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 graduate of the
Stella Adler Studio of Acting
The Stella Adler Studio of Acting (formerly Stella Adler Conservatory) is a prestigious acting school that was founded by actress and teacher Stella Adler.
Greenock
Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. A keen footballer, he left school at 15 to pursue a professional career and signed with
Greenock Morton F.C.
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish Professional sports, professional Association football, football Football team, club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of t ...
Eight minutes into a cup tie between Greenock Morton and Hearts, Laird tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee effectively ending his professional footballing career.
After exploring the possibility of taking up coaching as a career, Laird turned his attention to acting. In 2008, he was introduced to an acting agency by longterm friend Jim Sweeney and landed the role of Sean in the Scottish soap opera ''
River City
''River City'' is a Scottish television soap opera that was first broadcast on BBC One Scotland on 24 September 2002. ''River City'' follows the lives of the people who live and work in the fictional district of Shieldinch. In November 2017, a s ...
'' and went on to appear in a number of episodes before departing in 2011. The following year he starred in the critically acclaimed short film, ''The Lost Purse'' in which Laird played the leading role of The Kid. The film told the story a young deaf man. The film was well received and earned Laird a Best Acting accolade at the Write Camera Action event in Glasgow in 2012.
In 2011, whilst on holiday in Los Angeles, Laird was convinced by his father to take part in an acting workshop hosted by the
Stella Adler Studio of Acting
The Stella Adler Studio of Acting (formerly Stella Adler Conservatory) is a prestigious acting school that was founded by actress and teacher Stella Adler.
. Initially hesitant to take part, Laird was eventually bribed $50 by his father and despite having no previous acting training, the staff were so impressed by his performance that they offered Laird a fully funded scholarship for the young actor to study in America. In 2014, he landed the role of Colin in the American online drama ''
Camp Abercorn
''Camp Abercorn'' is an American web series originally slated to release in September 2014 that focuses on being a member of the Boy Scouts of America and also being gay. Using the fictional scouting organization called the Compass Guides of Amer ...
''. The series which premiered in September 2014 was crowd funded online and was endorsed by former
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
actor
George Takei
George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井 穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...
.
In May 2016, it was announced on the
Stella Adler
Stella Adler (February 10, 1901 – December 21, 1992) was an American actress and acting teacher. ''
The Ice Cream Truck
''The Ice Cream Truck'' is an American psychological horror/thriller film, written and directed by Megan Elizabeth Freels Johnston, granddaughter of crime writer Elmore Leonard, and starring Deanna Russo, John Redlinger, Emil Johnsen, Hilary B ...
''. In June, ''
Camp Abercorn
''Camp Abercorn'' is an American web series originally slated to release in September 2014 that focuses on being a member of the Boy Scouts of America and also being gay. Using the fictional scouting organization called the Compass Guides of Amer ...
'' received its first major screening in America playing at the 2016 edition of SeriesFest. Laird also appeared in two
BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
videos where he took on the challenge of taste testing pumpkin spice lattes from 5 popular coffee chains, and starred alongside
Carmen Electra
Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972), known professionally as Carmen Electra, is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis, where she met Prince, who produced h ...
promoting
Dollar Shave Club
Dollar Shave Club is an American company based in Venice, California, that delivers razors and other personal grooming products to customers by mail. It delivers razor blades on a monthly basis and offers additional grooming products for home del ...
blades and products.
In 2017, Laird featured in the Amazon Prime Production of ''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands: War Within The Cartel'' playing the role of CIA Analyst Ryan Williams. 2017 saw Laird star in the horror comedy film ''
The Ice Cream Truck
''The Ice Cream Truck'' is an American psychological horror/thriller film, written and directed by Megan Elizabeth Freels Johnston, granddaughter of crime writer Elmore Leonard, and starring Deanna Russo, John Redlinger, Emil Johnsen, Hilary B ...
''. In September, Laird completed filming on the feature comedy film Hot Air (film) starring
Steve Coogan
Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...
and
Taylor Russell
Taylor Russell McKenzie (born July 18, 1994) is a Canadian actress. She has starred in the Netflix science fiction series ''Lost in Space'' (2018–2021). In film, she has starred in the critically acclaimed drama ''Waves'' (2019), for which she ...
. The
Frank Coraci
Frank Coraci (born February 3, 1966) is an American film director and screenwriter best known for his work with actor Adam Sandler.
Biography
Coraci was born in Shirley, New York. In 1984 he graduated from William Floyd High School, where he ...
directed film was released in theaters in 2018. 2018 also saw Laird complete filming on TV series Big Dogs which premiered on streaming service
Tubi
Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...
in 2019. The show did not get renewed for a second season.
In 2018, Laird completed filming on thriller, Green Rush, which was produced by UFC hall of famer
Urijah Faber
Urijah Faber (born May 14, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and actor who is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competed as a bantamweight and formerly competed as a featherweight. He is also the founder of Team Alpha Male, ...
. Laird played the role of Caleb Hayes and also is credited as being a co-producer on the movie. The film was distributed by
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
Dylan Sprouse
Dylan Thomas Sprouse (born August 4, 1992) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Zack Martin on the Disney Channel series ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' and its spin-off, ''The Suite Life on Deck'', where he starred along ...
and
Virginia Gardner
Virginia Elizabeth Gardner is an American actress who played Karolina Dean in the Hulu original series ''Runaways (TV series), Marvel's Runaways'' (2017–2019), Vicky in David Gordon Green's horror film ''Halloween (2018 film), Halloween'' (2018 ...
. Laird played the role of Taylor Maddox. The movie was directed by
Roger Kumble
Roger Kumble (born May 28, 1966) is an American film director, screenwriter, and playwright.
Life and career
Kumble was raised in Harrison, New York, and attended Harrison High School. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1988, where he ...
and shot on location in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. The movie was released worldwide in theaters via
Fathom Events
Fathom Events is an entertainment content provider that broadcasts entertainment events in movie theaters throughout the United States including Metropolitan Opera Live in HD, the performing arts, major sporting events, and music concerts.
The ...
in April, 2023. Upon release of the film, it was also announced that Laird had completed filming on the sequel, Beautiful Wedding, on location in the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
in November, 2022. The film is scheduled for release in 2024.
In 2023, Laird appeared on, Better Human Better Dog, with
Cesar Milan
César Felipe Millán Favela (; ; born August 27, 1969) is a Mexican-American dog trainer. He is widely known for his Emmy-nominated television series ''Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan'', which was produced from 2004 to 2012 and is broadcast in ...
to help his German Shepherd rescue dog, Rocky. Laird and his girlfriend, Starsi Howell, appeared in season 3 episode 9 of the
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...