Justin Bruening (born September 24, 1979) is an American actor and former fashion model. He was discovered at a McDonald's in Escondido, California, and within a week, he was shooting photos with Bruce Weber. In 2003, his acting career began when he was cast in the role of Jamie Martin on the daytime drama All My Children, earning him a Soap Opera Digest Award in 2005 for the portrayal. In 2007, Bruening was cast as Mike Traceur, the son of character Michael Knight, a new take on the original Knight Rider series. In 2011, he was cast as Tyler Berrett, a recurring role on the series Ringer starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and in 2013, he joined Ravenswood. He also played paramedic Matthew Taylor on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy in 2013 and 2018.[1] Since 2020, he has been a part of the main cast of the series Sweet Magnolias.
Justin Bruening | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 24, 1979 |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, model |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
Early life
editBruening was born on September 24, 1979, in St. Helena, Nebraska.[2] Raised in the small town (a then-population of 85), he graduated from high school with only nine classmates.[3]
Career
editFollowing graduation, Bruening moved to San Diego, California. It was there that he was discovered by Sue Nessel, a talent scout for Scott Copeland International, at McDonald's in Escondido just north of San Diego.[3] Soon afterwards, Copeland got him his first modeling job for Abercrombie & Fitch.[3]
Following his first commercial job, Bruening was encouraged to study acting by Copeland and was noticed by All My Children casting director Judy Wilson.[3] Bruening originally auditioned for the role of JR Chandler on All My Children, but was eventually cast in the role of James "Jamie" Martin in July 2003.[2] For a brief time, in 2004 and 2005, Bruening also portrayed Jamie Martin on One Life to Live during a crossover storyline. During his role of Jamie, Bruening was featured as Daytime's Hottest Star in Teen People, Us Weekly, Star and J-14 magazines.[4]
In addition to his work on soap operas, he has had a guest appearance on Hope & Faith[2] and a small part in the film Fat Girls. He was up for the role of Superman in Superman Returns, but the part was won by Brandon Routh instead.[5] He also appeared in the Britney Spears music video "Boys".[2] On October 21, 2007, he appeared on CBS's Cold Case, in the episode "Thick As Thieves".
In February 2008, Bruening starred in a new rendition of the original Knight Rider series, portraying the original Knight Rider's son, Mike Traceur, for a two-hour film on NBC.[6] David Hasselhoff had a guest role, reprising his role as Michael Knight.[6] The film and subsequent TV series also featured KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand), a 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR, with Val Kilmer as the voice of the highly advanced robotic automobile.[6][7] NBC decided after successful ratings for the film to continue the story as a series, and commissioned an official series for its debut for the 2008–2009 television season.[8][9]
In 2011, Bruening began a recurring role on the CW mystery series, Ringer.[10] In 2012, he began a recurring role on the ABC Family drama, Switched at Birth. In 2013, he had a recurring role on the ABC drama, Grey's Anatomy as Paramedic Matt.[1] He then featured in the limited season run of the Pretty Little Liars' spin-off Ravenswood in 2013. In 2018, he was cast as 'Nash' the co-star of the Hallmark Channel film Last Vermont Christmas.[11] In 2020, he was cast as a series regular in the Netflix show Sweet Magnolias.
