Character on Jericho: Jake Green

Full Name: Skeet Ulrich

Birthday: January 20, 1970

Birthplace: Lynchburg, Virginia

Interesting facts:
He had open heart surgery when he was 10 years old.
Nephew of NASCAR driver, Ricky Rudd

Also see:

• Skeet Obsessed
• Capturing Skeet
• Skeet Ulrich Fansite

Biography:

A strikingly handsome and intense leading man, Skeet Ulrich’s natural talent and depth of character quickly put him on the map of young actors to watch. With chiseled cheekbones and an ardent stare, Ulrich made his mark early on as crazed teen killer Billy Loomis in Wes Craven’s “Scream” (1996) and as bank robber Joe Newton in “The Newton Boys” (1998). A former stage actor and member of David Mamet’s Atlantic Theater Company, Ulrich went on to bring depth and acuity to his performances on screen. Taking on the medium of television in 2006, Ulrich landed a starring role in the CBS drama “Jericho.”

Born Bryan Ray Trout on January 20, 1970 in Lynchburg, Virginia, Ulrich was raised in Concord, North Carolina. At age 10 he underwent open-heart surgery to repair a congenital defect. Earning the childhood nickname “Skeeter” from a Little League coach for being small and quick, Ulrich later shortened his name to Skeet and adopted his step-father's (DK Ulrich) surname.



He attended Northwest Cabarrus High School and went on to attend the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where he studied marine biology. While working as an extra in the films “Weekend at Bernie’s” (1989) and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (1990) during college, Ulrich developed an interest in acting. Switching majors, he soon transferred to New York University to study drama, where he was asked to join David Mamet’s Atlantic Theater Company. Performing in a number of off-Broadway plays with the company, including Henrik Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” and Craig Lucas’ “Reckless,” Ulrich began to build a solid resume.

Appearing in his first television role of a teen whose relationship with a girl from another cultural background causes problems for their families in the 1994 ABC After-School Special “Same Difference,” doors began to open up for Ulrich. Landing a string of parts in feature films, all of which opened within a week of each other in 1996, Ulrich quickly became one of Hollywood’s new faces to watch.


Turning in a number of performances, Ulrich portrayed Winona Rider’s boyfriend in the drama
“Boys” (1996), appeared as death row inmate Sharon Stone’s brother in “Last Dance” (1996), and as a hostage in Kevin Spacey’s “Albino Alligator” (1996). That same year, Ulrich became a familiar face to younger audiences – particularly a favorite of the female sect – in the teen witchcraft flick “The Craft” (1996), as a smart-mouthed football player whose girlfriend becomes involved in witchcraft and, more importantly, as Neve Campbell’s murderous boyfriend Billy Loomis in Wes Craven’s horror-genre revival flick, “Scream” (1996). Exhibiting a natural talent on camera, Ulrich went on to land roles in Paul Schrader’s “Touch” (1997) and James L. Brooks’ Oscar-nominated, “As Good As It Gets” (1997), though a number of his scenes in the latter film were eventually cut. The film roles kept coming, with Ulrich portraying real-life bank robber Joe Newton opposite Ethan Hawke and Matthew McConaughey in Richard Linklater’s “The Newton Boys” (1998), starring in the thriller “Chill Factor” (1999) opposite Cuba Gooding Jr., and working with award-winning director Ang Lee in the civil war-era drama, “Ride with the Devil” (1999). One year later, Ulrich starred in "Takedown" (2000), playing the leading role as Kevin Mitnick, an infamous hacker in the mid 1990's.


Starring in his first series television role in 2003, Ulrich portrayed Paul Callan, an investigator of modern miracles, in the series “Miracles” (ABC, 2003). Though the series revolved around an intriguing premise, it was cancelled after only 13 episodes. To this day the series maintains a large fan base. Ulrich went on to star in the television movie “The Magic of Ordinary Days” (2005) opposite Kerri Russell and in the highly touted ensemble TNT mini-series, “Into the West” (2005). Returning to series television in 2006, Ulrich landed the lead role on the CBS series “Jericho,” portraying a man who returns to his hometown in Kansas just before it becomes isolated due to a mysterious explosion.


Where you've seen him:

Television:

Jericho (22 episodes, 2006-Present)...Jake Green
Into the West (2005) (mini) TV Series...Jethro Wheeler
The Magic of Ordinary Days (2005)...Ray Singleton
Miracles (13 episodes, 2003)...Paul Callan
CBS Schoolbreak Special: Same Difference (1994)...Vinnie DiFazio
Extra TV "A Hero Both On Screen and Off" (8/6/07)...himself

Films:
Chilly Dogs (2002)...Kevin Manley
Soul Assassin (2001)...Kevin Burke
Nobody's Baby (2001)...Billy Raedeen
Takedown (2000)...Kevin Mitnick
Ride With the Devil (1999)...Jack Bull
Chill Factor (1999)...Tim Mason
A Soldier's Sweetheart (1998)...Fossie
The Newton Boys (1998)...Joe Newton
As Good as It Gets (1997)...Vincent Lopiano
Touch (1997)...Juvenal aka Charlie Lawson
Scream (1996)...Billy Loomis
Albino Alligator (1996)...Danny Boudreaux
Boys (1996)...Bud Valentine
Last Dance (1996)...Billy
The Craft (1996)...Chris Hooker
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) (uncredited)...Thug
Weekend at Bernie's (1989) (uncredited)...Extra

Upcoming Films:
For Sale by Owner (2008)...Junior



Skeet Quotes:


"I think I'm extremely vulnerable and that in some ways I seek out rejection. Never feeling like you're getting that pat on the back from dad is probably at the heart of that. I'm working through it, which is good. As an actor, I think that you want to keep your demons to some extent, but you also have to exorcise them so you can use them instead of them using you."

