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BRITTANY UNDERWOOD
(Loren)
CODY LONGO (Eddie)
MELISSA ORDWAY (Chloe)
CARLOS PONCE (Max)
JUSTIN WILCZYNKSI (Tyler)
ROBERT ADAMSON (Phil)
DAPHNE ASHBROOK (Jackie)
BRANDON BELL (Jake)
MERRIN DUNGEY (Ellie)
ASHLEY HOLLIDAY (Melissa)
TINA HUANG (Lily)
SHANNON KANE (Traci)
HUNTER KING (Adriana)
NICK KRAUSE (Adam)
BRIAN LETSCHER (Gus)
YARA MARTINEZ (Kelly)
GRAYSON McCOUCH (Don)
RICK OTTO (Colorado)
MEREDITH SALENGER (Lisa)
JAMA WILLIAMSON (Nora)
Producer Bios
JILL FARREN PHELPS –
Executive Producer
JOSH GRIFFITH – Co-Executive
Producer, Head Writer
HISHAM ABED – Co-Executive
Producer, Director of Photography
BRITTANY UNDERWOOD (Loren)
Brittany Underwood plays budding star and heroine, Loren. Underwood
was most recently seen as Willow Palin in HBO’s original movie Game
Change. She is best known for the five years she spent playing
the role of Langston Wilde on the popular daytime drama, One
Life to Live. She has also made appearances in Margaret
with Matt Damon, The Big C and Law & Order: Special
Victims Unit.
On stage, Underwood has appeared with Meryl Streep in Mother
Courage at the prestigious Shakespeare in the Park. She grew
up in New Jersey and recently moved to Los Angeles with her
Pomeranian Skeeter.
CODY LONGO (Eddie)
Cody Longo plays rock superstar, Eddie. As an established actor,
musician, and singer, this summer Longo will share the big screen
with James Caan, Paul Sorvino and Jeffrey Tambor in the highly
anticipated film For the Love of Money. Based on a true
story, the film follows the account
of an Israeli immigrant who searches for his piece of the American
dream. Additionally this summer, Longo will also show
audiences his comedic chops in the indie film High School
(Adrien Brody, Michael Chiklis).
Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Longo grew up in an artistic
and musically inclined household, which fueled his passion for music
and encouraged his natural artistic ability. He taught himself to
play the piano at a young age and later used his talents to perform
in several local stage productions. This local success persuaded him
to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. In only a short
amount of time Longo landed his first feature film role on Bring
It On: Fight to the Finish. Shortly after, he starred in MGM’s
widely acclaimed film Fame, a movie remake of the popular
television series. His undeniable talent on-screen became obvious to
many, helping him secure a variety of recurring roles on hit
television shows including Brothers and Sisters, CSI: NY
and Make It or Break It.
When Longo isn’t acting, he dedicates his free time to music. He
started the rock band Forever the Day with former Make
It or Break It co-star, Johnny Pacar, and composes music
independently. He is also an avid supporter of the Trevor Project,
which focuses on suicide prevention efforts among the lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender community.
MELISSA ORDWAY (Chloe)
Melissa Ordway plays Eddie’s girlfriend and gorgeous model, Chloe.
She can soon be seen in the highly anticipated Universal Pictures
film Ted directed by Seth MacFarlane and starring Mark
Wahlberg. She will also be seen in Odd Thomas opposite
Willem Dafoe and Anton Yelchin and The Incredible Burt
Wonderstone opposite Jim Carrey and Olivia Wilde, which will be
released next year.
Ordway’s previous film credits include A Very Harold & Kumar 3D
Christmas, In Time, The Last Song, 17 Again, Elektra Luxx, Callers,
Miss March and Knuckle Draggers. On television,
Ordway has been seen on CSI: NY, Melrose Place, Cold Case, How I
Met Your Mother, Entourage and Privileged.
CARLOS PONCE (Max)
Actor/singer/songwriter Carlos Ponce stars as Eddie’s father and
former rock star, Max. Over the last decade, he has added several
American and Latin American television and movie credits to his
name, including Couples Retreat, Rio, NBC's Lipstick
Jungle, Just My Luck, 7th Heaven, Deuce Bigalow:
European Gigolo, Chasing Papi, Dos Hogares, SoBe Real, 90210, Once
and Again and Perro Amor, among many others.
