Christopher Paul Massoglia (born March 29, 1992) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
and
motion picture
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
, and a city council member for Blaine Minnesota's 3rd Ward.
Early life
Chris Massoglia was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Christopher and Karen Massoglia.Justin, Neal. "The Role of a Lifetime: Being an Ordinary Kid." ''
Minneapolis Star Tribune
The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...
.'' December 12, 2005. His father is a
chiropractor
Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It has esoteric origins and is based on several pseudoscie ...
and his mother a
homemaker
Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a hous ...
. His parents are devout
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
rap music
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
). Massoglia was
homeschooled
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
by his mother. By the age of 13, he had enrolled in an
online university
A virtual university (or online university) provides higher education programs through electronic media, typically the Internet. Some are bricks-and-mortar institutions that provide online learning as part of their extended university courses while ...
where his coursework included
developmental psychology
Developmental psychology is the science, scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult deve ...
,
Biblical studies
Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...
,
algebra
Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics.
Elementary a ...
, and
American history
The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
American sign language
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...
, and rode horses. He was also a stand-out
Little League Baseball
Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Acting career
Massoglia began attending acting workshops at a dancing academy, Lundstrum Performing Arts, in his home town of Minneapolis while in
middle school
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
, and auditioning for
television commercials
A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
by creating home-made audition tapes.Sheehan, Brian. "Chris Massoglia: From Geek to 'Freak' ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
.'' October 2, 2008. His first jobs included commercials for
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
PepsiCo
PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...
and
Best Buy
Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...
.
He began acting in 2003 under the name "Chris Kelly" (sometimes as "Chris J. Kelly") in an episode of ''
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 20 ...
.'' The same year, he was considered for the part of 10 year old Sean in the Nicole Kidman film '' Birth'', but his family refused to allow him to appear naked on screen with a nude, grown woman. He auditioned for '' Spider-Man 2'' (getting far enough in the casting process to spend an afternoon with Tobey Maguire) and ''
Bad News Bears
''Bad News Bears'' is a 2005 American sports comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa and starring Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear, Marcia Gay Harden, Sammi Kane Kraft and Jeffrey Tedmori. It is a remake ...
'' (he returned six times for call-backs but was not cast). He spent summer 2004 away from auditions to play Little League Baseball; his team (the Robbinsdale All-Stars) won the Minnesota state title that year but did not go to the World Series after losing the Indianapolis regionals. He appeared in two episodes of ''
Medical Investigation
''Medical Investigation'' is an American medical drama television series that began September 9, 2004, on NBC. It ran for 20 one-hour episodes before its cancellation on March 25, 2005. The series was co-produced by Paramount Network Television a ...
'' in 2004,Bianculli, David. "Gary Cole Switches Sides, But Still In Line of Fire." ''
New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
.'' July 18, 2005. and four episodes of the TNTcable television police drama '' Wanted'' in 2005. He began using his family name of Massoglia in 2008.
He made his feature film acting debut in 2007's '' A Plumm Summer,'' but his most prominent role as of 2009 was as Darren Shan in the 2009 film '' Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant.'' Originally scheduled to debut theatrically in 2010, the film was moved to October 2009 to "capitalize on the Halloween season", and opened a month prior to another highly anticipated vampire picture, '' The Twilight Saga: New Moon''.
His follow-up project was the 3-D horror film '' The Hole'', directed by
Joe Dante
Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies wit ...
,Kroll, Justin. "Players." ''Daily Variety.'' October 21, 2009. He went on to play the elder incarnation of Sam,
Zac Efron
Zachary David Alexander Efron (; born October 18, 1987) is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence in the late 2000s for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the ''High School Musical'' trilo ...
's brother in ''
Charlie St. Cloud
''Charlie St. Cloud'' is a 2010 American supernatural drama film based on Ben Sherwood's novel '' The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud'', published in 2004 by Bantam Books. The film is directed by Burr Steers and stars Zac Efron and Amanda C ...
'', but his role was cut.
After a four-year break, Massoglia returned to the acting. His first notable work was in '' The Matchbreaker'' (2016), in which he had a minor role. This was followed by the small film ''Because of Gràcia'', in which he starred as a teenage boy trying to build a relationship with a chaste girl who refuses to kiss until she's married. In the fall 2017, Massoglia began filming the small independent film ''The Lumber Baron''.
Massoglia wrote, directed and starred in the short film ''Playball'', released online in 2018.
As of November 2009, critiques of Massoglia's acting have concerned his leading role in ''Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant.'' His performance has not won raves; motion picture industry trade publication ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' said, "The production puts far too much faith in the appeal of newcomer Chris Massoglia, who plays Darren Shan, a rule-abiding, good-grade-earning conformist with the shaggy coif and bland, gumdrop charm of your average Nickelodeon character." '' The Boston Globe'' called his acting "too bland to deliver." However, reviewing his 2009 film ''The Hole'', '' The Hollywood Reporter'' called Massoglia "a young Zac Efron... who ably carries the film."
Political Career
After winning election in 2020, Massoglia became a member of the Blaine, Minnesota City Council from Blaine's 3rd Ward in January 2021. He stood on the policies of not implementing a city sales tax, making sure that there were more firemen and that a new fire station was built, more transparency in government, and smart sustainable growth in Blaine.Issues Facing Blaine: Chrismassoglia.com /ref>