Jason John Cook (born September 13, 1980) is an American actor,

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

and

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, dir ...

best known for the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored b ...

television roles of

Shawn-Douglas Brady Shawn-Douglas Brady is a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network. He is the son of supercouple Bo Brady and Hope Williams, and one half of the supercouple Shawn Brady and Belle Black. Jason Co ...

on ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. The soap, which aired on ...

'' from 1999 to 2006, and Matt Hunter on ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...

'' from 2008 to 2012. He is the writer, director, and producer of the feature film '' The Creatress'', and most recently '' Four For Fun''.

Early life and education

Cook was born in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

to Bill Cook (a licensed civil engineer in California) and JoAnn (a pre-school teacher). Growing up in Somerdale, he has two sisters, Michelle and Janean, and a brother, Michael. When he was very young, his family moved to California. At an early age, Jason began studying the piano. As his musical skills improved, he got occasional jobs performing at weddings. He did not consider acting until high school, when he served as an emergency replacement in ''

Whodunnit A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the cl ...

''. A friend of Jason's mother, whose husband was an agent and manager for child actors, helped Jason get his first auditions and roles. Jason attended Westlake High School in

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vill ...

and graduated in 1998. Jason attended

Moorpark College Moorpark College is a public community college in Moorpark, California. It was established in 1967 with enrollment of 2,500 students and enrolled 14,254 students in 2014. An Exotic Animal Training and Management center houses over 200 animals o ...

, a two-year

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

, in

Moorpark, California Moorpark is a city in Ventura County in Southern California. Moorpark was founded in 1900. The town grew from just over 4,000 citizens in 1980 to over 25,000 by 1990. As of 2006, Moorpark was one of the fastest-growing cities in Ventura County.. ...

and completed his freshman year in the spring semester of 1999. While attending Moorpark College he was active on the speech and debate teams, competing nationally.

Career

Cook portrayed

on ''

'' from October 1999 and was very popular with fans, especially in Shawn's relationship with

Belle Black Belle Black is a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network. Created by the head writer James E. Reilly, she was born on October 21, 1993, as the only child of supercouple John Black and Marlena Ev ...

. Cook elected to leave the show when his contract with ''

'' expired in September 2006. On May 28, 2015, it was announced that he would reprise the role for the show's 50th anniversary in the fall of 2015. While on the show, Cook turned his attention to writing and directing films, making the indie film ''The Making of Triassic Park'' and later '' Social Security Guard'', starring ''General Hospital'' co-star

John Ingle John Houston Ingle (May 7, 1928 – September 16, 2012) was an American actor best known for his roles as scheming patriarch Edward Quartermaine in the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'' and Mr. Threehorn, the father of the main character ...

. He left the show to pursue production full-time on ''Numb To Life'', a documentary exploring

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and ...

drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

, as his first feature documentary. On April 23, 2008, it was announced that Cook would be returning to Daytime TV on ''

'' as new character Matt Hunter. His first appearance was on June 26, 2008. Cook elected to leave ''General Hospital'' at the end of his contract to once again return to projects behind the camera. His first project was a philanthropic reality show co-produced with the Mandela family titled LifeCHANGE. This was followed up with the production of ''State of Bacon'', a mockumentary surrounding the largest Bacon festival in the world, held yearly in Des Moines, Iowa. In 2012, he participated in

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

's dating game show '' The Choice'' and portrayed 2014 James Thomas in Dean Jones' mystery thriller film '' Dark Awakening''. opposite

Lance Henriksen Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his works in various science fiction, action and horror films, such as that of Bishop in the ''Alien'' film franchise, and Frank Black in Fox television series ''Millennium ...

and

Valerie Azlynn Valerie Azlynn (born November 25, 1980) is an American actress. She has appeared in several television shows and movies, notably starring in the TV comedy ''Sullivan & Son''. Early life Azlynn was born Valerie Asselin and raised in New London, ...

