Ashley Zukerman (born 30 December 1983) is an Australian-American actor known for playing Dr. Charlie Isaacs on WGN America's ''

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

'', Senior Constable Michael Sandrelli in Australian drama series ''Rush'', and Jesse Banks in the Australian political thriller '' The Code'', for which he received an

AACTA Award The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, ...

for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama in 2014. He also played a recurring role in ''

Succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

''. In 2021, he portrayed

Robert Langdon Professor Robert Langdon is a fictional character created by author Dan Brown for his ''Robert Langdon'' book series: ''Angels & Demons'' (2000), ''The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), ''The Lost Symbol'' (2009), ''Inferno'' (2013) and ''Origin'' (2017 ...

in the TV series adaptation of

Dan Brown Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author best known for his Thriller (genre), thriller novels, including the Robert Langdon novels ''Angels & Demons'' (2000), ''The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), ''The Lost Symbol'' (2009), ''In ...

's ''

The Lost Symbol ''The Lost Symbol'' is a 2009 novel written by American writer Dan Brown. It is a thriller set in Washington, D.C., after the events of ''The Da Vinci Code'', and relies on Freemasonry for both its recurring theme and its major characters. Rele ...

''.

Early life

Zukerman was born in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, the son of Ingrid and Moshe Zukerman, and moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

with his family when he was two years old. His family is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

; his father is from Israel and his mother is from Peru. His parents spoke

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

during his childhood. He is the older brother of '' Science Vs.'' podcaster

Wendy Zukerman Wendy Zukerman is an Australian-American science journalist and podcaster. She is best known as the host of '' Science Vs'', a program that dissects areas of scientific controversy and public confusion. About Zukerman was born in the United S ...

. Zukerman attended Wesley College at the

Glen Waverley Glen Waverley is a list of Melbourne suburbs, suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Monash local government ...

campus and began a degree in Science and Engineering at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

before being accepted into the

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...

Career

Graduating from the VCA in 2006, he began his professional career in the theatre. He had a critically acclaimed role in ''

The History Boys ''The History Boys'' is a play by British playwright Alan Bennett. The play premiered at the Royal National Theatre in London on 18 May 2004. Its Broadway debut was on 23 April 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre where 185 performances were staged be ...

'', directed by Peter Evans for the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre compa ...

. He then appeared in

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

's war miniseries '' The Pacific'', which premiered 14 March 2010 and also in '' Lowdown'' created by

Adam Zwar Adam Zwar (born 13 January 1972) is an Australian actor, voice artist, and writer. He is best known for co-creating the Australian comedy series '' Squinters'', '' Lowdown'', '' Wilfred'' and creating the critically acclaimed Channel 10 comedy ...

and

Amanda Brotchie Amanda Brotchie, born in Melbourne, Victoria), is an Australian director known for '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (2018), '' Mr Black'' (2019), '' Girlboss'' (2017), and '' Lowdown'' (2010-2012). She is also a writer, producer and linguist. Caree ...

. His Australian break came when he played Constable Michael Sandrelli on the series ''

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

'' for which he was nominated for a Logie award in the Most Outstanding New Talent category. In 2011, after his time on ''Rush'', Zukerman joined the cast of the short-lived

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

–produced sci-fi television series '' Terra Nova''. Zukerman then returned to the theatre working with director

Eamon Flack Eamon Flack is an Australian theatre director. He is Artistic Director of Belvoir (theatre company), Belvoir, a theatre company in Sydney's Surry Hills. Flack, who grew up in Darwin, Northern Territory, was encouraged towards a career in theatre ...

at the Belvoir Theatre Company in ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

'' playing Orlando, and then two years later in ''

Angels in America ''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a two-part play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The work won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the Drama Desk Award for O ...

'' playing Joe Pitt. ''Angels in America'' won Best Play at the 2014

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical t ...

. He played socially dysfunctional genius

hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...

Jesse Banks opposite

Dan Spielman Dan Spielman (born 1979) is an Australian actor. His career spans film, television and theatre. Spielman grew up with his younger sister in Beaumaris, Melbourne. Without formal acting training, Spielman has worked in theatre, television and fil ...

in the Australian political thriller '' The Code'' created by Shelley Birse. The show received huge national and international acclaim and 10

nominations, out of which it won six including Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama for Zukerman. Early in 2014, Zukerman won the role of ambitious wunderkind Dr. Charlie Isaacs in the

WGN America WGN America was an American subscription television network that was owned by the Nexstar Media Group, and was the company's only wholly owned, national cable-originated television channel. The channel in its final form under the WGN branding ran ...

original drama ''

'' created by filmmaker Sam Shaw and directed by

Thomas Schlamme Thomas David Schlamme (; born ) is an American television director, known particularly for his collaborations with Aaron Sorkin. He is known for his work as executive producer on ''The West Wing'' and ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,'' as well as ...

. In 2016, Zukerman was cast in the recurring role of Peter MacLeish on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

political drama series ''

Designated Survivor In the United States, a designated survivor (or designated successor) is a named individual in the presidential line of succession, chosen to stay at an undisclosed secure location, away from events such as State of the Union addresses and pres ...

'', which premiered in the autumn of the same year. In 2018, Zukerman had a recurring role on the

series ''

'', and in 2020, appeared as the title character's husband on the

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

miniseries ''

A Teacher ''A Teacher'' is a 2013 American drama film written and directed by Hannah Fidell, in her feature directorial debut. It revolves around a female high school teacher's illicit sexual relationship with a male student that turns from infatuation in ...

''. In 2021, he stars in the ''

Fear Street ''Fear Street'' is a teenage horror fiction series written by American author R. L. Stine, starting in 1989. In 1995, a series of books inspired by the ''Fear Street'' series, called '' Ghosts of Fear Street'', was created for younger readers ...

'' horror trilogy that streams on Netflix, beginning with '' Fear Street Part One: 1994''. It was announced in March 2020 that Zukerman has also been cast to portray

in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

drama pilot ''Langdon'', which is based on

's 2009 thriller novel ''

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

*''

'' (2011) – Orlando *''

This Is Our Youth ''This Is Our Youth'' is a play by American dramatist and screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan. It premiered Off-Broadway in 1996 and since been produced all over the world, including the West End, Broadway Sydney and Toronto. Plot The play takes pla ...

'' (2009) – Warren *''B.C.'' (2009) – Joseph *''The Hypocrite'' (2008) – Valére *''

'' (2007) – Timms

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zukerman, Ashley 1983 births 21st-century American male actors 21st-century Australian male actors AACTA Award winners American emigrants to Australia Australian male television actors American people of Israeli descent American people of Peruvian descent Australian people of Israeli descent Australian people of Peruvian descent Hispanic and Latino American male actors Jewish American male actors Jewish Australian male actors Living people Male actors from Melbourne Male actors from Santa Monica, California People educated at Wesley College (Victoria) University of Melbourne alumni 21st-century American Jews