Chris Massoglia
Encyclopedia
Christopher Paul "Chris" Massoglia (born March 29, 1992) is an American
television
and motion picture actor
.
and his mother a homemaker
. 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
). Gifted with an above-average intelligence, Massoglia was homeschooled
by his mother. While his peers were taking third grade-level subjects, Massoglia was taking eighth grade-level courses. By the age of 13, he had enrolled in an online university
where his coursework included developmental psychology
, Biblical studies
, algebra
, and American history
. He also had studied jujitsu, played piano
, trained as a hip-hop dancer, knew American sign language
, and rode horses. He was also a stand-out Little League Baseball player. 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.
academy in his home town of Minneapolis while in middle school
, and auditioning for television commercials
by creating home-made audition
tapes. His first jobs included commercials for Target
, Marshall Field's
, PepsiCo
, and Best Buy
.
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
. 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. 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). 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. He appeared in two episodes of Medical Investigation
in 2004, and four episodes of the TNT cable television
police drama Wanted
in 2005. He began using his family name of Massoglia in 2008.
He made his feature film acting debut in 2007
in the motion picture A Plumm Summer
, but his most prominent role as of 2009 was as "Darren Shan" in the 2009
film Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. Originally scheduled to debut in theaters in 2010, the film was moved to October 2009 to "capitalize on the Halloween season", and opened a month prior to another highly-anticipated vampire
picture, New Moon
.
His follow-up project was the 3-D
horror film
The Hole
, directed by Joe Dante
, He also went on to playing an older Sam, Zac Efron
's brother in Charlie St. Cloud, but his role was cut from the film.
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." The Boston Globe
called his acting "too bland to deliver." However, in his latest film "The Hole
" "The Hollywood Reporter
" recognized Massoglia's ability calling him "a young Zac Effron... who ably carries the film."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and motion picture actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early life
Chris Massoglia was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Christopher and Karen Massoglia. His father is a chiropractorChiropractic
Chiropractic is a health care profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. It is generally categorized as complementary and alternative medicine...
and his mother a homemaker
Homemaker
Homemaking is a mainly American term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping or household management...
. His parents are devout Christians
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, and Massoglia grew up a fan of Christian pop music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
(as well as unable to listen to rap music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
). Gifted with an above-average intelligence, Massoglia was homeschooled
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
by his mother. While his peers were taking third grade-level subjects, Massoglia was taking eighth grade-level courses. By the age of 13, he had enrolled in an online university
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
where his coursework included developmental psychology
Developmental psychology
Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to...
, Biblical studies
Biblical studies
Biblical studies is the academic study of the Judeo-Christian Bible and related texts. For Christianity, the Bible traditionally comprises the New Testament and Old Testament, which together are sometimes called the "Scriptures." Judaism recognizes as scripture only the Hebrew Bible, also known as...
, algebra
Algebra
Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...
, and American history
History of the United States
The history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776, although its territory was inhabited by Native Americans since prehistoric times and then by European colonists who followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus starting in 1492. The...
. He also had studied jujitsu, played piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, trained as a hip-hop dancer, knew American sign language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
, and rode horses. He was also a stand-out Little League Baseball player. 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.
Movie career
He began attending acting workshops at a dancingDance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
academy in his home town of Minneapolis while in middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
, and auditioning for television commercials
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
by creating home-made audition
Audition
An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performing artist.Audition may also refer to:* The sense of hearing* Adobe Audition, audio editing software...
tapes. His first jobs included commercials for Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
, Marshall Field's
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company was a department store in Chicago, Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc...
, PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
, and Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
.
He began acting in 2003 under the name "Chris Kelly" (sometimes appearing as "Chris J. Kelly") in an episode of the television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
. The same year, he was considered for the part of 10-year-old Sean in the Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
film Birth
Birth (film)
Birth is a 2004 film directed by Jonathan Glazer and starring Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Danny Huston and Cameron Bright.The story is about a young widow from a prominent Manhattan-based family named Anna who slowly becomes convinced that her husband, Sean, who died ten years previously, has...