Ponce’s first stint on
television was as host of Univision’s Control in 1990.
Soon after, he moved to telenovelas in his home town Miami, FL and
landed his first role in a soap opera, Guadalupe. He then
moved to Mexico which led to other starring soap roles, including Sentimientos
Ajenos for Televisa, for which he garnered a Best Actor award
by TV y Novelas magazine.
Ponce later segued into
hosting roles on American television, hosting NBC’s Hispanic
Heritage Awards for several years, serving as special
correspondent for Entertainment Tonight beginning in 2003
and also co-hosting the world telecast 2006 Miss Universe pageant
for NBC and Telemundo. In 2007, he returned to telenovelas starring
in Dame Chocolate for Telemundo.
Widely popular for his
music career, Ponce’s first album, Carlos Ponce, topped the Latin
Billboard charts for nine consecutive weeks in the United States,
and was certified double platinum in 1998. The following year, his
album garnered several awards, including a Billboard Music Award for
Best Pop Album, Best New Artist from Premio Lo Nuestro and Pop
Ballad Revelation of the Year from Premios Tu Musica de Puerto
Rico. His second album, Todo Lo Que Soy, was also certified
platinum in the United States.
Ponce
will soon host the first ever Spanish version of Idol Kids show in
his native town in Puerto Rico.
JUSTIN WILCZYNKSI (Tyler)
Justin Wilczynski plays the conniving bad boy, Tyler. Wilczynski
grew up on a ranch in Paso Robles, California and fell into acting
by accident. Although he moved to Los Angeles after high school to
pursue music, he ended up booking a commercial when he went along on
an audition with a friend and was asked to audition.
Many commercials and print jobs followed and it wasn’t long before
Wilczynski started booking theatrical jobs including an indie film
called Dependency, which got picked up by the Sundance
Channel. Shortly after he booked Kaya, a scripted MTV
series produced by Tony Krantz. He also guest starred on Happy
Endings and CSI: Miami. On the music side, Wilczynski
is busy with his band, Bonnie Dune, which is in negotiations with a
major record label for a 2012 summer release of their second EP.
ROBERT ADAMSON (Phil)
Robert Adamson plays
Phil, Melissa’s brother and Adriana’s boyfriend.Adamson began acting
when he was 16 years-old, while finishing his junior year of high
school in Sandy, Utah. An athlete always willing to try new things,
Adamson began acting to get over his fear of public speaking. After
playing the lead in every school play during his senior year,
Adamson realized he had a passion for acting. Upon graduation he
moved to Los Angeles to attend the American Academy of Dramatic
Arts, which lays claim to such alumni as Robert Redford, Danny
DeVito, Adrien Brody, Gena Rowlands, Nick Cassavetes and Paul Rudd.
Once out of the Conservatory, Adamson landed his first lead in
Dr. Chopper, a film directed by actor and director Luca
Bercovici.
Adamson has made guest appearances on CBS’s crime drama Cold
Case and FX’s dark comedy It’s Always Sunny In
Philadelphia. In addition, Adamson played the role of Charles
in the four-season run of Lincoln Heights for ABC Family,
co-starred with Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez in the Disney Channel
movie, The Princess Protection Program, recurred on the
Disney Channel show Jonas, co-starred in the Tony Vidal
directed movie, The Prankster, played lead character, “The
Rog,” in Chris Kattan’s Devolved and had a role opposite
Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin in It’s Complicated.
DAPHNE ASHBROOK (Jackie)
Daphne Ashbrook plays Jackie, a character to be dramatically
revealed mid-season.Born into a family of actors and directors
in San Diego, California, it was only natural that Ashbrook
discovered her love of acting while still a young child. Throughout
her lively career, Ashbrook has become known for both her comic
timing and deep emotional portrayals. Perhaps her most memorable
roles are Dr. Grace Holloway in the 1996 Doctor Who movie
and the titular character in "Melora" Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
She has also starred in many movies of the week and mini-series,
including Rock, about Rock Hudson’s life playing Rock’s
wife, Phyllis Gates. Also, Ashbrook starred in the Mini-Series
Intruders, with Mare Winningham and Richard Crenna, and The
Love Letter, starring opposite Campbell Scott with Jennifer
Jason Lee.
