Jason Ritter

Jason Morgan Ritter (born February 17, 1980)[1] is an American actor, voice actor, and producer. He is known for his roles as Kevin Girardi in the television series Joan of Arcadia, Ethan Haas in The Class, Sean Walker in the NBC series The Event, Dipper Pines in Gravity Falls, and Pat Rollins in Raising Dion. He also played the recurring role of Mark Cyr in the NBC television series Parenthood, for which he received an Emmy Award nomination. In 2017, he starred in the TV comedy series Kevin (Probably) Saves the World. He served as the voice of Ryder in Frozen 2.

Jason Ritter
Born
Jason Morgan Ritter

(1980-02-17) February 17, 1980
Alma materNew York University
Occupation
  • Actor
  • voice actor
  • producer
Years active1989–present
Partner(s)
Children1
Parents
Relatives

Early life

Ritter was born on February 17, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, to actors Nancy Morgan and John Ritter. He is also a grandson of actors Tex Ritter (who died 6 years before Jason was born) and Dorothy Fay. His stepmother is actress Amy Yasbeck. The actor has three siblings, including actor Tyler Ritter.

Ritter first appeared in the opening credits of his father's show, Three's Company. He was the little blonde haired boy running up to Joyce DeWitt in the petting zoo scene.[2][3]

He attended middle and high school at the Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California, with Simon Helberg, who became his roommate at NYU.[4] He then attended and graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied at the Atlantic Theater Company. He also studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, UK.

Career

Ritter in 2007

Ritter appeared in The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story, co-starring as Baum's son alongside his own father. In 2002, he appeared in the movies PG and Swimfan. In 2003, Ritter had a major role in the slasher/horror film Freddy vs. Jason as Will Rollins. He appeared in Raise Your Voice and Happy Endings. He portrayed Jeb Bush in the Oliver Stone film W. In 2007, he also voiced substitute teacher, Mr. Fisk, in an episode of All Grown Up!, the grown up version of Rugrats, a teacher whom Angelica falls in love with.

In 2008, he released Good Dick, a movie which he produced and starred in along with his long-term girlfriend at the time, Marianna Palka (with whom he began a relationship after meeting in Queens in October 1999),[5] who also wrote and directed the film.

Among his theater credits are Wendy Wasserstein's Third at Lincoln Center, for which he won the Clarence Derwent Award and the Martin E. Segal Award for his portrayal of the title character; the Off Broadway production of The Beginning of August, and the role of Tim in the world premiere of Neil LaBute's play The Distance From Here at London's Almeida Theatre. Ritter has volunteered as an actor with the Young Storytellers Program.

In 2012, Ritter starred in the Disney Channel series, Gravity Falls, a show about twins Dipper and Mabel Pines who are sent to live with their "Grunkle" Stan, and decipher the weird events of Gravity Falls, Oregon. Ritter voiced Dipper in the show.[6]

Ritter has appeared in the MTV show Punk'd. Ritter also starred as Sean Walker in the season-long NBC drama series The Event, which premiered on September 20, 2010.[7][8] Ritter will be seen alongside Kate French in the upcoming short film, Atlantis, a romance film centered on two strangers who fall in love during the preparation for the final launch of the NASA space shuttle Atlantis.[9] He had a recurring role on NBC's Parenthood.[10][11][12] His performance on the show earned him an Emmy Award nomination in 2012.[13]

In March 2013 it was announced that he would play Gavin opposite Alexis Bledel's Stacey in Us & Them, FOX's sitcom pilot based on the British television show Gavin & Stacey.[14] It was eventually picked up to series, however it was canceled by FOX before the show could premiere as they were not content with the script quality.[15] However, in September 2018, Sony Crackle picked up the series's seven episodes for streaming starting October 1.[16]

In October 2017, it was announced that Ritter was cast as Pat in the Netflix superhero series, Raising Dion. The first season was released on October 4, 2019.[17]

Ritter has also been featured in the American period sitcom Another Period as Lord Frederick Bellacourt. His character is the illiterate twin brother of Beatrice, with whom he is involved in an incestuous relationship.

In 2018, Ritter had a supporting role in The Tale, an autobiographical feature film written and directed by Jennifer Fox. The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2018 and later on HBO on May 26, 2018.

