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Jason Morgan Ritter (born February 17, 1980) is an American actor and producer. He is known for his roles as Kevin Girardi in the television series ''
Joan of Arcadia ''Joan of Arcadia'' is an American fantasy family drama television series telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi ( Amber Tamblyn), who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays on CBS ...
'', Ethan Haas in '' The Class'', Sean Walker 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 ...
series '' The Event'', Dipper Pines in ''
Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines ( Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel ( Kristen Schaal) ...
'', and Pat Rollins in ''
Raising Dion ''Raising Dion'' is an American superhero drama streaming television series that premiered on October 4, 2019 on Netflix. It is based on the 2015 comic book and short film of the same name by Dennis Liu. In January 2020, Netflix renewed the seri ...
''. He also played the recurring role of Mark Cyr in the NBC television series '' Parenthood'', for which he received an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nomination. In 2017, Ritter starred in the ABC comedy series ''
Kevin (Probably) Saves the World ''Kevin (Probably) Saves the World'' (stylized as ''Kevin ^Probably Saves the World'') is an American high-concept angelic-themed fantasy comedy-drama television series that was created and executive produced by Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters fo ...
''. He voiced the character Ryder in ''
Frozen II ''Frozen 2'' (stylized as ''Frozen II'') is a 2019 American computer-animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 58th animated film produced by the studi ...
''.


Early life

Ritter was born on February 17, 1980 in
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 state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
to actors Nancy Morgan and John Ritter. He is the grandson of actors
Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason and ...
(who died six years before Ritter was born) and
Dorothy Fay Dorothy Fay (born Dorothy Alice Fay Southworth, April 4, 1915 – November 5, 2003) was an American actress mainly known for her appearances in Western movies. Early life and career She was born Dorothy Fay Southworth in Prescott, Arizona, t ...
. His stepmother is actress Amy Yasbeck. Ritter has three siblings including actor Tyler Ritter. Ritter first appeared in the
opening credits In a motion picture, television program or video game, the opening credits or opening titles are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen ...
of his father's show ''
Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the House''. The story revolves around three single room ...
'' with
Joyce DeWitt Joyce Anne DeWitt (born April 23, 1949) is an American actress and comedian known for playing Janet Wood on the ABC sitcom ''Three's Company'' from 1977 to 1984. Early life Joyce DeWitt was born April 23, 1949, in Wheeling, West Virginia, and g ...
in the petting-zoo scene. He attended middle and high school at the Crossroads School in
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
with
Simon Helberg Simon Maxwell Helberg (born December 9, 1980) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Howard Wolowitz in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), for which he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Sup ...
, who became his roommate at
NYU 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 ...
. He then attended and graduated from New York University's
Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...
, where he studied at the
Atlantic Theater Company Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by David Mamet, William H. Macy, and 30 of their a ...
. He also studied at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...
in London.