Other TV and film work includes recurring roles on The O.C.,
JAG, Falcon Crest and Hooperman as well as guest
appearances on NCIS, Law and Order, Cold Case, CSI, Crossing
Jordan, Without a Trace, The Lodger, Murder She Wrote, Judging Amy,
The Guardian, Ghost Whisperer and Knight Rider, and
she won Best Supporting Actress at the Method Fest Indie Film
Festival for her performance in Dumbarton Bridge.
Also a talented singer, Ashbrook recently released her first CD, Grace
Notes, to rave reviews and a selection for the 2012 Grammy
nomination ballot. Recently, Ashbrook published a witty memoir Dead
Woman Laughing - An Actor's Take from Both Sides of the Camera that
pulls back the curtain on the life of a working actor.
BRANDON BELL (Jake)
Brandon Bell plays Jake, Eddie’s type-A manager
and best friend. Born in Dallas, Texas, Bell spent most of his
childhood playing sports until his parents enrolled him in the
African American Children’s Theater (AACT) to gain exposure to the
arts. From that point on, he knew that acting was what he wanted to
do for the rest of his life.
Bell's past credits include guest starring roles on the hit
television shows NCIS on CBS, Two Broke Girls on
CBS andABC’s Revenge, as well as a recurring role on
Switched at Birth on ABC Family. Bell graduated from
USC with a Bachelor's Degree in theater and a Master's Degree in
education.
MERRIN DUNGEY (Ellie)
Merrin Dungey plays Ellie, Nora’s friend and colleague. For over a
decade, Dungey has been a part of some of television’s most
celebrated programs. Dungey is most recognized for her diabolical
performance as double-crossed spy Alison Doren/Francie Calfo on the
Emmy award winning show Alias. While starring on Alias,
she maintained recurring roles on the hit comedies The King of
Queens and Malcolm in the Middle.
Born in Detroit, but raised a California girl, Dungey graduated from
UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in theater and was the youngest
recipient ever of the UCLA Acting Award, which was presented to her
by Oscar winning actor Denzel Washington. A skilled performer who
took her theater background and spun it into a brief, but successful
standup comedy career, she performed at the Montreal Comedy Festival
and appeared on a Comedy Central standup special.
Dungey successfully walks the line between drama and comedy. Her
extensive resumé includes guest roles on the smash comedies
Friends, Seinfeld, Hung, Curb Your Enthusiasm, a recurring role
on Better Off Ted and drama Emmy staples The West Wing,
ER, and Boston Legal. Most recently, Dungey was
seen on The Closer, Castle and a multiple guest arc on
ABC’s new hit series Revenge.
ASHLEY HOLLIDAY (Melissa)
Ashley Holliday plays Loren’s bubbly and fearless best friend,
Melissa. Holliday began acting at the early age of one, as the
daughter of Stanley Tucci on an episode of Miami Vice. She
attended the Los Angeles County High School for Arts, where she
majored in Theatre and later continued her theatre studies at
Playhouse West, Lesly Kahn Institute and John Rosenfeld, among
others.
After doing theatre in and around Los Angeles, Holliday booked a
regular role on the series Huge for ABC Family. Last
summer, she shot the independent film The Man That Shook the
Hand of Vicente Fernandez, playing the role of Rita.
TINA HUANG (Lily)
Tina Huang plays aggressive TV entertainment reporter, Lily. A first
generation Asian-American actress, Huang was raised in Chinatown and
the Lower East Side of New York City. Tina attended LaGuardia High
School of Performing Arts and then went on to graduate from NYU
Tisch School of the Arts focusing in acting, directing and design at
Playwrights Horizons.
