Childhood & Early Life
Jason Gedrick was born on 7 February 1965, in Chicago, Illinois, in the US. Both his parents were of Polish descent. He had two siblings, Joel and Dawne. His parents divorced when he was still young. Though his siblings lived with his father, Jason was raised by his mother.
He attended Drake University in Iowa, as a business major, as it was what his parents wanted for him. Later, he quit after one year, and decided to focus on pursuing a career in acting.
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Career
Jason Gedrick made his acting debut in the 1984 film ‘Massive Retaliation’, which was directed by Thomas A. Cohen. He made his television debut the same year, in the miniseries ‘The Zoo Gang’. It was based on a novel by Paul Gallico. Gedrick was next seen in a main role in the fantasy romantic comedy film ‘The Heavenly Kid’.
In 1986, he was seen in the military action film ‘Iron Eagle’, where he played Doug Masters, one of the main characters. Directed by Sidney J Furie, the film was a small success commercially, earning $ 24 million on a budget of $ 18 million. Reviews were mostly mixed to positive.
The next year, he had another main role in the drama film ‘Promised Land’. The film was directed by Michael Hoffman. The film was based on a true story. He next reprised his role of Doug Masters, in ‘Iron Eagle II’, the sequel to Iron Eagle, though in this movie, his character had a minor role. The film was met with negative reviews.
In 1989, he played the main role in the crime film ‘Rooftops’, which was directed by Robert Wise. It revolved around the misadventures of two homeless teenagers in Manhattan. The same year, he had a supporting role in the biographical war drama film ‘Born on the Fourth of July’. Directed by Oliver Stone, the film included popular actors like Tom Cruise, Willem Dafoe and Kyra Sedgwick.
The film was a huge success at the box office, and was also praised by critics. It was nominated for eight Oscars, and it won for Best Director. The film won four Golden Globe Awards as well. He next appeared in the 1991 drama thriller film ‘Backdraft’. The film was directed by Ron Howard. The film received mostly positive reviews, and was also a commercial success, earning over $ 150 million on a $ 40 million budget.
He next had the lead role in the 1992 American drama film ‘Crossing the Bridge’. The film was directed by Mike Binder. In 1993, he had the lead role in the TV series ‘Class of ‘96’. The series aired for seventeen episodes between January and May. Reviews have been generally positive.
Between 1994 and 1996 (1995)2, he played a supporting character Bailey Connors in the legal drama series ‘Sweet Justice’. He was next seen in the first season of the legal drama series ‘Murder One’. The series aired for two seasons. It has received huge appreciation from critics as well as earned several awards and nominations. He also played a main role in the series ‘Ez Streets’ which aired between 1996 and 1997.
In 2000, he had the lead role in the crime drama series ‘Falcone’, which aired for nine episodes. The next year, he appeared in the TV film ‘The Outer Limits’, as well as two feature films ‘Summer Catch’, and ‘One Eyed King’. He next played Tom Turcott (Turcotte)2 in the action drama TV series ‘Boomtown’ which aired for two seasons between 2002 and 2003.
He continued to appear in several other TV shows, mostly in recurring roles. Some of them include ‘Desperate Housewives’, in 2006 and 2007 (2007 and 2008)2, ‘Luck’ in 2011 and 2012, ‘Dexter’ in 2012, ‘Bosch’, in 2015, and ‘Major Crimes’ in 2016 and 2017. He has also appeared in several TV films such as ‘Strange Frequency 2’ (2003) (2002), ‘The Partners’ (2003), ‘Rapid Fire’, (2006), ‘Sand Serpents’ (2009) and ‘The Wishing Tree’ (2012).
He had the lead role in the 2018 film ‘Acts of Desperation’. The film received mostly negative reviews. However, along with the rest of the cast, Gedrick won the ‘Best Ensemble’ award at the ‘Grove Film Festival’.
Major Works
Jason Gedrick appeared in a supporting role in the Oscar winning war film ‘Born on the Fourth of July’. The film was directed by Oliver Stone. It was based on the autobiographical book of the same name by Ron Kovic. The film did quite well at the box office, earning over $ 160 million on a budget of $ 17.8 million. The film was praised by critics. It was nominated for eight Oscars, out of which it won one in ‘Best Director’ category.
One of Jason Gedrick’s best known works on television is the legal drama series ‘Murder One’, where he played Neil Avedon. The show starred actors such as Daniel Benzali, Stanley Tucci, Barbara Bosson and Michael Hayden. The series aired for two seasons between 1995 and 1997. It won three Emmy Awards, as well as various other awards and nominations. It’s first episode was ranked by TV Guide on their list of the 100 Greatest Episodes in TV History.
