Joey Pollari (born April 9, 1994) is an American actor who became well known for his role as Eric Tanner on

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 ...

's second season of '' American Crime'', and in 2018, appeared in the film ''

Love, Simon ''Love, Simon'' is a 2018 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Greg Berlanti, written by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, and based on the novel ''Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda'' by Becky Albertalli. The film stars Nick Robins ...

'', as Lyle, one of Simon's potential boyfriends. In 2020, Pollari released an album, ''About Men'', under the stage name Odd Comfort.

Personal life

Pollari was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He started his acting career when he attended a scouting event in downtown

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

with his mother. He received callbacks the next day from agents who wanted to represent him. Pollari has appeared in stage productions at the

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...

, the

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, hosts a variety of performing arts, such as touring Broadway musicals, orchestra, opera, and cultural performers, and produces local musicals. It is home to several lo ...

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, and the

SteppingStone Theatre for Youth Development SteppingStone Theatre for Youth Development is the largest performing theatre for youth in the greater Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul area. The mainstage season, which runs annually from October to July, features many plays written on commiss ...

, also in Saint Paul. He is gay, having come out at eighteen to friends and family.

Career

On April 30, 2006, Pollari appeared as a newsboy in "The Hen House", an episode of the police procedural television series ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...

''.

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

cast him in ''

Skyrunners ''Skyrunners'' is an American-Canadian science fiction action thriller film that premiered on Disney XD on November 27, 2009. It was the first original film that premiered on the network. Plot Teenage brothers 18-year-old Nick and 14-year-old Tyl ...

'', a 2009 Disney XD Original Movie about two brothers who stumble upon a spaceship that is sought after by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

agents and

space aliens Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might ...

. The film, which was shot in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, premiered on

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years ...

on November 27, 2009. Pollari was 15 years old when it first aired. His co-star in the film,

Kelly Blatz Kelly Steven Blatz (born June 16, 1987) is an American actor, director, writer, producer, editor and musician. He is best known for playing the lead role in ''Aaron Stone''. Career Blatz made his acting debut in ''Simon Says'' (2006), then app ...

, a long-time friend of Pollari, said Pollari grew "like a foot taller and his voice changed and everything" during the filming of ''Skyrunners''. Joey currently resides in Hollywood. In 2014, Pollari co-starred beside YouTuber

Joey Graceffa Joseph Michael Graceffa Jr. (; born May 16, 1991) is an American YouTuber, vlogger, actor, author, and producer. He runs four active YouTube channels, all named after him. His main channel is dedicated to vlogging, while the second features vide ...

in a short film called ''Ethereal'', a short film that Graceffa made and posted on his channel on October 16. In 2018, Pollari had a supporting role in the teen romantic comedy ''

'' as Lyle, one of Simon's potential boyfriends. In 2019, he appeared in another gay-themed film, ''

The Obituary of Tunde Johnson ''The Obituary of Tunde Johnson'' is an American drama film, directed by Ali LeRoi and released in 2019. Premise Tunde Johnson is a gay Nigerian-American teenager who is in a secret relationship with his school's white lacrosse champion Soren. So ...

''. In 2020, Pollari released an album, ''About Men'', under the stage name of Odd Comfort. In a June 2020 interview, Pollari said that he is still open to acting roles, but his immediate plans are releasing another album and directing music videos.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pollari, Joey 1994 births 21st-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Living people American people of Finnish descent American gay actors Male actors from Minnesota People from Ramsey County, Minnesota