Jesse Bradford

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jesse Bradford
Bradford at the Tribeca Film Festival 2007
Born
Jesse Bradford Watrouse

(1979-05-28) May 28, 1979 (age 44)
EducationColumbia University
OccupationActor
Years active1984–present
SpouseAndrea Leal
Children1[1]
Signature

Jesse Bradford (born Jesse Bradford Watrouse; May 28, 1979) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor at the age of five and received two Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film nominations for his performances in King of the Hill in 1993 and Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog in 1995.

Early life[edit]

Bradford was born Jesse Bradford Watrouse in Norwalk, Connecticut, the only child of actors Terry Porter and Curtis Watrouse, who appeared in commercials, soap operas, and industrial films. His mother also played his character's mother in Hackers (1995). Bradford's cousins are Jonathan Svec (a member of the bands Splender and Edison) and Sarah Messer, a writer and poet. He began acting at the age of eight months, appearing in a Q-Tip commercial. At his parents' encouragement, Bradford began modeling and auditioning for acting roles. His first film appearance was as Robert De Niro's son in Falling in Love (1984).

He graduated from Brien McMahon High School, where he was a self-described geology nerd. He was Homecoming King, captain of the tennis team, and was voted "best looking" and "favorite actor" by his high school class (although he was not in the drama club).[2] He went on to attend Columbia University, from which he graduated in 2002 with a degree in film.

Career[edit]

As a child actor, Bradford starred in the well-reviewed films Prancer (1989), Presumed Innocent (1990), King of the Hill (1993), and Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995). Subsequently, he has had several notable roles in motion pictures, including Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Bring It On (2000), playing the romantic interest.[3] In 2002, he appeared as the lead in two films — Clockstoppers and Swimfan. He also had a minor role as White House intern Ryan Pierce for nine episodes during the fifth season of The West Wing.

Bradford played the role of Rene Gagnon in the 2006 film Flags of Our Fathers, based on the book of the same name by James Bradley. The film is about the Battle of Iwo Jima and was directed by Academy Award-winning director Clint Eastwood. In 2009, Bradford was cast as one of the leads in I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, based on Tucker Max's bestselling book.

Bradford was in the main cast of the short-lived NBC courtroom drama series Outlaw in 2010.[4][5]

In 2016, he was in three episodes of Code Black.[6]

Personal life[edit]

Bradford is married to Andrea Leal.[7] In December 2020, Bradford announced on Instagram they were expecting a baby girl due in 2021.[8]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1984 Falling in Love Joe Raftis
1989 Prancer Boy #1
1990 Presumed Innocent Nat Sabich
1990 My Blue Heaven Jamie
1991 The Boy Who Cried Bitch Mike Love
1993 King of the Hill Aaron
1995 Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog Angus McCormick
1995 Hackers Joey Pardella
1996 Romeo + Juliet Balthasar
1998 A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries Billy Willis (age 14)
1999 Speedway Junky Johnny
2000 Cherry Falls Rod Harper
2000 Bring It On Cliff Pantone
2000 Dancing at the Blue Iguana Jorge
2001 According to Spencer Spencer
2002 Clockstoppers Zak Gibbs
2002 Swimfan Ben Cronin
2004 Eulogy Ryan Carmichael
2005 Happy Endings Nicky
2005 Heights Alec
2006 Flags of Our Fathers Rene Gagnon
2008 My Sassy Girl Charlie Bellow
2008 The Echo Bobby Reynolds
2008 W. Thatcher
2009 Table for Three Ryan
2009 I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell Drew
2010 Perfect Life Jack Parsons
2011 You're a Wolf Tyler Short film
2011 Son of Morning David
2012 Item 47 Bennie Pollack Short film
2013 The Power of Few Dom
2013 10 Rules for Sleeping Around Vince Johnson
2015 Badge of Honor Mike Gallo
2016 The California No Colton
2016 Dead Awake Evan
2017 The Year of Spectacular Men Aaron Ezra
2018 California No Colton
2018 The Day of Matthew Montgomery Matthew Montgomery Short Film
2022 Merry Kiss Cam Danny Carmody Jr.

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1986 Classified Love Anthony TV film
1991 The Boys Walter Farmer Jr. TV film
1993 Tribeca Josh Episode: "The Rainmaker"
2003–2004 The West Wing Ryan Pierce Recurring role; 9 episodes
2006 Twenty Questions Jackson Lynch TV film
2009 The Eastmans Dr. Seth Eastman Unsold TV pilot
2010 Outlaw Eddie Franks Main role; 8 episodes
2011 Other People's Kids Adam TV film
2012–2013 Guys with Kids Chris Main role; 18 episodes
2014 Sequestered Danny Ferman Main role; 12 episodes
2016 Code Black Gordon Heshman Episodes: "First Date", "The Fifth Stage", "Diagnosis of Exclusion"
2016, 2019 Teachers Jacob Episode: "Jacob" and "Thoughts and Bears"
2016 Love Carl Episode: "Party in the Hills"
2016 NCIS John Bishop Episode: "Enemy Combatant"
2017–2018 Shooter Harris Downey Recurring role
2018 Deception Rafe Willems Episode: "Black Art"
2019 Magnum P.I. Neal Conlan Episode: "Lie, Cheat, Steal, Kill"

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Jesse Bradford on Instagram: "Meet Maggie. Born May 29th, 2021. The day after her daddy. Feeling so lucky to say that our new family is happy and healthy. And super…"". Instagram.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  2. ^ Fenwick, Alexandra, "Star earns stripes: Brien McMahon graduate stars in Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers," article in The Advocate of Stamford, October 29, 2006, pp. 1, A6
  3. ^ Finn, Natalie; Machado, Baker (April 14, 2015). "New Couple Alert: Azealia Banks Dating Jesse Bradford!". E! News. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  4. ^ "NBC Unveils 2010–2011 Primetime Schedule Accented by Five New Comedies, Seven New Dramas, and New Alternative Program". The Futon Critic. May 16, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  5. ^ Hernandez, Greg. "Jesse Bradford thinks "politics in America are particularly polarized" | HollywoodNews.com". www.hollywoodnews.com. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  6. ^ Leitereg, Neal J. (November 14, 2018). "Actor Jesse Bradford posts Richard Dorman-designed home for $3 million". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  7. ^ "Jesse Bradford on Instagram: "via my wife @andreawatrouse ❤️"". Instagram. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  8. ^ "Jesse Bradford on Instagram: "Meet Maggie. Born May 29th, 2021. The day after her daddy. Feeling so lucky to say that our new family is happy and healthy. And super grateful for @lamidwifeabby @ccmeyer @drsteverad & the post Partum nurses at @cedarssinai 💜"". Instagram. Retrieved October 31, 2022.

External links[edit]