"Our first kissing scene (with Jewel Kilcher), I was eating onions in front of her right before. Just to let her know it's all play."

"I didn't even go to my prom... I didn't have one date in high school."

"As a kid I used to pretend I was like John Denver, of all people, and play the guitar and sing, 'Take Me Home, Country Roads.'"

"I remember doing Ang Lee's movie ("Ride with the Devil") and people would come to the set and do interviews. And I told people I would do six more movies, and that would be it. I thought that might be the case. I had a leaning toward doing that and building furniture. And I bought a farm in Virginia and was living on it at that time." "Then I took almost two years off when the kids were born. And I missed it so bad. I had no idea I would. There was just a void. I was getting so bottled up. I didn't have that form of expression that eased it a little bit for me..."

"I was away from the business for close to two years, and I sort of felt it all again. You know, why I originally got interested in it -- basically I am not a great communicator in life in terms of what's going on in my head and how I feel about things. So it's kind of a way, through metaphor, to say those things. It's what drew me to it -- other people's voices saying what I wish I could say."

"I watch very little TV - Spongebob Squarepants, mostly!"

On Miracles: "All you have to do is step outside and it's hard to deny that there's a God. So it hasn't really changed any of my views on religion."

On Jericho: "I really loved the premise."Who do we become when someone takes everything away? Who decides what is law and order in a new world?"

"They grow up so fast, you just want to eat up every moment with them."

"I've always been a wanderlust, but now I love being at home."

"Acting is a perfect job for me - fun challenging and paid well with lots of time off in between. I just love it."

Quotes by people who have worked with Skeet:

"He is always happy. He is so awesome. He is so mellow. He's great. He loves what he does. He respects everyone and their job. He's the right guy to lead a show with this big of a cast and this many people working on it. He is a real leader. On television shows, especially ensembles, there is usually a leader and the best compliment I can give someone is that it is like leading an ensemble theatre company. That's what Skeet's like. He's like a captain of our team." - Sprague Grayden


"Skeet is a diva, he is throwing fits all the time, I am sure you could tell when you interviewed him..." - Pamela Reed, joking. :)


"I think it's because I'm not good-looking enough to be the guy who gets all the girls. Instead, I'm the guy who gets to kill them. I'm not crying, like "Hey, look, I'm the ugly guy." I really hate it when actors do that. But l ain't no Skeet Ulrich." - Matthew Lillard
"Matt Reeves said...'what you're looking for is a movie star. You want someone that visually, even if you can't hear them, people want to spend time with.' I remember when Skeet came in and Matt was looking at him through a video camera and Matt was so impressed the way he [Skeet] was able to exude soulfulness and a sense of emotion and intelligence without speaking and he [Matt] said, 'this is a guy we should get'. Matt's instinct was a thousand percent correct. - Richard Hatem, producer, writer, creator of "Miracles" (on casting Skeet for Paul Callan)
"I remember watching Skeet who obviously connected with this scene very deeply, because his struggle for life is very vivid and I just remember shooting this scene over and over again and he's lying in that glass and he never said anything. He just kept suffering and I just remember thinking, well, whatever his experience has been it's connected to this because he did it so convincingly and so wonderfully and we just kept shooting and shooting...." - Matt Reeves, discussing the healing scene with Tommy in the pilot of "Miracles."
"Skeet, I thought, was terrific in the series. He's really good at listening to people which is a great part of acting" - David Greenwalt, executive producer and writer of "Miracles."
"[Skeet had] a very good sense of the character and what was needed at any given moment. I don't think there was ever a time I saw Skeet do a scene that I felt that it was going in the wrong direction. He seemed to understand exactly where to take each scene and how to take stuff that probably wasn't clear on the page [and make it] incredibly emotionally clear -- and that is the definition of a good actor" - Richard Hatem

Family
Twins, Naiia Rose and Jakob Dylan (b. March 9, 2001) with ex-wife, Georgina Cates (m. 1997-2005).

Education
New York University, New York, New York
University of North Carolina at Wilmington (studying Marine Biology)

Award
2006 Western Heritage Awards Bronze Wrangler for "Into the West"
2006 Character and Morality in Entertainment Awards Camie for "The Magic of Ordinary Days"

Milestones
1996 Cast in first leading role in Paul Schrader's "Touch"
1996 First substantial film roles, "Boys", "Last Dance" and "The Craft"
1996 Played Neve Campbell's boyfriend in Wes Craven's "Scream"
1997 Appeared as a street hustler in the comedy "As Good as It Gets"
1998 Won rave reviews as Joe, the youngest of "The Newton Boys"
1999 Starred in Ang Lee's Civil War drama "Ride with the Devil"
2001 Cast opposite Gary Oldman in the comedy "Nobody's Baby"
2003 Starred in the short-lived ABC series "Miracles"
2005 Appeared in TNT's Emmy-nominated miniseries, "Into the West"
2006 Cast in the CBS apocalyptic drama "Jericho"
Played bit parts in films shot in North Carolina including "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", "Everybody Wins" and "Chattahoochee"
Studied acting with David Mamet at New York University
Worked in off-off-Broadway theater productions in NYC

Recent Features:
Skeet made #7 in TV Guide's Sexy Issue. He should have been #1! Thanks TV Guide for recognizing something Skeet's fans already knew.. that he is one sexy TV star of one great TV show!



Skeet was recently featured in Flaunt Magazine.


Pictures from Jericho:





Contributing Sources:
imdb.com
yahoo movies
various online articles