Kent Moran
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Kent Moran is an American actor/filmmaker best known for his roles in '' Listen to Your Heart'' and '' The Challenger''.


Personal life

Moran was born on June 12, 1982, 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 ...
and raised in
Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...
, with his younger brother
Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...
and older brothers, Clay and Fred. Kent is an alumnus of
Rye Country Day School Rye Country Day School, also known as Rye Country Day or RCDS, is an independent, co-educational college preparatory school located in Rye, New York. Its Upper School (grades 9–12), Middle School (5–8), and Lower School (Pre-Kindergarten-4) ...
and
Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...
, and currently resides 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' ...
. His younger brother, Luke Moran, is also an actor.


Career

After college, Moran moved to New York City to pursue acting and music. For the year that Moran was in New York, he was one of the lead singers of an R&B group as well as a singer/songwriter. Moran's first principal role in a movie came as a football player in
Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King'' debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best ...
's ''
Across the Universe "Across the Universe" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song first appeared on the 1969 various artists' charity compilation album ''No One's Gonna Change Our W ...
''. He then was cast as
James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...
in Guy Guido's documentary ''
Icons An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
''. After doing several commercials, short films, and a small role on ''
As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...
'', Moran moved to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, Moran studied under numerous acting coaches, including Suzanne Kent, founder of the
Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improvisational theater techniques ...
. Moran was cast as
James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...
twice more: once in an Armstrong Flooring advertising campaign, which is featured on The Ads of the World website, and again in a European Mercedes GLK commercial cast by Vickie Thomas. Moran also landed another small role on ''
The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...
''. In 2008, after the writer's strike, Moran started Wishing Well Pictures, an independent film production company. Soon after, he wrote '' Listen to Your Heart'', which became Wishing Well Pictures' debut film. It was also Moran's debut starring role in a movie and his first time as a producer and second unit director. Moran also wrote the original music and score for the movie which can be found on the soundtrack. Listen to Your Heart became one of the first movies ever to screen outside in the middle of Times Square as part of the New York City International Film Festival, where Moran was nominated for Best Actor. Listen to Your Heart went on to win 15 awards at film festivals across the country and was distributed through
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
,
Gravitas Ventures Gravitas Ventures is an independent film distribution company owned by Anthem Sports and Entertainment. The company was founded by Nolan Gallagher in Los Angeles, California in 2006 and moved its headquarters to Cleveland, Ohio in 2019, where it f ...
, and Vision Films. Moran wrote and directed several short films in between his features. In 2011, Moran was cast in one of the lead roles in ''Regret'', a psychological thriller shot in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. In 2012, Kent wrote and starred in his directorial debut, '' The Challenger'', where he stars opposite
Michael Clarke Duncan Michael Clarke Duncan (December 10, 1957September 3, 2012) was an American actor. He was best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in '' The Green Mile'' (1999), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor a ...
,
S. Epatha Merkerson Sharon Epatha Merkerson (born November 28, 1952) is a film, stage, and television actor. Known by her stage name S. Epatha Merkerson, she has received numerous high-profile accolades for her work, including an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, ...
, and
Justin Hartley Justin Scott Hartley (born January 29, 1977) is an American actor. He has played Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Passions'' (2002–2006), Oliver Queen/Green Arrow on The CW television series ''Smallville'' (2006–2011), and Adam New ...
. ''The Challenger'' was Duncan's final on-screen role. It won several awards at top film festivals across the country and secured a direct deal with Regal Cinemas for a US Theatrical Release. The Challenger comes in out in US theaters on September 11, 2015. As an actor, Kent also had a cameo roles in the movie ''
Contest Contest may refer to: * Competition * Will contest * Contesting, amateur radio contesting (radiosport) Film and television * ''Contest'' (2013 film), an American film * Contest (1932 film), a German sports film * "The Contest", a 1992 season 4 e ...
'' in 2013 and the popular web series ''
Keith Broke His Leg ''Keith Broke His Leg'' is an American comedy web series created by Keith Powell. It premiered its first six episodes on August 25, 2015 through its official website, and released subsequent episodes intermittently through September 2016. Set in ...
'' in 2015. He co-produced the festival favorite ''
My Name Is David ''My Name Is David'', also known as ''Train Baby'', is a 2015 American drama film produced by Keith Powell and Jonathan Whittaker, written by Howard Emanuel and Keith Powell, and directed by Chris Gallego Wong. The film stars Keith Powell as David, ...
'' and released an EP of original songs entitled ''Better Left Said'' in 2014. Kent continues to act while developing projects under the Wishing Well Pictures label.


Filmography


Awards


References


External links

*
Kent Moran – Official Site

Armstrong Flooring Advertising CampaignKent Moran Official Twitter

European GLK Mercedes Commercial

Gravitas Ventures

Osiris Entertainment – Listen to Your Heart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Kent Living people Male actors from Connecticut American male film actors Lehigh University alumni 1982 births