Jadrien Ford Steele (born November 22, 1974 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 ...

) is an American actor, author, and film director. As an author, he writes under the name J M Steele.

Biography

Steele graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, and later obtained a master's degree in Cinematography at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. He is the son of two New Yorkers, Walanne Steele (a broker) and Jerry Steele (an academic). As an infant he was cast in the long-running television

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 ...

Ryan's Hope ''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in th ...

'' as the Little John Ryan from 1975 to 1985 when he turned 11 years old. Steele received his first major role the following year, playing Jerry Fox in the film '' The Mosquito Coast'', where he starred alongside

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...

, and

River Phoenix River Jude Phoenix (; August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American actor, musician and activist. Phoenix grew up in an itinerant family, as the older brother of Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix, and Summer Phoenix. He ha ...

. He married Sarah Elizabeth Bagley in 2009.

Authorship

Steele has written two books for young adult readers. He has also written several short plays. One of these, "Silent Mercury", was made into a short film, which Steele himself directed, and premiered at the 2001

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. In 2008 he both directed and acted in his own production of another of his short dramas, "Just Make Believe".

Filmography

Cinema

* '' The Mosquito Coast'' (1986) - Jerry * '' Approaching Union Square'' (2006) - Brad's Friend (segment "The Ex-Girlfiriend") * '' Just Make Believe'' (2008, Short) - Gavin * ''Victoriana'' (2012) - Tim Becker

Television

* ''

'' (1975-1985) - Little John Ryan * ''

The Hogan Family ''The Hogan Family'' (originally titled ''Valerie'' and later ''Valerie's Family'') is an American sitcom television series that began airing on NBC on March 1, 1986, and finished its run on CBS on July 20, 1991, for a total of six seasons. It ...

'' (1 episode, 1986) - Max * ''

Crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fi ...

'' (1 episode, 1987) - Simon * ''

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is one of Burnett's most popular novels and ...

'' (1987, TV Movie) - Colin Craven * ''

American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Overview It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever an ...

'' (1 episode, 1988) - Gordon Aged 11 * '' A Father's Homecoming'' (1988, TV Movie) - Miles

As director

* "Silent Mercury" (2001) * "Just Make Believe" (2008) * "Winter Fugue'" (2010)

Bibliography

* ''The Taker'' (as J M Steele, 2006) * ''The Market'' (as J M Steele, 2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Jadrien 1974 births Male actors from New York (state) American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Living people