. In 2018, he wrote, produced, and directed The Creatress, a film about a writer following up a bestselling debut novel starring

Lindy Booth Lindy Booth (born April 2, 1979) is a Canadian actress. She played Riley Grant on the Disney Channel series ''The Famous Jett Jackson'' (and Agent Hawk in the show-within-a-show ''Silverstone'') and Claudia on '' Relic Hunter'' and A.J. Butterf ...

, Peter Bogdanovich, and

Fran Drescher Francine Joy Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an American actress, comedian, writer, activist, and trade union leader. She is known for her role as Fran Fine in the television sitcom '' The Nanny'' (1993–1999), which she created and prod ...

Filmography

Writer/Director

* '' Four For Fun'' (2022) (as writer/director/producer) * '' The Creatress'' (2018) (as writer/director/producer) * '' State of Bacon'' (2013) (as writer/director/producer) * ''The Age of Airships'' (2013) (YA novel, author) * ''LifeCHANGE'' (2012) (as director/producer) * ''Chop This'' (2012) (as creator/director) * ''East Meets South'' (2011) (commercial) * ''High On the Hog'' (2011) (music video, as director) * ''Two Buck Chuck'' (2010) (commercial) * ''The Boy and His Gryphon'' (2009) (YA novel, author) * ''The Vacation Epic'' (2008) (as writer) * ''Gregg's Story'' (2008) (as writer) * ''Numb To Life'' (2007–2009) (as writer/director/producer) * ''I Arise'' (2007) (as writer) * ''Social Security Guard'' (2007) (as writer/director/producer) * ''School Spirit'' as Writer (2006) (as writer) * ''The Making of Triassic Park'' (2004) (as writer/director/producer)

Actor

* ''Dark Awakening'' or ''Nevermore'' (2013) as James Thomas * ''The Son of an Afghan Farmer'' (2011) as Ken * ''

'' (2008–2012)(TV) as Matt Hunter * ''Turbulent Skies'' (2010) (TV) as John Wilson * ''

'' (958 episodes, 1999–2006, 2015) (TV) as

* ''

The Amanda Show ''The Amanda Show'' is an American live action sketch comedy and variety show television series created by Dan Schneider that aired on Nickelodeon from October 16, 1999 to September 21, 2002. It starred Amanda Bynes, Drake Bell, and Nancy Sulli ...

'' (2 episodes, 1999) (TV) * '' Project Time'' (15 episodes, 1998) (TV) as Jason

Host

* ''

Miss World 2011 Miss World 2011, the 61st edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 6 November 2011 at the Earls Court Two in London, United Kingdom. As part of the events, the contestants also travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland between 23 and 27 October ...

'' (London, 2011, TV) * ''

Miss World 2012 Miss World 2012, the 62nd edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 18 August 2012 at Dongsheng Fitness Center Stadium in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China. 116 contestants from all over the world competed for the crown. Ivian Sarcos of Vene ...

'' (Ordos, 2012, TV) * ''

Miss World 2016 Miss World 2016, the 66th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on December 18, 2016 at the MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, United States. 117 contestants from all over the world competed for the crown. Mireia Lalaguna of Spain c ...

'' (Washington DC, 2016, TV)

Awards and nominations

Jason Cook has received recognition for his work on ''

'': * 2001, Won

Soap Opera Digest Award ''The Soap Opera Digest Awards'', originally known as ''The Soapy Awards'' when introduced in 1977, is an awards show held by the daytime television magazine ''Soap Opera Digest''. History 1977 until 1983 The Soapy Awards were an award presen ...

for 'Outstanding Younger Lead Actor' * 2003, Won Boomerang Award for Outstanding Actor * 2005, nominated for Soap Opera Digest Award for 'Favorite Triangle' * 2005, nominated for Soap Opera Digest Award for 'Outstanding Younger Lead Actor' * 2005, nominated for

Daytime Emmy Awards The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

Special Fan Award for 'Irresistible Combination'

References

External links

*
StateOfBacon.comDigitalCuvee.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Jason 1980 births Male actors from New Jersey American male child actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors Living people People from Somerdale, New Jersey Actors from Camden, New Jersey Participants in American reality television series