Jeremy Robert Myron Sumpter (born February 5, 1989) is an American actor. His prominent roles include the title role in the 2003 live action film ''
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...
'', Jacob in the 2014 disaster film ''
Into the Storm'', and the recurring role of J. D. McCoy in the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
television series ''
Friday Night Lights'' (2008–2010).
Early life
Sumpter was born in
Carmel-by-the-Sea
Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and r ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, to Sandy (née Johnson) and Gary Sumpter.
[Child actor hooked on Peter Pan role]
/ref> He has a twin sister, Jessica, and two other siblings, Travis and Jennifer.
at his official website His family moved to his mother's hometown, Mount Sterling, Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, when he was ten months old.[
]
Career
When Sumpter was 11, he entered International Modeling and Talent Association
The International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) is a professional organization of modeling and talent training centers from around the world, who meet biannually for talent and modeling conventions in both New York City and Los Angeles.
F ...
and started his modeling in Kentucky. He also won Pre-Teen Male Model of the Year, where he signed with Mark Robert as his personal manager. Sumpter then decided to move to Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
with his family and start acting afterwards.
Sumpter's first movie role was in the 2001 film '' Frailty'' as the young Adam Mieks seen in flashbacks. Sumpter received a Saturn Award nomination for "Best Performance by a Younger Actor" for his performance. Following that, he appeared with Danny Glover in the Showtime film ''Just a Dream'', for which he received a Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...
for "Best Performance in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Special - Leading Young Actor". His next film was ''Local Boys
''Local Boys'' is a 2002 American coming-of-age drama film. The film was directed by Ron Moler and written by Norman Douglas Bradley and Thomas Matthew Stewart. The film stars Jeremy Sumpter and Eric Christian Olsen as two brothers who face new ch ...
'', a family surfing drama, with Mark Harmon and Eric Christian Olsen
Eric Christian Olsen (born May 31, 1977), is an American actor. He is known for his portrayals of Investigator Marty Deeks on the CBS television series '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', and of Austin in the film ''Not Another Teen Movie''.
Early life
O ...
.
In July 2002, at age 13, Sumpter was selected for the role of Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...
. Sumpter did nearly all of his stunts for the film himself. To prepare, he says he practiced sword fighting as much as five hours a day, as well as training in gymnastics and lifting weights. He was working with actress Rachel Hurd-Wood
Rachel Clare Hurd-Wood (born 17 August 1990) is an English actress, best known for her film roles as Wendy Darling in ''Peter Pan'' (2003) and more recently for her television role as Rachel Maddox in ''Clique'' (2017–2018).
Early life Backg ...
and built a strong relationship with her. While filming in Australia, he supplemented his training with cricket and surfing. Sumpter grew several inches while in the film's production, requiring staging tricks to retain Captain Hook
Captain James Hook is a fictional character and the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' and its various adaptations, in which he is Peter Pan's archenemy. The character is a pirate capta ...
's height advantage over Peter in face-to-face scenes late in the process. Producer Lucy Fisher also said that, "The window he flies out of had to be enlarged twice." Despite the film’s box office failure, Sumpter has won both a Saturn and Young Artist Award for the film.
In the fall of 2004, he starred in the TV series ''Clubhouse
Clubhouse may refer to:
Locations
* The meetinghouse of:
** A club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal
** In the United States, a country club
** In the United Kingdom, a gentlemen's club
* A ...
'' as a boy who gets his dream job of working as a batboy for a New York City major league baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
team. The series was canceled by CBS after five episodes; all 11 episodes made have since been broadcast on cable/satellite channels. He then starred in '' Cyber Seduction: His Secret Life'', a Lifetime Channel movie about a popular teenager whose life is ruined by an addiction to internet pornography.
Sumpter spent the summer of 2005 in Oregon filming the teen comedy ''The Sasquatch Gang
''The Sasquatch Gang'' (also known as ''The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang'') is a 2006 comedy film written and directed by Tim Skousen, the first assistant director on ''Napoleon Dynamite''.
The six-week shoot was completed in the summer of 2005. The fi ...
'' (a.k.a. ''The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang''), released in November 2006. He had a small role in the film ''An American Crime
''An American Crime'' is a 2007 American crime horror drama film directed by Tommy O'Haver and starring Elliot Page and Catherine Keener. The film is based on the true story of the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens by Indianapolis single moth ...
'', which played on Showtime in 2008 before going to DVD. He appeared in an episode of ''CSI: Miami
''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...
'' as the boyfriend of a girl whose parents are murdered.
He completed filming roles in the coming-of-age comedy ''Calvin Marshall
''Calvin Marshall'' is a 2009 coming of age-comedy film written and directed by Gary Lundgren and starring Alex Frost as the title character, a determined but talentless college baseball player, and Steve Zahn as his coach. After two years of rais ...
'', ''Soul Surfer
A soul surfer (term invented during the 1960s) is a surfer who surfs for the sheer pleasure of surfing. Although they may still enter competitions, winning is not the soul surfer's main motive, since they scorn the commercialization of surfing. T ...
'' and ''Death and Cremation
''Death and Cremation'' is an independent feature film starring Brad Dourif and Jeremy Sumpter, and is the first feature from Director Justin Steele. The film's supporting cast includes Scott Elrod, Daniel Baldwin, Debbon Ayer, Sam Ingraffia, Stac ...
''. He appeared in the meteorological disaster film '' Into the Storm'' as Jacob Hodges, a young cameraman for the stormchasers.
Personal life
In December 2015, Sumpter announced that he and Lauren Pacheco were engaged to be married, but in October 2016 stated that they were no longer engaged.
Filmography
Awards
References
External links
Official website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumpter, Jeremy
1989 births
American male child actors
American male film actors
Male models from California
American male television actors
21st-century American male actors
Male actors from Kentucky
Male actors from California
American twins
People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
People from Mount Sterling, Kentucky
Living people