Childhood & Early Life
Jake McDorman was born John Allen McDorman IV on July 8, 1986, to Deborah Gale and John Allen McDorman III in Dallas, Texas. He grew up with his younger sister, Morgan, and an elder half-sister, Amanda. He is of English, Irish, German, and French ancestry.
He moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17. He studied acting at the ‘Young Actors Studio’ in Dallas. He attended ‘Northwood Hills Elementary,’ ‘Westwood Junior High,’ and ‘Richardson High School.’
He dropped out of the ‘Boy Scouts of America’ to take up his first acting assignment, and interestingly, he played a boy scout in the film.
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Career
He appeared on television for the first time in 2003, in two episodes of the sitcom ‘Run of The House’ as Scott Banks. The show was cancelled only after sixteen episodes.
His first full-time TV gig was in ‘Quintuplets’ (2004-05), which was on air for 22 episodes on ‘FOX.’ In 2005, he worked in an independent film ‘Echoes of Innocence,’ which was his first appearance on the big screen.
In the next couple of years, he appeared in films, ‘Aquamarine’ (2006), ‘Bring It On: All or Nothing’ (2006), and ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ (2007)He also appeared on TV series, such as ‘House’ (2006), CSI: Miami (2006), and ‘Cold Case’ (2007).
He got his first long-running series-regular role in the ABC Family drama series ‘Greek,’ which was on air from 2007 to 2011. Alongside ‘Greek,’ he also worked in the series ‘Moment’ (2008), and a short-film ‘See You on the Other Side’ (2010).
Between 2011 and 2012, he made guest appearances on the series ‘Memphis Beat’ (2011) and ‘The Newsroom’ (2012), and a regular role on ‘Are You There, Chelsea?’ (2012). He appeared in the lead role in the 2011 television crime-thriller film ‘The Craigslist Killer.’
In 2013, he joined the team of Showtime drama ‘Shameless’ in the role of ‘Mike Pratt.’ The series was an adaptation of the British series of the same name, which first aired in 2011 and aired for nine seasons to date. It became Showtime’s longest running scripted series ever.
The year 2014 was a mixed bag for the actor. The ABC romantic comedy series ‘Manhattan Love Story’ was taken off air only after a few episodes, while he was cast in the Clint Eastwood directed ‘American Sniper.’ It not only catapulted his career but also put him in good graces with co-star Bradley Cooper.
In 2015, McDorman was cast in the role of ‘Brian Finch’ in the CBS crime-fiction drama ‘Limitless.’ The series is based on Bradley Cooper starrer film ‘Limitless’ (2011). It is said that Cooper, who is also the executive producer of the show, pulled a lot of strings to get him this role. Cooper not only made appearances on the show, but was also seen coaching McDorman on nuances of the common characteristics they both had to portray. The series was, however, cancelled after the first season.
The same year he starred in a supernatural horror film ‘Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story,’ which did quite well at the Box Office. He appeared in films, such as ‘Me Him Her’ (2016), ‘Lady Bird’ (2017), and ‘Ideal Home’ (2018).
In 2018, he bagged a role in the reprisal of the classic ‘Murphy Brown.’ The original ‘Murphy Brown’ was a comedy series that aired from November 1988 to May 1998. In January, 2018, after a gap of 20 years, ‘CBS’ planned a 13-episode revival of ‘Murphy Brown,’ which premiered in September, 2018.
Trivia
McDorman is an avid video gamer, and loves Harry Potter.
The actor has a huge fan following on social media.
His career goals are to direct a movie, record a music album, and learn to cook.