In September 2019, it was revealed that Ritter would voice Ryder, a member of Northuldra tribe, in Frozen II.[18][19]

Personal life

From October 1999 to 2013, Ritter was in a relationship with Marianna Palka. They met while they were both studying at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City.[20] In 2017, Ritter became engaged to actress Melanie Lynskey after four years of dating.[21] The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter, in December 2018.[22]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1991 The Real Story Of Christmas Tree Little Acorn (voice) Short film
1999 Mumford Martin Brockett
2001 Earth Day Jack (voice) Short film
2002 PG Paul Short film
Swimfan Randy
2003 Smash the Kitty Josh Short film
Freddy vs. Jason Will Rollins
2004 Raise Your Voice Paul Fletcher
2005 Perceptions Michael
Happy Endings Otis McKeen
Our Very Own Clancy Whitfield
Placebo Daniel Short film
2006 Lenexa, 1 Mile Sean Hickey
The Wicker Man Bar Guy #2
2007 The Education of Charlie Banks Mick Leary
2008 The Deal Lionel Travitz
Good Dick The Man Also producer
W. Jeb Bush
2009 The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll Eric Genson
Oh My Soul N/A Exclusive producer
Peter and Vandy Peter
2010 The Dry Land Michael
Morning Hotel Receptionist
2011 A Bag of Hammers Benjamin Platt
The Perfect Family Frank Cleary Jr.
The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best Kyle
They're with Me Isaac Solomon Short film
Atlantis Ben Short film
The Five Stages of Grief Orion Short film
2012 The Break In Larry Short film
Angel of Death Victim 1 Short film
Trying Mark Short film
The Golden Age Mitch Short film
Manhattan Mixup Fritz Short film
Free Samples Wally
2013 I Am I Jonathan
The Big Ask Owen
The Sidekick Kid Loco Short film
The Goldfish Yoni Short film
The East Tim
The End of Love Jason
2014 Hits Julian
Wild Canaries Damien Anders
There's Always Woodstock Garret
About Alex Alex
7 Minutes Mike
You're Not You Will
We'll Never Have Paris Kurt
2015 The Steps Jeff
Embers Guy
The Meddler Jacob
Always Worthy Jeff Fredrick
2016 The Intervention Matt
Carrie Pilby Matt
2017 The Labyrinth Usher
Bitch Bill
2018 The Tale Bill
2019 Frozen II Ryder (voice)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1990 The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story Harry Neal Baum Television film
1999 Days of Our Lives Todd Supporting role (Season 34)
Undressed Allan Main role (Season 3)
2001 Law & Order Nick Simms "Teenage Wasteland" (Season 11, Episode 12)
2002 Hack Teddy Griffin "My Brother's Keeper" (Season 1, Episode 5)
2003 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Billy Baker "Dominance" (Season 4, Episode 20)
2003–2005 Joan of Arcadia Kevin Girardi Main role; 45 episodes
2006–2007 The Class Ethan Haas Lead role; 19 episodes
2007 All Grown Up! Mr. Fisk (voice) Episode: "What's Love Got to do With That?"
This Is My Friend N/A Exclusive producer
2009 WWII in HD Jack Yusen (voice) Main role; 2 episodes
Mercy Gabe Tyler "Some of Us Have Been to the Desert" (Season 1, Episode 9)
2010–2011 The Event Sean Walker Main role; 22 episodes
2010–2014 Parenthood Mark Cyr Recurring role; 32 episodes
2012 County Jack Malloy Pilot[23][24]
2012–2016 Gravity Falls Dipper Pines (voice) Lead role; 40 episodes
2013 Robot Chicken Reindeer / Sergeant (voice) "Born Again Virgin Christmas Special" (Season 6, Episode 21)
Call Me Crazy: A Five Film Bruce Television film, segment: "Lucy"
2013–2018 Drunk History Various characters 8 episodes
2014 Us & Them Gavin Shipman Lead role; unaired
Person of Interest Simon Lee "Prophets" (Season 4, Episode 5)
Key & Peele Male Customer "Concussion Quarterback" (Season 4, Episode 5)
Garfunkel and Oates Jason "Maturity" (Season 1, Episode 8)
2015–2016 Girls Scott Recurring role; 5 episodes
2015–2018 Another Period Frederick Bellacourt Main role; 26 episodes
2016 Wander Over Yonder Skipper (voice, parody of Dipper Pines) "The Cartoon" (Season 2, Episode 13)
Goliath FBI Agent Farley 3 episodes
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Ranger Bill Episode: "Fall"
2017 The Long Road Home Troy Denomy 3 episodes
2017–2018 Kevin (Probably) Saves the World Kevin Finn Main role; 16 episodes
Skylanders Academy Dark Spyro (voice) 12 episodes
2019 Quest Michael 8 episodes
2019–2020 A Million Little Things Eric 9 episodes
2019–present Raising Dion Pat Main role
2020 Superstore Josh Simms Episode: "Customer Safari"

