Kristoffer Polaha

Early in his career, Polaha appeared in theatre productions, including Ragtime Revue at Lincoln Center, The Long Days Journey Into Night at the Roundabout Theater, Bread & Butter at Provincetown Playhouse, and Uncle Vanya at the Stella Adler Conservatory. In early 2000s, Polaha began appearing in small roles in several American television series and films. His first on-screen appearance was a role as Gavin in the episode "Plus One" of comedy-drama series That's Life. He had roles in television series Angel, Roswell, Birds of Prey, Tru Calling, House, CSI: Miami, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Bones and Close to Home. In 2004, he won the lead role of Jason Matthews on the prime-time soap opera North Shore. The series centered on the staff and guests of the fictional Grand Waimea Hotel and Resort. North Shore concluded in January 2005 after a 21-episode, single-season run. In 2007, Polaha took the role of Carlton Hanson on drama television series Mad Men.[10]

Nestor Carbonell, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Polaha attending Ringer panel at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con

In 2008, Polaha starred on the series Miss Guided[11] and appeared in biographical film Billy: The Early Years (2008). In 2009, he appeared in several guest starring television roles, including The Ex List, Dollhouse, Without a Trace and Better Off Ted. In 2010, he began portraying Nate Bazile, a bar owner who discovers he has a teenage daughter Lux Cassidy (Britt Robertson), on the teen drama series Life Unexpected.[12][13][14] The series garnered mostly positive feedback during its two seasons, with many reviews favorably comparing the show to the critically acclaimed series Gilmore Girls and Everwood.[15][16] In November 2010, Polaha signed a talent holding deal with CBS.[17] He played Henry Butler on the CW series Ringer[18] until the series conclusion in 2012.[19][20] Las Vegas Weekly gave Ringer a mixed review, saying it was "a little silly but also juicy and well-acted".[21] In 2012, he landed a guest role on the second season of MTV's teen comedy series Awkward.[22]

Polaha starred as John Galt in Atlas Shrugged: Part III,[23] which was released on September 12, 2014. He appeared in the movies Devil's Knot (2013), Back in the Day (2014), Where Hope Grows (2015) and Vineland (2016). Where Hope Grows centers on the friendship between Calvin (portrayed by Polaha), a former professional baseball player and Produce (David DeSanctis), a young man with Down syndrome.[24] The film grossed $1.2 million at the box office.[25] He had a lead role as Jodie King in short film Frontman (2016). He earned Jury Award for Best Actor at Seattle Shorts Film Festival for his performance in Frontman. In 2017, Polaha played Jeffrey in five episodes of comedy-drama television series Get Shorty.

Polaha has starred in several original Hallmark Channel films, including Dater's Handbook (2016) opposite Meghan Markle,[26][27][28] Rocky Mountain Christmas (2017) opposite Lindy Booth[29] and Pearl in Paradise (2018) alongside Jill Wagner.[30][31] Especially Rocky Mountain Christmas was a success for the network. Polaha commented the film's popularity by saying: "Rocky Mountain Christmas won the night on cable. We had the highest ratings, not just the highest ratings ever in the history of Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, but we won the night across all the cable channels. It was a big deal for Hallmark, and it was a big deal for us as a cast because it really did set our movie apart. It was definitely one of those special moments."[9] In 2018, he appeared in six episodes of the thriller television series Condor and starred in two films, Beneath the Leaves and Bachelor Lions.

He played detective Travis Burke in Hallmark's mystery television film series Mystery 101 (2019) opposite Jill Wagner.[32][33] The film series included four movies and the first one aired on January 27, 2019.[34][35] Polaha portrayed Michael Truett in the Christian drama film Run the Race (2019), released on February 22, 2019 by Roadside Attractions.[36] The film made $2.3 million in its opening weekend, finishing 10th at the box office.[37] In November 2018, Polaha revealed that he has a role in the superhero film Wonder Woman 1984 (2020).[38][39][40] On July 26, 2019, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Polaha will appear in Hallmark Channel's Christmas-themed television movie Double Holiday (2019) opposite Carly Pope.[41]

Polaha owns a production company titled Podunk Productions.[42]

In June 2020, Variety reported that Polaha had signed a book deal with Rosewind Books to co-author a series of romance novels with Anna Gomez.[43][44] The first in the series, titled “Moments Like This,” is set in Hawaii and centers on a young woman looking to find herself after losing her career and relationship.[43] It is set to be published on February 2, 2021.[43] Polaha plans to produce the books for film and television through his production company Podunk Productions.[43]