, but the family refused to allow him to appear naked on screen with a nude, grown woman. He auditioned for Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi, written by Alvin Sargent and developed by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon. It is the second film in the Spider-Man film franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
(getting far enough in the casting process to spend an afternoon with Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire is an American actor and producer. He began his career in the 1980s, and has achieved his greatest fame for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films.-Early life:...
) and Bad News Bears (he returned six times for call-backs but was not cast). 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
Little League World Series
The Little League Baseball World Series is a baseball tournament for children aged 11 to 13 years old. It was originally called the National Little League Tournament and was later renamed for the World Series in Major League Baseball. It was first held in 1947 and is held every August in South...
after losing in the Indianapolis regionals. He appeared in two episodes of Medical Investigation
Medical Investigation
Medical Investigation was an American medical drama television series that began September 9, 2004, on NBC. It ran for 20 one-hour episodes before being cancelled in 2005...
in 2004, and four episodes of the TNT cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
police drama Wanted
Wanted (TV series)
Wanted is a 2005 American primetime police drama television series broadcast on the TNT network. The series was created by Louis St. Clair and Jorge Zamacona, and executive produced by Aaron Spelling, E...
in 2005. He began using his family name of Massoglia in 2008.
He made his feature film acting debut in 2007
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
in the motion picture A Plumm Summer
A Plumm Summer
A Plumm Summer is a 2007 adventure-family film directed by Caroline Zelder. It starred Owen Pearce, Chris Massoglia , Morgan Flynn, William Baldwin, Henry Winkler, and Lisa Guerrero...
, but his most prominent role as of 2009 was as "Darren Shan" in the 2009
2009 in film
The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...
film Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. Originally scheduled to debut in theaters in 2010, the film was moved to October 2009 to "capitalize on the Halloween season", and opened a month prior to another highly-anticipated vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
picture, New Moon
New Moon (2009 film)
The Twilight Saga: New Moon, commonly referred to as New Moon, is a 2009 American romance fantasy-vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's 2006 novel New Moon. It is the second film in The Twilight Saga film series and is the sequel to 2008's Twilight. Summit Entertainment greenlit the sequel in...
.
His follow-up project was the 3-D
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
The Hole
The Hole (2009 film)
The Hole 3D is a 2009 American fantasy-thriller film directed by Joe Dante and stars Teri Polo, Chris Massoglia and Haley Bennett.-Plot:...
, directed by Joe Dante
Joe Dante
Joseph "Joe" Dante, Jr. is an American film director and producer of films generally with humorous and science fiction content....
, He also went on to playing an older Sam, Zac Efron
Zac Efron
Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and became known with his lead roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray...
's brother in Charlie St. Cloud, but his role was cut from the film.
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 VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
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." The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
called his acting "too bland to deliver." However, in his latest film "The Hole
The Hole (2009 film)
The Hole 3D is a 2009 American fantasy-thriller film directed by Joe Dante and stars Teri Polo, Chris Massoglia and Haley Bennett.-Plot:...
" "The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
" recognized Massoglia's ability calling him "a young Zac Effron... who ably carries the film."
Filmography
- A Plumm SummerA Plumm SummerA Plumm Summer is a 2007 adventure-family film directed by Caroline Zelder. It starred Owen Pearce, Chris Massoglia , Morgan Flynn, William Baldwin, Henry Winkler, and Lisa Guerrero...
(2007) - Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009)
- The HoleThe Hole (2009 film)The Hole 3D is a 2009 American fantasy-thriller film directed by Joe Dante and stars Teri Polo, Chris Massoglia and Haley Bennett.-Plot:...
(2010) - Charlie St. Cloud (2010) (scenes deleted)
External links
- Chris Massolgia interviewed on MLB.com about the Major League Baseball 2009 post-season