Personal life
editBruening proposed to former All My Children co-star Alexa Havins on the set of the soap opera. They were married on June 5, 2005. The two were friends first before becoming romantically involved.[12] After Bruening left All My Children, Havins exited shortly after and the couple moved to Los Angeles. They have three children: Lexington Grace, born in 2010, Zane in 2013, and Zoe in December 2015.[13]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Fat Girls | Bobby | Debut film[14] |
| 2008 | Knight Rider | Mike Traceur | Television film |
| 2010 | Class | Whitt Sheffield | Television film[15] |
| 2012 | Blue Eyed Butcher | Jeff Wright | Television film |
| 2013 | The Thanksgiving House | Everett Mather | Television film |
| 2017 | The Monster Project | Devon | Film |
| 2018 | He's Out There | Shawn | Film |
| 2018 | Indivisible | Darren Turner | Based on a true story[16] |
| 2018 | Last Vermont Christmas | Nash | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2020 | Swept Up By Christmas | Reed | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2022 | Reindeer Games Homecoming | Chase Weston | Television film (Lifetime) |
| 2022 | Vanished: Searching for My Sister | Warren | Television film (Lifetime) |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–2007, 2011 | All My Children | James Edward "Jamie" Martin | Series regular (September 8, 2003–August 22, 2007), guest star (September 21–23, 2011); 163 episodes |
| 2004–2005 | One Life to Live | Jamie Martin | Recurring role (October 20, 2004–February 21, 2005); 8 episodes |
| 2004 | Hope & Faith | Jake | Episodes: "Hold the Phone" & "Do I Look Frat In This?" |
| 2006 | 3 lbs | Personal trainer | Episode: "The Cutting Edge" |
| 2007 | Cold Case | Spencer Mason | Episode: "Thick as Thieves" |
| 2007 | CSI: Miami | Craig Abbott | Episode: "My Nanny" |
| 2008–2009 | Knight Rider | Mike Traceur | Lead role |
| 2011 | Wonder Woman | Steve Trevor | "Pilot" (Never aired) |
| 2011 | Castle | Rod Tredwyck | Episode: "The Dead Pool" |
| 2011 | State of Georgia | Brad | Episode: "Flavor of the Week" |
| 2011 | CSI: NY | Hank Frazier | Episode: "Air Apparent" |
| 2011–2012 | Ringer | Tyler Barrett | 9 episodes |
| 2012–2013 | Switched at Birth | Chef Jeff Reycraft | 9 episodes |
| 2013, 2018 | Grey's Anatomy | Paramedic Matthew Taylor | 16 episodes |
| 2013 | Hawaii Five-0 | Lt. Commander William "Billy" Harrington | 5 episodes |
| 2013–2014 | Ravenswood | Benjamin Price | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Royal Pains | Chase | Episode: "A Bigger Boat" |
| 2015 | CSI: Cyber | Evan Wescott | Episode: "The Evil Twin" |
| 2015 | The Messengers | Leo Travers | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Blood & Oil | Richard Ford | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2016–2017 | Good Behavior | Kyle Dash | 5 episodes[1] |
| 2020–present | Sweet Magnolias | Cal Maddox | Main role |
| 2020 | Lucifer | DJ Karnal (Jed) | Episode: "BlueBallz" |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Outstanding Male Newcomer | All My Children | Won | [2] |
References
edit- ^ a b c Abrams, Natalie (January 25, 2018). "Grey's Anatomy: Justin Bruening returning as April's ex". EW.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Justin Bruening (Jamie, AMC)". Soap Opera Digest. Primedia Magazines, Inc. 2004. Archived from the original on January 10, 2005.
- ^ a b c d "About the Actors: Justin Bruening". Soap Central. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved September 15, 2007.
- ^ "Original 2003 to mid 2008 Cast Bios: Justin Bruening". abc.go.com.
- ^ Bhattacharjee, Mala. "AZ You Like It". Soap Opera Digest. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved September 6, 2007.
- ^ a b c "Knight time". Chicago Tribune. December 27, 2007. p. 52. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
- ^ Collins, Michael (December 21, 2007). "2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR lands starring role on TV show". Asbury Park Press. p. D1. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
- ^ Adalian, Josef (March 30, 2008). "NBC offers escape with new slate". Variety. Archived from the original on April 2, 2008.
- ^ McDonough, Kevin (September 24, 2008). "Knight Rider remake flat, tired". Intelligencer Journal. p. B10. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
- ^ Orlando, Christine (February 16, 2012). "Ringer Interview: Justin Bruening on One Dizzying Ride". TV Fanatic. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
- ^ "Last Vermont Christmas". Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "Chatterbox: AMC's Justin Bruening Answers Your Questions". Soap Opera Weekly. February 13, 2007. p. 28.
- ^ Clifford, Kambra (June 5, 2018). "AMC's Alexa Havins relives her Pine Valley days in rare interview". Soap Central. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
- ^ "Fat Girls". Los Angeles Times. September 9, 2007. p. E36. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
- ^ Elavsky, Cindy (August 15, 2010). "Bruening has Class". Tulsa World. p. 39. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
- ^ Walsh, Katie (November 2, 2018). "Indivisible, a war story that balances home, abroad stories". The Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.