Chord Paul Overstreet (born February 17, 1989)[1] is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role as Sam Evans on the Fox television series Glee (2009–2015). He has starred in the Apple TV+ comedy series Acapulco since 2021.

Chord Overstreet
Overstreet in 2013
Overstreet in 2013
Background information
Birth nameChord Paul Overstreet
Born (1989-02-17) February 17, 1989 (age 35)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Voice
  • guitar
  • harmonica
Years active2009–present
Labels

After signing to Safehouse Records, he began a career as a solo musical artist. On August 26, 2016, he released his debut single, "Homeland", through Safehouse and Island Records. In 2017, he released the single "Hold On", which was certified double Platinum in the United States.

Early life

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Overstreet was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to hairdresser Julie (née Miller) and country music singer-songwriter Paul Overstreet.[2] He has an older brother, Nash Overstreet (born 1986), who plays guitar in the band Hot Chelle Rae;[3][4] an older sister, Summer (born 1987); and three younger sisters, Harmony, Skye and Charity.[5][6][7] He is of German, Irish and English descent.[8][9] He was named after the musical term.[6] He was raised on a farm outside of Nashville.[10] Encouraged by his parents to pursue music, he started playing the mandolin at an early age, and moved on to the drums, flute, piano and guitar.[8][11] He is also a songwriter.[6] In his teenage years, he modeled for advertisements for Hollister, Famous Footwear and Gap.[12] He was homeschooled.

Career

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2009–2015: Beginnings and Glee

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Overstreet began to pursue his passion of performing after his high school graduation in 2007. After two unsuccessful years, Overstreet started his acting career on the web series Private as Josh Hollis.[13] He was also featured in an episode of iCarly titled "iSpeed Date" and starred in the unaired pilot of No Ordinary Family.[11][14] His first film role was that of Teenage Boy in the 2009 thriller The Hole, and he starred in the 2011 film A Warrior's Heart as Dupree, alongside Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz.[14]

 
Overstreet as Sam Evans on the Glee Live! In Concert! tour, 2011

Overstreet played the character of Sam Evans, a transfer student and athlete, on the FOX comedy-drama television series Glee.[11][15][16] He landed the role after auditioning with the Commodores' song "Easy" and Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Want to Be".[6] He later sang "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars as a studio test, and eventually sang this in his debut episode titled "Audition". His cover of "Billionaire" was released as a single and charted at #15 in Ireland, #24 in Canada, #28 in the United States, and #34 in Australia.[17][18][19][20] On April 21, 2011, the video for Hot Chelle Rae's "Tonight Tonight" was released on YouTube and featured a series of cameos of Overstreet alternately making out with a girl (whom he stole from the lead singer) on an office copier, DJing at a club, then playing guitar and mugging for the crowd with his brother, Hot Chelle Rae band member, Nash.[21]

On July 1, 2011, TVLine's Michael Ausiello broke the news that Overstreet's contract option to become a series regular on Glee had not been picked up for season 3, but that he could possibly come back as an occasional guest star.[22] In reaction to the announcement, fans launched a campaign to promote Overstreet's cover of "Billionaire" and various tags related to the actor, most notably "#DontCutTheChord",[23] began trending on Twitter. The song made its way into the iTunes top 5 Glee charts during the campaign.[24]

At the 2011 Comic-Con event, Glee co-creator Brad Falchuk reported that they had offered Overstreet a ten-episode deal with a possibility to become a series regular at mid-season, but that Overstreet had declined the option.[25][26] Overstreet later stated to Ausiello during an interview that he had decided to leave the show to focus on his music career, explaining: "They offered me the chance to come back for a few episodes, but there was nothing guaranteed so I decided to dive into the music thing."[27] It was reported on October 18, 2011, and confirmed by series co-creator Ryan Murphy six days later, that Overstreet would be returning to Glee as a recurring character starting with the third season's eighth episode.[28] On July 23, 2012, it was confirmed that Overstreet would be a series regular for the fourth season of Glee, where he continued until the last season.[29]

