Chris Massoglia

Chris Massoglia
Massoglia at the premiere of Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, 2009
Born Christopher Paul Massoglia
(1992-03-29) March 29, 1992
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Other names Chris Kelly
Occupation Actor
Years active 2003-present

Christopher Paul "Chris" Massoglia[1] (born March 29, 1992) is an American television and motion picture actor.

Early life

Chris Massoglia was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Christopher and Karen Massoglia.[2] His father is a chiropractor and his mother a homemaker.[2] His parents are devout Christians and Republicans, and Massoglia grew up a fan of Christian pop music (as well as unable to listen to rap music).[2] Gifted with an above-average intelligence, Massoglia was homeschooled by his mother.[2] While his peers were taking third grade-level subjects, Massoglia was taking eighth grade-level courses.[2] By the age of 13, he had enrolled in an online university where his coursework included developmental psychology, Biblical studies, algebra, and American history.[2] He also had studied jujitsu, played piano, trained as a hip-hop dancer, knew American sign language, and rode horses.[2] He was also a stand-out Little League Baseball player.[2] The Massoglia family has, as of 2009, refused to move to Hollywood, preferring to maintain a home in Minneapolis despite the extensive travel for Chris that this requires.[3]

Movie career

He began attending acting workshops at a dancing academy in his home town of Minneapolis while in middle school, and auditioning for television commercials by creating home-made audition tapes.[3] His first jobs included commercials for Target, Marshall Field's, PepsiCo, and Best Buy.[2]

He began acting in 2003 under the name "Chris Kelly" (sometimes appearing as "Chris J. Kelly") in an episode of the television program Law & Order: Criminal Intent.[3] The same year, he was considered for the part of 10-year-old Sean in the Nicole Kidman film Birth, but the family refused to allow him to appear naked on screen with a nude, grown woman.[2] He auditioned for Spider-Man 2 (getting far enough in the casting process to spend an afternoon with Tobey Maguire) and Bad News Bears (he returned six times for call-backs but was not cast).[2] He spent the summer of 2004 away from auditions to play Little League Baseball; his team (the Robbinsdale All-Stars) won the Minnesota state title that year but did not go to the Little League World Series after losing in the Indianapolis regionals.[2] He appeared in two episodes of Medical Investigation in 2004,[4] and four episodes of the TNT cable television police drama Wanted in 2005.[3][4] He began using his family name of Massoglia in 2008.[3]

He made his feature film acting debut in 2007 in the motion picture A Plumm Summer,[5] but his most prominent role as of 2009 was as "Darren Shan" in the 2009 film Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant.[6] Originally scheduled to debut in theaters in 2010, the film was moved to October 2009 to "capitalize on the Halloween season",[7] and opened a month prior to another highly anticipated vampire picture, New Moon.[8]

His follow-up project was the 3-D horror film The Hole, directed by Joe Dante,[9][10][11] He also went on to play the role of older Sam, Zac Efron's brother in Charlie St. Cloud, but his role was cut from the film.[11][12]

After a four year break from acting, Massoglia returned to the profession. His first notable work was in the 2016 film The Matchbreaker, in which he had a minor role.[13] This was followed by the small film Because of Gràcia, in which he starred as teenaged boy trying to build a relationship with a chaste girl who refuses to kiss until she's married.[14] In the fall of 2017, Massoglia began filming another small independent film, The Lumber Baron.[15]

Acting critiques

As of November 2009, most critiques of Massoglia's acting have concerned his leading role in Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. His performance has not won raves; motion picture industry trade publication Variety said, "The production puts far too much faith in the appeal of newcomer Chris Massoglia, who plays Darren Shan, a rule-abiding, good-grade-earning conformist with the shaggy coif and bland, gumdrop charm of your average Nickelodeon character."[16] The Boston Globe called his acting "too bland to deliver."[17] However, reviewing his 2009 film The Hole, The Hollywood Reporter called Massoglia "a young Zac Efron... who ably carries the film." [18]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2007 A Plumm Summer Elliott Plumm
2009 The Hole Dane Thompson Main role
2009 Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant Darren Shan Main role
2016 The Matchbreaker Zach Minor role
2017 Because of Gràcia Chase Morgan Main role

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2003 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Sam Connors Episode: "Happy Family"
2004 Medical Investigation Jack Connor Episode: "You're Not Alone"
Episode: "Coming Home"
2005 Wanted Tony Rose 4 episodes
2006 Boys Life Tom Porter
2013 Our Wild Hearts Ryan TV movie

References

  1. ↑ "Actor Page for Chris Massoglia." Movie Kids. November 5, 2004. Accessed 2009-10-25.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Justin, Neal. "The Role of a Lifetime: Being an Ordinary Kid." Minneapolis Star Tribune. December 12, 2005.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Sheehan, Brian. "Chris Massoglia: From Geek to 'Freak' Variety. October 2, 2008.
  4. 1 2 Bianculli, David. "Gary Cole Switches Sides, But Still In Line of Fire." New York Daily News. July 18, 2005.
  5. ↑ "Movie Review: 'Plumm Summer' Offers '70s-Style Hugs But Little Depth." St. Paul Pioneer Press. April 24, 2008.
  6. ↑ McIntyre, Gina. "Paul and Chris Weitz Find a Blood Bond." Los Angeles Times. October 18, 2009.
  7. ↑ McClintock, Pamela. "Horror Given Full Rein at Box Office." Daily Variety. October 22, 2009.
  8. ↑ Horn, John. "In Strange Company: Paul Weitz's 'Cirque du Freak'." San Jose Mercury News. October 16, 2009.
  9. ↑ Senjanovic, Natasha. "The Hole a 3D Horror Movie With a Lesson." Reuters. September 28, 2009.
  10. ↑ SCREAM '09: Star Chris Massoglia on 'The Hole 3D' and Scary Marionettes
  11. 1 2 Kroll, Justin. "Players." Daily Variety. October 21, 2009.
  12. ↑ Memberto, Brad. "Cirque du Freak: Not Your Father's Vampires." Santa Ynez Valley News. October 30, 2009.
  13. ↑ McConiga, Rimsie (August 12, 2015). "Q5: Lights, camera, action". Leavenworth Times. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  14. ↑ Bond, Paul (April 14, 2017). "Film Starring 'American Idol' Contestant Who Says She Was Mocked by Judges Gets Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Actor Chris Massoglia is hoping his third kiss will be his first real one". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. September 1, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  16. ↑ DeBruge, Peter. "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant." Variety. September 27, 2009.
  17. ↑ "Movie Stars." The Boston Globe. November 7, 2009.
  18. ↑ "The Hole -- Film Review." "The Hollywood Reporter." September 25, 2009.
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