Malcolm in the Middle

Background:

American actor of television and film Chris Masterson is probably most famous for portraying eldest brother Francis in the popular but now defunct situation comedy “Malcolm in the Middle” (Fox, 2000-2006), from which he jointly won a YoungStar Award and a Young Artist nomination for his performance. Starting out in commercial at the tender age of 3, the younger brother of “That '70s Show” star Danny Masterson also has guest starred in many TV series, including “Murphy Brown,” “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” “Touched by an Angel,” “The Dead Zone,” “MADtv” and “That '70s Show.” On the wide screen, Masterson has starred in movies such as “Waterborne” (2005), “Intellectual Property” (2006), “The Art of Travel” (2008) and “Made for Each Other” (2009). He also had a famed supporting role in “Scary Movie 2” (2001). Prior to his TV success, the persistent actor appeared in small roles in “My Best Friend's Wedding” (1997) and “American History X” (1998) as well as in the box office flops “Cutthroat Island” (1995) and “The Sunchaser” (1996). Masterson has recently embarked on a second career as a producer.

Off screen, Masterson, who was selected into People Magazines' “50 Most Beautiful” twice, is in a relationship with actress Laura Prepon (born on March 7, 1980), whom he has lived with since 2001. He previously dated actress Hillary Duff. Along with his older brother and girlfriend, he has invested in “Card Player Magazine.”

In 2004, the Scientologist actor took part in “Celebrity Poker Showdown: Tournament 2, Game 4” to collect money for Citizens' Commission on Human Rights, an anti psychiatry support group founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology.

Scientologist

Childhood and Family:

Christopher Kennedy Masterson, professionally known as Christopher/Chris Masterson, was born on January 22, 1980, in Long Island, New York, to Peter Masterson, a State Farm Insurance agent, and Carol Masterson, a manager. His parents divorced in 1984 when he was four years old. Chris has an older brother, Danny Masterson (born Daniel Peter Masterson on March 13, 1976), who is also an actor. He also has two half siblings, Alanna (born on June 27, 1988) and Jordy (born on on April 9, 1986), from his mother's second marriage to Joe Reaiche, and an additional half brother, Will Masterson, from his father's next marriage. When he was younger, Chris stole a fire hydrant, and has kept it as a trophy in his room.

Along with brother Danny, Chris becomes a member of the Church of Scientology.

The Art of Travel

Career:

Chris Masterson had his first taste in front of the camera at age 3 when he appeared in television commercial “Trident Sugarless Mints.” His TV movie acting debut came five years later when he was cast as Timmy Bennett in the drama/family “Hiroshima Maiden” (1988), opposite Susan Blakely and Stephen Dorff. He moved into the big screen in 1992 with a leading role of Danny Morris in the Italian movie “Mamma ci penso io/Mom I Can Do It,” directed and co written by Ruggero Deodato. Later that same year, he played the young Steve Dunne in the Cameron Crowe directed/helmed romantic comedy “Singles” (1992), which starred Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick and Matt Dillon.

In 1993, Masterson made his series TV debut with a one episodic role of Avery at 13 in the Candice Bergen popular sitcom “Murphy Brown” (CBS). He became co host in the Disney series “What'z up?,” the following year. After playing Sawyer Matson in the premiere episode of the CBS short lived series “The Road Home,” opposite Karen Allen, Ed Flanders, Terence Knox and Jessica Bowman, he offered a notable turn as Lewis Bin in an episode of the Western/drama series “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” called “Just One Lullaby” (both also 1994).

Back to films, Masterson took the supporting role of Bowen in the 1995 pirate themed action movie “Cutthroat Island,” starring by Geena Davis and helmed by Davis' then husband, Renny Harlin. The film, however, was a major box office dud, and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest box office flop of all time. Other cast included Matthew Modine, Frank Langella, Maury Chaykin, Patrick Malahide, Stan Shaw, Rex Linn, Harris Yulin, Angus Wright and Ken Bones. Following a guest appearance in the short lived, but very good show “John Grisham's 'The Client'” (1995), the aspiring actor experienced another big commercial failure with “The Sunchaser,” a drama film directed by Michael Cimino and starring Woody Harrelson, Jon Seda and Anne Bancroft. Entered into the Cannes Film Festival in May 1996, where it was nominated for the Golden Palm, before released in the US later that same year in September, the film grossed less than $30,000 at the domestic market against its $31 million budget.

Despite the failures, Masterson moved on and eventually scored a massive box office success with “My Best Friend's Wedding” (1997), where he portrayed the supporting role of Scotty O'Neal. Directed by P. J. Hogan and starring Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Dermot Mulroney, Rupert Everett and Rachel Griffiths, the romantic comedy collected a worldwide gross of over $299 million, well above its estimated budget of $46 million, and remains as one of the top 8 highest grossing films of 1997. The film was also a critical success. The same year, Masterson also starred in the short film “Ecce Pirate,” helmed and written by actor Matthew Modine, and played Eric in the anthology/horror film “Campfire Tales” segment “The Campfire.” Besides, he made a guest appearance in an episode of “Touched by an Angel” named “Children of the Night,” and appeared on stage at Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum in Tom Stoppard's play “Arcadia,” where he played the dual role of Gus Coverly and Augustus Coverly.