2015–present: Music career, acting

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Overstreet in 2016

Chord has cited James Taylor, David Gray, Jimmy Buffett, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and Hall & Oates as musicians that inspire him.[30] On December 15, 2015, Overstreet signed a recording contract with Safehouse Records, a record label founded by Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas and Phil McIntyre. He was the first artist to be signed to the label.[31] He opened for Lovato and Jonas on several tour dates of their Future Now Tour in summer 2016.[32]

On August 26, 2016, Chord released his first solo single, "Homeland", through Island Records and Safehouse Records.[33] Digital Journal called it "a fitting homage to his hometown", giving the song a five star rating.[34] A music video for the song premiered through Billboard on October 7, 2016.[35] In September 2016, Overstreet revealed that he was working on an EP.[30] In December 2016, he released a cover of "All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan", written by Overstreet's father and originally recorded by Kenny Chesney.[36] Overstreet released the single, "Hold On" on February 3, 2017.[37] Though the song failed to impact any charts, it was certified double platinum certification by the RIAA in August 2021.[38] On May 12, 2017, he released his first EP, Tree House Tapes.[39] In June 2017, he was picked as Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month and performed "Hold On" on NBC's Today show. He also performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on August 14, 2017.[40]

Overstreet made appearances as a guest star in a number of television series including The Bold Type,[41] Royalties, and Pickle and Peanut.[42] In 2021, he joined the cast of Acapulco, an Apple TV+ comedy series set in 1984.[43] The series' second season was released in October 2022.[44]

In 2020, he starred in the comedy film The Swing of Things, which was released on Hulu.[45] He starred in the 2022 romantic comedy film Falling for Christmas opposite Lindsay Lohan.[46][47]

Personal life

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Overstreet dated British actress Emma Watson in 2018.[48]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2009 The Hole Adam
2011 A Warrior's Heart Dupree
Glee: The 3D Concert Movie Sam Evans Concert film
2015 4th Man Out Nick
2020 The Swing Of Things Tom
2022 Falling for Christmas Jake

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2009 iCarly Eric Episode: "iSpeed Date"
Private Joshua Hollis Recurring role
2010 No Ordinary Family Lucas Fisher Episode: "Unaired Pilot"
2010–2015 Glee Sam Evans Main role (seasons 4–6); Recurring role (seasons 2–3); 91 episodes
2011 The Middle Ralph Wilkerson Episode: "Hecking Order"
2013 Regular Show Dusty B (voice) Episode: "The Thanksgiving Special"
2015 Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! Mitchell, Andrew (voice) Episode: "Mystery 101"
2016–2017 Pickle and Peanut Additional Voices / Scampi (voice) Episode: "Gregazoids/Meat Ballers"
2020 The Bold Type Evan Sloan Episode: "Stardust"
Royalties Singer Episode: "I Am So Much Better Than You at Everything"
2021–present Acapulco Chad Davies Main role
2024 Doctor Odyssey Sam Episode: "Singles Week"

Music videos

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Year Title Artist
2010 "Lucky Glee Cast
2011 "Tonight Tonight" Hot Chelle Rae
2016 "Bacon" Nick Jonas

Discography

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As Chord Overstreet

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Extended plays

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Title Extended play details
Tree House Tapes
Hold On
Stone Man

Singles

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Year Title Album Certifications
2016 "Homeland"[52] Non-album singles
"All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan"[53]
2017 "Hold On"[54] Hold On
2018 "We've Got Tonight"[57] Muscle Shoals: Small Town, Big Sound
2019 "Love You To Death"[58] Non-album singles
2020 "Heartache Song" (Live Acoustic)[58]
"Sunflower"[58]
"What You Need"[58]
"Cold Feet"[58]
"Water Into Wine"[58]
2021 "Beautiful Disaster"[58] Stone Man
"Stone Man"[58]
"What's Left of You"[58]
2021 "Sunkissed"[58] Non-album singles
"Good Times"[58] Non-album singles
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Year Title Album
2021 "Do The Damn Thing"
(Hot Chelle Rae feat. Chord Overstreet and LEVI)[59]
Non-album single