Tina’s recent TV credits include a
recurring role on Rizzoli & Isles (TNT), Switched at
Birth (ABC Family), The Office (NBC), Criminal
Minds (CBS), House, M.D (Fox),and Law & Order: Los
Angeles (NBC). Her stage credits include an award-winning
production of Amy Tan’s Immortal Heart that went on a west
coast tour and a French Tour. In 2010, she co-wrote and co-produced
Oregon Trail Live! A 4D, 8-bit Adventure that played to
sold-out crowds in Los Angeles. In January 2012, she was in the
production of Fairy Tale Theatre: 18 & Over which garnered
rave reviews from various publications, including the Los Angeles
Times and LA Weekly.
SHANNON KANE (Traci)
Shannon Kane plays Traci, Jake’s wife who tries to keep him
grounded.Kane received the Breakthrough Actress Award from the 2010
Capri International Film Festival for her stunning performance in
Antoine Fuqua’s Brooklyn’s Finest, opposite Richard Gere
and Don Cheadle. She also starred as Natalia, Jesse’s daughter on
the popular daytime drama All My Children.
Kane has also appeared in Sony Pictures’ SWAT: Fire-Fight
opposite Giancarlo Esposito and Gabriel Macht, and in Tyler
Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family as career-driven Kimberly in
this adaptation of Perry's stage play.
Raised by her mother in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kane participated in
the “Education for the Arts” program and was honored with the
Gilmore Scholarship for Dance, which enabled her to attend Western
Michigan University. A local talent search led to Kane signing with
Elite Chicago where she quickly started her career as a print model
and after moving to Los Angeles landed guest roles on series such as
Entourage and CSI.
HUNTER KING (Adriana)
Hunter King plays the classic mean popular girl in high school,
Adriana. King started acting professionally when she was six
years-old and booked a Disneyland campaign. She continued to hone
her acting skills and performed in several local theater
productions.
King’s previous credits include A.I. Artificial Intelligence
directed by Steven Spielberg, a recurring role in Showtime's
Dexter and guest starring roles on such shows as
Workaholics, Hannah Montana, ER and Without a Trace.
In her spare time, King enjoys target shooting at the indoor range,
doing gymnastics at her local gym and volunteering her time with
special needs children.
NICK KRAUSE (Adam)
Nick Krause plays Loren’s and Melissa’s best
friend, Adam. With a breakout role in one of this year’s buzzed
Oscar contenders, Krause is an actor worth taking note of into 2012.
Quoted as a ‘scene stealer’ by The Guardian, he played Sid
in Alexander Payne’s The Descendants, starring George
Clooney.
Born in Austin and raised in Georgetown, Texas, Krause was a smart
and athletic kid. He went to college at age ten and after that,
decided to attend NYOS charter school in order to grow around people
his own age. He graduated early from Georgetown High School to begin
shooting The Descendants in Hawaii.
Krause first realized that acting was for him after attending an
improv comedy workshop at the age of ten. One of his first big
acting projects was a film called How to Eat Fried Worms,
based off the book and starring Alexander Gould, and later
Exterminators, starring Heather Graham. Outside of acting,
Krause plays the guitar and says that his proudest achievement was
playing a two-hour Zappa tribute set with a member of the Mothers of
Invention.
BRIAN LETSCHER (Gus)
Brian
Letscher plays Gus,
Melissa and Phil's dad
and husband to Lisa.Originally from
just outside of Detroit, Michigan, Letscher attended The University
of Michigan where he played football and graduated with an economics
degree. Soon after, Letscher moved to New York City to pursue
acting. After a stint with the Public Theater Shakespeare Lab, he
quickly landed roles in film (Kate and Leopold, Puccini for
Beginner's), television (Law and Order: CI, SVU)
and theatre (Burning Blue).
Letscher also began working with The Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea,
Michigan where he played the lead role of Bo Decker in William
Inge's Bus Stop. The production earned The Detroit Free
Press' "Best Play"
award. Letscher became a produced
playwright when The Purple Rose developed and produced a full equity
run of his first play, When The Lights Come On, about his
experiences in the world of college football.
Since moving to Los Angeles five years ago, Letscher has appeared in
over a dozen television shows while becoming a member of The Pacific
Residents Theatre Company and continuing to write and develop his
own work. He can currently be seen on ABC’s Scandal.
