Eric Christian Olsen

Eric Christian Olsen

Olsen in 2013
Born (1977-05-31) May 31, 1977
Eugene, Oregon, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1997–present
Spouse(s) Sarah Wright (m. 2012)
Children 1

Eric Christian Olsen (born May 31, 1977) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayals of Detective Marty Deeks on the CBS television series NCIS: Los Angeles, and of Austin in the film Not Another Teen Movie.

Early life

Olsen was born in Eugene, Oregon, the son of Jeanne (née Donstad), a non-denominational chaplain, and Paul V. Olsen, a professor of English and head track and cross country coach of Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois.[1][2][3] He has an older brother who acts as his stunt double. He is of Norwegian descent.[4] Olsen spent most of his childhood in Bettendorf, Iowa and attended Bettendorf Middle and High School, where he pursued interests such as sports, Japanese, and Chinese.[5] In addition to many local theatre performances, Olsen trained in improv with ComedySportz Quad Cities and later joined the cast.

Career

Olsen's first starring role was the titular role in the 1999 TV movie Arthur's Quest, soon after he gave an Emmy submitted portrayal of a dying burn victim on NBC's ER. His next role was a small one in HBO's Black Cat Run. Eric soon landed a starring role in the Fox TV series Get Real, playing Cameron Green. The series lasted for a year before Eric made his transition onto the big screen when he played Ben Affleck's gunner in Pearl Harbor, that was quickly followed by a leading role as Austin "The Cocky Blond Guy" in the teen send up feature film Not Another Teen Movie.

Olsen next played Jake in the teen comedy The Hot Chick. In 2003 he won the role of Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, the prequel to the hit movie Dumb and Dumber. Olsen followed that up by playing opposite Chris Evans for a second time in Cellular. He starred in the yet to be released Mojave and then joined the final season of Fox's Tru Calling. He claimed three highly contrasting roles in 2006 and 2007 with the release of Beerfest, License to Wed and Zach Braff's The Last Kiss.

Olsen co-starred as Sully in the Fox sitcom The Loop. Olsen had four other projects in 2008 and continues to reside in Malibu, California.

Olsen appeared on Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's streaming video website Funny or Die, with a small series of segments featuring a character called Perry Hilton, an obvious parody of Paris Hilton. He starred in the 2011 science-fiction horror film The Thing.[6]

Olsen portrays Detective Marty Deeks on the CBS show NCIS: Los Angeles. His character appeared in two episodes of season one before joining the cast as a series regular in the second season.[7]

Personal life

Olsen has been in a relationship with actress Sarah Wright since 2007, and they became engaged in October 2011.[8] They were married near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on June 23, 2012.[9] Their first child, a son, was born in 2013 and the couple is expecting their second child in summer 2016.[10][11] Olsen and Wright were featured in a 2015 episode of the HGTV series House Hunters buying a vacation home near Jackson Hole.[12]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2001 Mean People Suck Nick Short film
Pearl Harbor Gunner
Not Another Teen Movie Austin
2002 Local Boys Randy Dobson
The Hot Chick Jake
2003 Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd Lloyd Christmas
2004 Cellular Chad Thompson
Death Valley Josh {original title: Mojave}
2006 Beerfest Gunther
The Last Kiss Kenny
2007 License to Wed Carlisle Myers
The Comebacks Foreign Exchange Student
2008 Sunshine Cleaning Randy Clever
Eagle Eye Craig Bolston
2009 Fired Up Nick Brady
The Six Wives of Henry Lefay Lloyd Wiggins
2010 The Back-Up Plan Clive Bennett
2010-12 Hero Factory William Furno Trials of Furno - Breakout Part 2
2011 The Thing Adam Finch
2012 Celeste and Jesse Forever Steve Tucker
2014 Warning Labels Thad Short film
2015 Band of Robbers Sid Sawyer Post-production
2017 Battle of the Sexes Lornie Kuhle Filming

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction Adam 1 episode: "The Viewing, The Subway, Kid in the Closet, Justice is Served & The Tractor"
1998 Black Cat Run Gas Station Attendant TV Movie
Credited as Eric Olsen
1999 Arthur's Quest Artie/King Arthur TV Movie
Turks Kevin Williams Episode: "Friends & Strangers"
ER Travis Mitchell Episode: "Responsible Parties"
1999–2000 Get Real Cameron Green Main cast
22 episodes
2000 Lessons Learned Jack TV Movie
2001 Ruling Class Bill Olszewski
Smallville Young Harry Bollston Episode: "Hourglass"
2002 24 John Mason 1 episode: "Day 2: 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m."
2005 Tru Calling Jensen Ritchie 5 Episodes
2006–07 The Loop Sully Sullivan Main cast
17 episodes
2007 The Hill Matt O'Brien TV Movie
Write & Wrong Jason 'Krueger' Langdon
2008–09 Brothers & Sisters Kyle DeWitt 6 episodes
2009–10 Community Vaughn Miller 4 episodes
2010–present NCIS: Los Angeles LAPD Detective Marty Deeks Recurring cast (season 1); Main cast, (season 2–present)
2010–12 Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil Wade Recurring character
2015 House Hunters Himself Appeared in an episode with his wife Sarah and mother Jeanne looking for a vacation home in the Jackson Hole area
Geeks Who Drink Episode: Eric Christian Olsen vs Scott Porter

References

External links


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