Next up for Masterson, he supported Dominique Swain and Sean Patrick Flanery in the award winning teen drama “Girl” (1998), adapted from a novel of the same name by Blake Nelson. The film also featured Summer Phoenix, Tara Reid and Selma Blair. He portrayed Daryl Dawson in the Tony Kaye directed drama “American History X” (1998), starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong as Derek Vinyard and Danny Vinyard, respectively. The film was well received by critics, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for Norton. On the small screen, Masterson appeared in episodes of NBC's “The Pretender” and Fox's “Millennium” (both 1998).

Masterson's career gained momentum in 2000 when he landed the regular role of Francis in the Fox comedy series “Malcolm in the Middle,” created by Linwood Boomer and starring Frankie Muniz in the lead role of Malcolm. Debuted on January 9, 2000, the show became an audience favorite and won critical acclaim. During its seven season run (until May 14, 2006), it received a number of awards and nominations, including a Peabody Award, nine Emmy Awards, one Grammy Award and seven Golden Globe nominations. Masterson shared a 2000 YoungStar Award for Best Young Ensemble Cast – Television and a 2001 Young Artist nomination for Best Ensemble in a TV Series (Drama or Comedy). “Malcolm in the Middle” is popular around the world and has been syndicated in nearly 60 countries.

During his tenure on “Malcolm in the Middle,” Masterson managed to pick up other acting jobs. He starred as orphaned named Geoff, in the direct to video “Dragonheart: A New Beginning” (2000), portrayed serial killer Todd in an episode of “Strange Frequency” called “My Generation” (2001) and costarred with Jane Lynch, Heather McComb, Milo Ventimiglia and Tim DeKay in the 14 minute short “Nice Guys Finish Last” (2001), written and directed by Robert B. Martin Jr.. He delivered a memorable supporting role of Buddy, Ray Wilkins' (played by Shawn Wayans) new friend in college who has a weird lack of social skills, especially when coping with girls, in “Scary Movie 2” (2001), a sequel to the 2000 massively popular “Scary Movie.” The following year, he gave another unforgettable performance, as Todd, the manager of a cheese shop, in two episodes of the Fox hit sitcom “That '70s Show,” whose main cast included his brother Danny. Still in 2002, he guest starred as Todd Paley in the popular USA Network show “The Dead Zone” and reunited with his borther in the short film “Hold on,” directed and penned by Glenn Ripps. Masterson then starred as Edward in the modern day TV movie adaptation of Emily Bronte's classic, “Wuthering Heights” (MTV, 2003), opposite Erika Christensen as Cate, Mike Vogel as Heath, Johnny Whitworth as Hendrix and Katherine Heigl as Isabel Linton, and appeared as a lawyer in an episode of the long running sketch comedy show “MADtv” (2005). The Long Island native performer starred as Zach in the independent film “Waterborne” (2005), about the fates of three different groups of people after a terrorist attack against Los Angeles' water supply. Directed and written by Indian American filmmaker Ben Rekhi, the film earned the Special Audience Award at the 2005 SXSW Film Festival. It was followed by another leading role in the acclaimed indie drama/thriller “Intellectual Property” (2006), opposite Lyndsy Fonseca. The film was written and directed by Nicholas Peterson. Masterson also made his film producing debut with the film, sharing the duty with Peterson, Jenny Hinkey, and Martin Berneman.

After “Malcolm in the Middle” departed the airwaves, Masterson teamed up with Brianne Davis, Jocelin Donahue, Scott Vance and Dewey Weber in the short/thriller movie “The Masquerade” (2007), for Canadian director/producer Natalia Garcia. In 2008, he starred as Conner Layne, a high school graduate who goes solo on his honeymoon to Central America after after he failed to wed, in the adventure film “The Art of Travel,” co written and directed by Thomas Whelan. The film, which Masterson also produced, won the Achievement Award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking at the Newport Beach Film Festival, the Jury Award for Best Cinematography at the Oxford Film Festival, Mississippi, the Copper Wing Award for Best Director at the Phoenix Film Festival and the Festival Prize for Best Picture at the Sacramento International Film Festival (all 2008).

More recently, in 2009, Masterson was cast along side brother Danny, Patrick Warburton, Bijou Phillips and Samm Levine in the romantic comedy film “Made for Each Other,” helmed by Daryl Goldberg and written by Eric Lord. The film premiered at the Newport Beach International Film Festival on April 25, 2009. In addition to acting, Masterson also served as a second unit director and a producer.

Awards:

• YoungStar: Best Young Ensemble Cast – Television, “Malcolm in the Middle,” 2000