YARA MARTINEZ (Kelly)
Yara Martinez plays Kelly, Traci's best friend who is full of energy
and life. Martinez studied acting at the New World School of the
Arts in Miami where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts. She
then studied at the Anne Bogart’s SITI Company in Saratoga, New
York, which led her to New York City where she screen tested for
several movies.
After moving to Los Angeles, Martinez landed her first television
job opposite Sean Bean in Faceless for FOX. She has had
recurring roles in Vanished and Unit, acted in
The Apostles as a detective opposite Shawn Hatosy, exercised
her comedic skills in Spaced based on the BBC original
series, played a heart transplant patient on ER and played
Kevin Alejandro’s wife in Southland. Recently she has held
a recurring role on Breakout Kings, playing the wife of
Charles Du Champ and The Lying Game as Theresa Lopez.
GRAYSON McCOUCH (Don)
Grayson McCouch plays Dr. Don, Adriana's single father and a
surgeon. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts Honors Degree in
theater from Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, McCouch went on to
receive a graduate degree from the British American Drama Academy,
Oxford-Yale program in London.
McCouch later spent four seasons with the Williamstown Theater
Festival, MA (1988-1992), where he performed in Arturo Ul, The
Visit, Three Penny Opera, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Inherit the
Wind and The Moonstone. In 1992, he performed in
Electra with the Almeida Theater in London. He also appeared
in The Royal Court’s Women Beware Women.
McCouch’s first professional acting job was a pilot by James Brooks
called Sibs/Related by Birth, where he worked with Dan
Castellaneta and Jami Gertz. Recent performing credits include
roles in CBS’ As The World Turns, The Apostles on
FOX, Throttle, Momentum, CBS’ The Agency,
Dope on FX, All Souls, Airtight, Legacy,
Forbidden Island, Armageddon, Sins of the Mind, Beverly
Hills 90210, NBC’s The Cosby Mysteries, NBC’s
Another World, ABC’s Sibs/Related by Birth, Party
Planner with David Tutera and Meet the Soap Stars.
McCouch was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding
Supporting Actor for his role of Dustin Donovan in As the World
Turns and was a presenter at the 32nd Annual Daytime Emmy
Awards.
RICK OTTO (Colorado)
Rick Otto plays Colorado, a rugged working class guy who lurks on
the wrong side of the law.Otto is best known for his role as Officer
Kenneth Dozerman on HBO’s The Wire. Most recently Otto
completed a six-episode arc as Andrew on the hit AMC show The
Walking Dead and can be seen in theatres playing the role of
Flynt in George Lucas’ Red Tails.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he began his post-grad career as a law
student. In 1993, he changed career paths and moved to New York,
where he studied acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio. Following a
1995 guest starring role in Saved by the Bell: The New Class,
Otto appeared in many independent films, including Phantoms,
Enemies of Laughter, R.S.V.P., Against All Evidence and The
Good Humor Man.
MEREDITH SALENGER (Lisa)
Meredith Salenger plays Melissa and Phil's iron fisted mom, Lisa.
Born and raised in Malibu, California, Salenger was discovered by
legendary director John Huston and asked to play a singing and
dancing orphan in the feature film he was currently directing,
Annie. Salenger then landed her first starring role in the
Disney film, The Journey of Natty Gann, the first American
film to win the gold award at the Moscow Film Festival. The film
also garnered Salenger the Best Actress in a Drama award at the
Youth in Film Awards for her wonderful portrayal of the tomboyish
Natty Gann opposite actor John Cusack. Impressed with Salenger’s
talent, Walt Disney Studios put Meredith under contract for two
years, which was the first time an actress had been under contract
to a studio since the old days at MGM.
Salenger went on to star in four more films before she was
18-years-old, most notably, A Night in the Life of Jimmy
Reardon, opposite River Phoenix for which she was nominated
again for “Best Actress in a Drama” at the Youth in Film Awards and
Dream a Little Dream.
