Connor Paolo (born July 11, 1990) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as

Eric van der Woodsen Eric van der Woodsen (spelled Erik in the novels) is a fictional character from the book series ''Gossip Girl'' and the television series of the same name, in which he is portrayed by Connor Paolo. Novel series Erik is described as similar to ev ...

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

's teen drama series ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

'' and Declan Porter 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 ...

drama series ''

Revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

''. He has also appeared in two

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

films, ''

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

'' (2004) and ''

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

'' (2006).

Personal life

Paolo was born in New York City, the son of Julia Mendelsohn, a vocal coach and classical pianist, and Colin Paolo, a writer and screenwriter. Paolo is Jewish. He attended, beginning in 2006, the

Professional Performing Arts School The Professional Performing Arts School, colloquially known as PPAS, is a public middle and high school in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. History PPAS was created in 1990 to meet the needs of two groups of students: those who wanted t ...

alongside

Sarah Hyland Sarah Jane Hyland (born November 24, 1990) is an American actress and singer. Born in Manhattan, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School before having small roles in the films '' Private Parts'' (1997), '' Annie'' (1999) and ''Blin ...

Paul Iacono Paul Stanley Iacono (born September 7, 1988) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying RJ Berger in the MTV scripted series ''The Hard Times of RJ Berger''. Early years Iacono was born in Secaucus, New Jersey, to Italian American pa ...

and

Taylor Momsen Taylor Michel Momsen (born July 26, 1993) is an American musician, singer, model, and former actress. Prior to her retirement from acting, she portrayed the character of Cindy Lou Who in the film ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' (2000) and Jen ...

. He took acting classes at the

Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, a ...

. Paolo also attended

Appel Farm Arts and Music Center Appel Farm Arts & Music Center, located near Elmer, New Jersey, United States, is a multifaceted nonprofit regional arts center founded by musicians and art educators Albert and Clare Rostan Appel. Appel Farm Arts & Music Center is South Jersey's ...

Summer Arts Camp located in

Elmer, New Jersey Elmer is a borough in Salem County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 1,395,New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

for one semester in fall 2008.

Career

He played a preteen murderer-rapist in an episode of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''. He made his motion picture debut in

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...

's Oscar-nominated ''

Mystic River The Mystic River is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in Massachusetts, in the United States. In Massachusett, means "large estuary," alluding to t ...

'', playing young Sean. In 2004, Paolo was on ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'' as Travis O'Connell, a recurring character. Paolo also made a return appearance on ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', playing a disturbed teenager based on the real case of

Justin Berry Justin Berry (born July 24, 1986) operated pornographic websites, beginning at age 13, featuring himself and other teen males. In 2005, at the age of 18, he cooperated in a ''New York Times'' feature article. Before publication, Berry was granted ...

. Other films include ''

'' for Oliver Stone in 2006; '' Snow Angels'', directed by

David Gordon Green David Gordon Green is an American filmmaker. He directed the dramas ''George Washington'' (2000), ''All the Real Girls'' (2003), and '' Snow Angels'' (2007), as well as the thriller '' Undertow'' (2004), all of which he wrote or co-wrote. In 2 ...

; and ''Favorite Son'', his first leading role. Paolo has a background in

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and commercials. He has appeared on the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

stage in the hit musical ''

The Full Monty ''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is s ...

'' and

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in the New York public theater production of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

''. He played Bottom in an abridged production of Shakespeare's ''

Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

''. From 2007 to 2011, Paolo had a supporting role on

's series ''

'', where he played

, the brother of lead

Serena van der Woodsen Serena Celia van der Woodsen is the fictional character and the protagonist in the ''Gossip Girl'' novel series and in its TV adaptation, in which she is portrayed by Blake Lively. Serena is featured on the blog of the series' mysterious narrato ...

's character. His last appearance was in the sixth season. In 2010, he starred in the vampire apocalypse film ''

Stake Land ''Stake Land'' is a 2010 American post apocalyptic vampire horror film directed by Jim Mickle and starring Nick Damici, who cowrote the script with Mickle. It also stars Connor Paolo, Danielle Harris and Kelly McGillis. The plot revolves aroun ...

'' directed by

Jim Mickle Jim Mickle (born 1979) is an American director and writer, known for such films as ''Mulberry Street (film), Mulberry Street'', ''Stake Land'', ''We Are What We Are (2013 film), We Are What We Are'' and ''Cold in July (film), Cold in July''. He ...

. In April 2011, Paolo joined the cast of

's dramatic series ''

''. In August 2011, Paolo stated that he would be taking on the new series ''Revenge'' full-time and his character Eric van der Woodsen on ''Gossip Girl'' would no longer appear on the show. He, however, returned to ''Gossip Girl'' for a brief appearance during the

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...

. Paolo exited ''Revenge'' in May 2013, after his character was written off the second season finale. In 2020, ''

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), ...

'' announced Paolo was joining the cast of the

Chris Blake Chris Blake is a Welsh international lawn and indoor bowler. Bowls career He won a silver medal in the fours at the 1996 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Adelaide. He won the 1994 triples title and 2001 pairs title at the Welsh National Bo ...

quarantine comedy '' Distancing Socially''. The film was shot at the height of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in 2020, using remote technologies and the iPhone 11. The film was acquired and released by Cinedigm in October 2021.Malkin, Marc, Variety, 'Schitt’s Creek’ Actor Sarah Levy Cast in COVID-Inspired Indie Distancing Socially, https://variety.com/2020/film/news/schitts-creek-sarah-levy-distancing-socially-1234796488/

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paolo, Connor 1990 births 21st-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors American male video game actors Living people Male actors from New York City