what acting was really about. When I started realizing how much more went into it, that's when I was like, 'I love this, this is a challenge.' She's the one who said, 'Hey, you gotta go to L.A.'"[16] Harrison began dating Lauren Zelman in 2005. They married on March 25, 2012, and have a son.[17]

Filmography

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Film
Year Title Role Notes
1999 A Place Apart Wilkey Television film
2002 Orange County Lonny
2002 Everybody's Doing It Travis Television film
2003 Home Security Mike Short film
2004 Lightning Bug Green Graves
2008 Deal Alex Stillman
2011 The Chicago 8 Rennie Davis
2011 Cost of Living Jerry Short film
2011 Mardi Gras: Spring Break Scottie Smith
2015 See You in Valhalla Barry Burwood
2021 Hero Mode George Mayfield
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Undressed Skeet 7 episodes
2001–05 Grounded for Life Brad O'Keefe Guest star (seasons 1–2); main cast (seasons 3–5); 63 episodes
2002 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Sam Cavanaugh Episode: "Guilt"
2003 Boston Public Doug Baer Episode: "Chapter Fifty-Six"
2004–05 The O.C. Danny Episode: "The Rivals"
Swerve Uncredited; episode: "The Return of the Nana"
2005 That '70s Show Charlie Richardson 4 episodes
2006–07 The Loop Sam Sullivan Main cast; 17 episodes
2007–09 Reaper Samuel "Sam" Oliver Main cast; 31 episodes
2011 V Dr. Sidney Miller 6 episodes
2011–12 Breaking In Cameron Price Main cast; 20 episodes
2011 Love Bites Charlie 2 episodes
2015 The Astronaut Wives Club Gordon Cooper Main cast; 10 episodes
2016, 2020 The Ranch Kenny Recurring role, 11 episodes
2017 Mom Brad Episode: "Tantric Sex and the Sprouted Flute"
2018 Kevin (Probably) Saves the World Samuel "Sam" Oliver Episode: "Old Friends"
2020 All Rise Ben Benner Episode: "My Fair Lockdown"
2020 El Candidato Boyd Sorenson Recurring role

References

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  1. ^ Carlin, Peter Ames (September 24, 2007). "Bret Harrison: On The Verge". OregonLive.com. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  2. ^ Smith, Jill (June 3, 2004). "West Zoner: The last curtain call". The Oregonian. p. 1.
  3. ^ "Orange-County – Cast, Crew, Director and Awards". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  4. ^ Mahoney, Cory. "Where Are They Now: The 'Grounded for Life' Cast". Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  5. ^ "Film Review: Lightning Bug (2004)". Horrornews.net. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  6. ^ "Trailer For Bret Harrison's Deal". Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  7. ^ "The Loop Cast". buddytv.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  8. ^ "Watch Brandon Routh & Bret Harrison Blast Monsters In SciFi Short 'Cost of Living'". Geeks of Doom. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  9. ^ "Mardi Gras: Spring Break". rottentomatoes.com. 2011-09-23. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  10. ^ "HitFix Interview: Bret Harrison talks FOX's 'Breaking In'". Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  11. ^ "Bret Harrison Boards ABC's 'Astronaut Wives Club' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  12. ^ Scheck, Frank. "'See You in Valhalla': Film Review". Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  13. ^ "'The Ranch' EW review: Ashton Kutcher's Netflix series 'ropes you with its peculiarities'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
  14. ^ "'Mom' Meeting: Christy's New Boyfriend Gets Dangerously Roasted". Hidden Remote. 2017-04-13. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  15. ^ "The Loop – Bret Harrison performs live with his band "Big Japan" (1150517) – BuddyTV". www.buddytv.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  16. ^ Yim, Su-Jin (January 17, 2001). "Chicken-Winging It As An Actor". The Oregonian. p. B01. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  17. ^ "Pregnant Jessica Simpson Wears Colorful Bridesmaids Dress at Wedding". Us Weekly. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
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