Career

Ritter appeared in '' The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story'', co-starring as Baum's son alongside his own father. In 2002, he appeared in the movies ''PG'' and ''
Swimfan ''Swimfan'' is a 2002 American teen psychological thriller film directed by John Polson and written by Charles Bohl and Phillip Schneider. Starring Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen, and Shiri Appleby, the film is about a high school swimming ...
''. In 2003, Ritter had a major role in the
slasher Slasher may refer to: * Slasher (basketball), a style of play in basketball * Slasher film, a subgenre of the horror film * Slasher (tool), a scrub-clearing implement * ''Slasher'' (2004 film), a 2004 documentary film * ''Slasher'' (2007 film ...
/
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...
''
Freddy vs. Jason ''Freddy vs. Jason'' is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a crossover between the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' and ''Friday the 13th'' series, being the eighth installment ...
'' as Will Rollins. He appeared in ''
Raise Your Voice ''Raise Your Voice'' is a 2004 American teen musical drama film directed by Sean McNamara and starring Hilary Duff. Canadian rock band Three Days Grace made a cameo appearance in the film, performing the songs "Are You Ready" and "Home". Pl ...
'' and '' Happy Endings''. He portrayed
Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush ...
in the
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 ...
film '' W''. In 2007, he also voiced substitute teacher, Mr. Fisk, in an episode of ''
All Grown Up! ''All Grown Up!'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. It served as a continuation of the series ''Rugrats'', as explores the daily lives of protagonist Tommy Pickles ...
'', the grown up version of ''Rugrats'', a teacher whom Angelica falls in love with. In 2008, he produced and starred in the film '' Good Dick'' with his long-term girlfriend at the time, Marianna Palka, who also wrote and directed the film. Among Ritter's theater credits are
Wendy Wasserstein Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 – January 30, 2006) was an American playwright. She was an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1989 ...
's ''
Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hi ...
'' at Lincoln Center, for which he won the
Clarence Derwent Award The Clarence Derwent Awards are theatre awards given annually by the Actors' Equity Association on Broadway in the United States and by Equity, the performers' union, in the West End in the United Kingdom. Clarence Derwent (23 March 1884 – 6 Aug ...
and the Martin E. Segal Award for his portrayal of the title character; the
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 th ...
production of ''The Beginning of August'', and the role of Tim in the world premiere of Neil LaBute's play ''The Distance From Here'' at London's Almeida Theatre. Ritter has volunteered as an actor with the Young Storytellers Program. In 2012, Ritter starred in the
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...
series ''
Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines ( Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel ( Kristen Schaal) ...
'', a show about twins Dipper and Mabel Pines who are sent to live with their "Grunkle" Stan, and decipher the weird events of Gravity Falls, Oregon. Ritter voiced Dipper in the show. Ritter has appeared in the MTV show ''
Punk'd ''Punk'd'' is an American hidden camera–practical joke reality television series that first aired on MTV in 2003. It was created by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, with Kutcher serving as producer and host. It bears a resemblance to both th ...
''. Ritter also starred as Sean Walker in the season-long
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 ...
drama series '' The Event'', which premiered on September 20, 2010. Ritter will be seen alongside
Kate French Kate Lauren French is an American actress and model. She is perhaps best known for her role as Niki Stevens on ''The L Word''. Early life Kate Lauren French was born in Flemington, New Jersey. Career Following in her parents' footsteps, Fren ...
in the upcoming
short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
''Atlantis'', a romance film centered on two strangers who fall in love during the preparation for the final launch of the
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program n ...
''
Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and '' Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that b ...
''. He had a recurring role on
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 ...
's '' Parenthood''. His performance on the show earned him an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nomination in 2012. In March 2013 it was announced that Ritter would play Gavin opposite
Alexis Bledel Kimberly Alexis Bledel ( ; born September 16, 1981) is an American actress and model. She is known for her role as Rory Gilmore on the television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), and Emily Malek in '' The Handmaid's Tale'' (2017–2021) ...
's Stacey in '' Us & Them'', Fox's
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
pilot based on the British television show ''
Gavin & Stacey ''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom written by James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one in Billericay, Essex; one in Barry, South Wales. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the titular characters Gavin and Stacey and the writers ...
''. It was eventually picked up as a series, but it was canceled by Fox before the show could premiere. In September 2018, Sony Crackle picked up the series' seven episodes for streaming starting October 1. In October 2017, it was announced that Ritter would play Pat Rollins in the
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
superhero series ''
Raising Dion ''Raising Dion'' is an American superhero drama streaming television series that premiered on October 4, 2019 on Netflix. It is based on the 2015 comic book and short film of the same name by Dennis Liu. In January 2020, Netflix renewed the seri ...
''. The first season was released on October 4, 2019. Ritter has also been featured in the period sitcom ''
Another Period ''Another Period'' is an American period sitcom television series created by and starring Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome. It followed the lives of the Bellacourts, the first family of Newport, Rhode Island, at the turn of the 20th century. ...
'' as Lord Frederick Bellacourt. His character is the illiterate twin brother of Beatrice, with whom he is involved in an incestuous relationship. In 2018, Ritter had a supporting role in ''
The Tale ''The Tale'' is a 2018 American drama film written and directed by Jennifer Fox and starring Laura Dern, Ellen Burstyn, Jason Ritter, Elizabeth Debicki, Isabelle Nélisse, Common, Frances Conroy, and John Heard. It tells the story about Fo ...
'', an autobiographical feature film written and directed by Jennifer Fox. The film premiered at the
2018 Sundance Film Festival The 2018 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 18 to January 28, 2018. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 29, 2017. Awards The following awards were presented: * U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award: '' Th ...
on January 20, 2018 and later on HBO on May 26, 2018. In September 2019, it was revealed that Ritter would voice Ryder, a member of Northuldra tribe, in ''
Frozen II ''Frozen 2'' (stylized as ''Frozen II'') is a 2019 American computer-animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 58th animated film produced by the studi ...
''.


Personal life

From October 1999 to 2013, Ritter was in a relationship with Marianna Palka. They met while they were both studying at the
Atlantic Theater Company Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by David Mamet, William H. Macy, and 30 of their a ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. In 2017, Ritter became engaged to actress
Melanie Lynskey Melanie Jayne Lynskey ( ; born 16 May 1977) is a New Zealand actress widely known for her portrayals of complex women in several independent films and television shows and also known for her command of American dialects. Lynskey is the recipi ...
after four years of dating. The couple had their first child, a daughter, in December 2018. They wed in 2020.


Filmography


Film


Television


Web


Awards and nominations


References


External links

*
Biography for Ritter, Jason
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ritter, Jason 1980 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Los Angeles American male child actors American male film actors American male voice actors American male television actors Clarence Derwent Award winners Tisch School of the Arts alumni Crossroads School alumni