John Theodore Rossi (born June 4, 1975) is an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and producer. He portrayed Juan Carlos "Juice" Ortiz on the FX series ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ope ...

'' (2008–2014) and Hernan "Shades" Alvarez in ''

Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...

'' (2016–2018). His film roles include Tino Hull in ''

Red Sands ''Red Sands'' is a 2009 American horror film directed by Alex Turner and written by Simon Barrett , in their second collaboration following '' Dead Birds''. The film stars Shane West, Leonard Roberts, Aldis Hodge, Theo Rossi, Callum Blue, Bre ...

'' (2009), Todd in ''

Bad Hurt ''Bad Hurt'' is a 2015 American film directed by Mark Kemble. It stars Theo Rossi, Karen Allen and Johnny Whitworth. The film is based on the play ''Badhurt on Cedar Street''. Plot A Staten Island family cares for their Iraq veteran son with PT ...

'' (2015), Francisco "Ghost" Alvarez in ''

Lowriders A lowrider or low rider is a customized car with a lowered body. These customized vehicles are generally individually painted with intricate, colorful designs, rolling on wire-spoke wheels with whitewall tires. Lowrider rims are generally smalle ...

'' (2017), and Deuce in ''

Vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

'' (2019).

Early life

Rossi was born in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He is of Italian, Spanish, Syrian, and North African descent. Growing up, he loved to ride

dirt bike The six main types of motorcycles are generally recognized as ''standard'', ''cruiser'', ''touring'', ''sports'', ''off-road'', and ''dual-purpose''. ''Sport touring'' is sometimes recognized as a seventh category or integrated with the ''touring' ...

s. He has openly admitted to dealing drugs for years before moving to California. He studied acting at the

Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, ...

in New York, where he appeared in several theatre productions.

Career

Rossi played Juan Carlos "Juice" Ortiz on the FX series ''

''. His production company, ''Dos Dudes Pictures'', produced its first feature film in 2014, ''

'', Rossi acting alongside

Karen Allen Karen Jane Allen (born October 5, 1951) is an American film and stage actress. After making her film debut in ''Animal House'' (1978), she portrayed Marion Ravenwood opposite Harrison Ford in '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981), a role she lat ...

and

Michael Harney Michael John Harney is an American actor of film, television, and theater. He is best known for starring on the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black'' as Corrections Officer Sam Healy. In 2019, he had a recurring role in the Apple TV ...

. Rossi has appeared in television shows such as '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

'', ''

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

'', ''

The Unit ''The Unit'' is an American action-drama television series created by David Mamet that aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009 with the total of four seasons and 69 episodes. The series focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled aft ...

'', ''

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

'', ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

'', ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'', ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series prem ...

'', ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Lie to Me ''Lie to Me'' (stylized as ''Lie to me*'') is an American crime drama television series. It originally ran on the Fox network from January 21, 2009, to January 31, 2011. In the show, Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) and his colleagues in The Lightma ...

'' and ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

''. He has had recurring roles on '' Heist'', ''

American Dreams ''American Dreams'' is an American drama television series that ran on NBC for three seasons & 61 episodes, from September 29, 2002, to March 30, 2005. The show tells the story of the Pryor family of Philadelphia during the mid-1960s, with many ...

'', and '' Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles''. His film credits include ''

Cloverfield ''Cloverfield'' is a 2008 American found footage monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams, and written by Drew Goddard. It stars Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel and Odette Yus ...

'', '' Code Breakers'', '' House of the Dead 2: Dead Aim'', ''

'', ''

The Informers ''The Informers'' is a collection of short stories, linked by the same continuity, written by American author Bret Easton Ellis. The collection was first published as a whole in 1994. Chapters 6 and 7, "Water from the Sun" and "Discovering Jap ...

'', ''

Kill Theory ''Kill Theory'' is a 2009 horror-thriller film directed by Chris Moore in his directorial debut and written by Kelly C. Palmer. Plot An unnamed man is sitting in a psychiatrist's office, being released from an insane asylum. His doctor, Dr. Kar ...

'', '' Fencewalker'' and ''Meth Head''. He played Hernan "Shades" Alvarez in ''

'' from 2016 until 2018. In 2019, Rossi joined the Advisory Board of the Harlem Film House, which presents the

Hip Hop Film Festival The Hip Hop Film Festival is the first film festival in the world to focus on producers, directors and writers from the global culture of Hip Hop. The Hip Hop Film Festival was founded in 2015 by CR Capers, the CEO & Founder of the Harlem Film Ho ...

, an annual event that focuses on filmmakers from the global culture of hip hop, and promotes financial sustainability for independent filmmakers from marginalized communities.

Philanthropy

Rossi gets involved with the men and women of the military, with fellow ''Sons of Anarchy'' actors

Kim Coates Kim F. Coates (born February 21, 1958) is a Canadian–American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American films and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' and in the lead ...

Dayton Callie Dayton Callie (born 1946) is an American actor, best known for playing Charlie Utter on HBO's '' Deadwood'', former Police Chief Wayne Unser on '' Sons of Anarchy'', and Jeremiah Otto on AMC's '' Fear the Walking Dead''. He has also voiced ...

and

Ron Perlman Ronald Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in the television series ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987–199 ...

. An Ambassador to the Boot Campaign, Rossi works with multiple organizations that raise money for wounded soldiers and those returning with

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

(PTSD). Throughout the off-season, Rossi has often traveled to different bases to visit US military personnel. He has helped to organize the yearly Boot Ride event that benefits the Boot Campaign, giving fans a chance to spend a day riding with the ''

'' cast while raising money for U.S. military veterans. Shortly after

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

hit Staten Island, Rossi, with friends and family, founded Staten Strong, a program administered by the Boot Campaign. Staten Strong rebuilt three homes for Hurricane Sandy victims on Staten Island. Rossi is a supporter of animal welfare and has been

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

since 1997. He launched a campaign with

The Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...

to protect street dogs. He appeared in a

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...

ad promoting pet adoption.

Personal life

Rossi resides in Austin, Texas. He is married to Meghan McDermott. The couple's first child was born in 2015, and their second in 2017.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Theo 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Living people Male actors from New York City People from Staten Island 1975 births University at Albany, SUNY alumni