Salenger then left Hollywood to
further her education and attended Harvard University, graduating
cum laude with a degree in Psychology. Upon her return to
Hollywood, Salenger resumed her acting career. Her credits include:
Lake Placid, Race to Witch Mountain, a four episode arc on
the hit show Damages and an upcoming independent film
called Crush. Salenger has also been cast as the star of
many new sitcom pilots for networks like NBC, FOX and most notably
the comedy pilot Hud opposite Steve Carrell. She currently
voices Barriss Offee in George Lucas’ Star Wars animated series
The Clone Wars.
JAMA WILLIAMSON (Nora)
Jama
Williamson plays Nora,
Loren's mom and her
biggest cheerleader.
Williamson is known for her recurring role as Wendy Haverford, the
ex-wife of Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) on NBC's comedy, Parks
and Recreation. Williamson has also recurred on Showtime’s hit
series Weeds and continues to work episodically, including
guest parts on Law& Order for NBC as well as Numbers
for CBS.
Originally from Indiana, Williamson's career began on the stage in
New York City theatre before she moved to Los Angeles, where she
currently lives.
JILL FARREN PHELPS – Executive Producer
Six-time Emmy Award-winning producer Jill Farren Phelps has three
decades of powerhouse daytime serials to her name. Born in New York
City, Phelps graduated from Carnegie Mellon University and began her
career as a production assistant to Bob Fosse and Mike Nichols
working on various New York stage productions. She then transitioned
into television with production roles on Guiding Light and
Santa Barbara, where she ultimately rose to Executive
Producer. She has since worked as an executive producer at all
three major broadcast networks producing daytime dramas, for a total
of five programs.
In 1991, Phelps returned to Guiding Light as Executive
Producer before serving as Executive Producer of Another World.
Phelps then joined ABC Daytime, serving as Executive Producer of
One Life to Live from 1998-2001 and later moved to executive
producer of General Hospital from 2001-2011. During this
time, she also executive produced the first season of SOAPnet's
prime time spin-off, General Hospital: Night Shift.
During her tenure in daytime television, her work has garnered three
Outstanding Daytime Drama Emmy Awards for Santa Barbaraand
three for General Hospital.
JOSH GRIFFITH – Co-Executive Producer, Head Writer
With a bevy of notable credits from daytime to Spanish-language
television, Emmy Award-winning writer/producer Josh Griffith has a
proven track record in writing and developing hit programming.
Griffith has served as writer/head-writer on such long-running
daytime serials as One Life to Live, As the World Turns, Santa
Barbara and more recently as Executive Producer of The
Young & The Restless. His work garnered him four Daytime Emmy
Awards and four Writer’s Guild Awards.
Griffith’s additional credits include executive producing
Angeles and Reyes y Rey for Telemundo, co-creating
Sunset Beach for NBC and co-authoring the novel, The
Killing Club (Hyperion Books) with Michael Malone.
Additionally, he wrote, produced and directed Haunted Heart
for The Lost Studios Theater in Los Angeles. Most recently, he
served as an associate producer for the film, Twixt
directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
HISHAM ABED – Co-Executive Producer,
Director of Photography
After graduating from USC’s School of Cinema and Television,
critically acclaimed director of photography Hisham Abed got his
start behind the camera in operator and gaffer roles. He later
moved to Paris where he sharpened his skills as a street
photographer and drew upon the style to later shoot his first
feature film, The Natural History of Parking Lots, which
made the Los Angeles Times Film Critic’s Top Ten List. Soon after,
Abed served as Director of Photography on several other independent
films, including The Debut for Columbia Tri-Star as well as
Knockout, Pit Stop and Sam & Joe.
Abed turned his eye
towards the challenge of shooting a reality show that eschews the
conventions of the genre and simulates the look of a scripted series
with MTV’s groundbreaking docu-drama, Laguna Beach: The Real OC.
The success of the series led him to continue on as Director for the
network’s subsequent hit docu-dramas, The Hills and The
City, for which he received praise from the New York Times,
Time Magazine, Rolling Stone and LA Weekly.
These accolades later
led to many offers to both shoot and direct a number of shows and
pilots for television, including Comedy Central’s American Body
Shop and Emmy-nominated Beyond the DaVinci Code for
History Channel. Abed has also served as Director of Photography
for a numerous music videos, commercials and short films. |