As OVERSTREET

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Extended plays

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Title Extended play details
Man on the Moon
OVERSTREET

Singles

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Year Title Album
2018 "Wasted Time"[62] Non-album singles
"Carried Away"[63]
2019 "All Nighter"[64] Man on the Moon
"Sex on Fire"[65]
"On The Way"[65]
"My Ex"[66] OVERSTREET
"Addicted"[65] Non-album single
2020 "Die"[65] OVERSTREET
"For a Heartache"[65]
"Summertime"[67]
"Blue"[65]

Tours

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Co-headlining

Opening act

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result
2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Glee Nominated
2012 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated
Hollywood Teen TV Awards Favorite Breakout Star Nominated
2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice TV: Male Scene Stealer Won
2014 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actor: Comedy Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Chord Overstreet". TV Guide. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  2. ^ "Paul Overstreet is a performer who lives his songs". News.google.ca. April 10, 1996. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  3. ^ Paulson, Dave (June 19, 2009). "Hot Chelle Rae reaches for pop stardom". The Tennessean. Gannett Company. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  4. ^ O'Donnell, Shauna (April 27, 2010). "Hot Chelle Rae". MUEN Magazine. Raven's Nest Records. Archived from the original on September 29, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  5. ^ "Chord Overstreet: Bio". Us Weekly. Wenner Media. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d Berk, Brett (September 21, 2010). "Will Chord Overstreet Go Full Brokeback on Glee?". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast Publications. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
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  8. ^ a b "4 Things We Love About Glee's Chord Overstreet". TVGuide. March 8, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  9. ^ "Chord Overstreet Featured in Zooey Magazine". ClevverTV. March 6, 2012. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  10. ^ "Chord Overstreet – Country Music Artist Info". Allaccess.com. August 23, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
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  25. ^ Webb, Matt (July 24, 2011). "Glee Boss Sets the Record Straight on McKinley High's Mass Exodus". TVLine. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
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  36. ^ Blake, Liza (16 December 2016). "Chord Overstreet Opts for a Caribbean Christmas With 'All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan'". Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
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  38. ^ a b "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – August 20, 2021". RIAA. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
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  40. ^ Chaberski, Chris (15 August 2017). "Chord Overstreet Performs 'Hold On' for 'The Tonight Show,' The Mooch Does Colbert: ICYMI". PopCrush. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  41. ^ November 18, Samantha Highfill; EST, 2019 at 03:00 PM. "Exclusive: Chord Overstreet to guest-star on 'The Bold Type' as Jane's brother". EW.com. Retrieved 2022-11-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  42. ^ "Glee's Chord Overstreet and Kevin McHale Reunite for Darren Criss's Heavy-Metal Royalties Track". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
  43. ^ Petski, Denise (2021-04-13). "'Acapulco': Jessica Collins, Chord Overstreet Among Six Cast In Apple Comedy Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
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  61. ^ "OVERSTREET". Allies Nippon. Archived from the original on August 20, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  62. ^ "CHORD OVERSTREET TAKES OFF IN NEW DIRECTION WITH "WASTED TIME" – RELEASED ON ISLAND RECORDS/SAFEHOUSE RECORDS". Highwiredaze. Apr 30, 2018.
  63. ^ "Overstreet Gets 'Carried Away' With Good Vibes on New Single: Listen". billboard. Jun 15, 2018.
  64. ^ "Overstreet is Wide Awake in 'All Nighter' Video: Exclusive". billboard. Apr 17, 2019.
  65. ^ a b c d e f "Overstreet". Spotify. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  66. ^ "Overstreet's 'My Ex' Video: Premiere". billboard. Oct 20, 2019.
  67. ^ "Chord Overstreet Admits To Keeping Unusual Item From 'Glee' Set". Yahoo. April 24, 2020.
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