Web

Year Title Role Notes
2008 T Takes The Guest in Room 23 "Lobby" (Season 1, Episode 1)
2012 Weasel Town Haunches Voice; Main role
Sketchy Tom "You Got Retweeted" (Season 1, Episode 18)
2013 Ghost Ghirls William / Brad Wojciehowicz "Home Is Where the Haunt Is" (Season 1, Episode 1)
"Comedy Of Terrors" (Season 1, Episode 7)
2016 Grandaddy - "Way We Won't" Hitchhiker Music video
Kevin Pollak's Chat Show Himself/Guest Episode: "276"

Awards and nominations

Year Title Category Result Ref.
2004 Joan of Arcadia Teen Choice Awards TV: Male Breakout Star Nominated
2012 Parenthood Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Nominated [25]
2017 Tales of Titans Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series Nominated

References

  1. "The birth of Jason Ritter". californiabirthindex.org. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  2. "Jason Ritter Bio". US Weekly. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  3. "Jason Ritter Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  4. Lindhome, Riki. "Making It #1: Jason Ritter". Nerdist. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  5. Spaner, Whitney (January 2009). "L.A. Is For Lovers: Jason Ritter & Marianna Palka". Paper Magazine. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  6. "Gravity Falls (TV Series 2012–2016) - IMDb". IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  7. "NBC Picks Up Three New Series for 2010-11 Season with "The Event", "Outsourced" and "Love Bites"". The Futon Critic. May 7, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
  8. Hibberd, James (May 16, 2010). "NBC's fall schedule, upfront revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. The Live Feed. Archived from the original on May 18, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
  9. "Movie was filmed as space shuttle Atlantis took off from KSC". Orlando Sentinel. July 9, 2011. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  10. Ng, Philiana (July 7, 2011). "'Parenthood': Jason Ritter to Return in Season 3, Teaming Up With Jason Katims for Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  11. Masters, Megan (June 5, 2012). "Parenthood Scoop: Jason Ritter Will Return in Season 4… But For How Long?". TVLine. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  12. Ausiello, Michael (November 14, 2013). "Parenthood Exclusive: Jason Ritter Set to Return". TVLine. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  13. Adly McKenzie, Carina Adly (July 19, 2012). "Emmys 2012: Jason Ritter talks 'Parenthood' nomination and Simon Helberg's early-morning text message". Zap2it. Archived from the original on August 23, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  14. Andreeva, Nellie (March 2, 2013). "Alexis Bledel To Star in FOX Comedy Pilot 'Friends & Family'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  15. Ausiello, Michael (June 9, 2014). "Us & Them Update: 6 Produced Episodes of Fox's Jason Ritter-Alexis Bledel Comedy Will Never Air". TVLine. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  16. Schwartz, Ryan (September 14, 2018). "Jason Ritter/Alexis Bledel Unaired Fox Sitcom Us & Them to Debut on Crackle". TVLine. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  17. Denise, Petski (June 20, 2018). "'Raising Dion': Jason Ritter To Star In Netflix's Superhero Family Drama Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  18. "Is that you, Anna and Elsa? 'Frozen 2' trailer suggests a Marvel-style tale". Los Angeles Times. September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  19. Ritter, Jason [@JasonRitter] (September 23, 2019). "When you realize you're in #Frozen2" (Tweet). Retrieved September 27, 2019 via Twitter.
  20. "L.A. Is for Lovers: Jason Ritter & Marianna Palka". PAPER. January 30, 2009. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  21. Heller, Corinne. "Jason Ritter and Melanie Lynskey Are Engaged". E!. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  22. Vacco-Bolanos, Jessica. "Jason Ritter and Melanie Lynskey Quietly Welcome Their First Child". US Weekly. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  23. "'Parenthood' Reunion: Michael B. Jordan to Co-Star in Jason Katims/Jason Ritter Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. February 10, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  24. "Where Are NBC's 'The Office', 'Parks & Recreation' And 'Up All Night' Renewals?". Deadline.com. PMC. May 10, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  25. "Primetime Emmy Awards nominations for 2012 – Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series". Emmys.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
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