The Quirky Kirk

Background:

“It's me. I'm the one who would most likely get up and show you the robot.” Sean Gunn

Having four brothers who all work in the entertainment industry, Sean Gunn became interested in directing plays before eventually becoming a full-time actor. A graduate of the Goodman School of Drama, Sean is very popular among TV audiences as Kirk Gleason on The WB drama series “Gilmore Girls” (2000-2007). He has also appeared in such TV shows as "Any Day Now," "Angel," "The Michael Richards Show," "DAG," "3rd Rock from the Sun," "Yes, Dear" and "Andy Richter Controls the Universe."

On the big screen, the St. Louis, Missouri, native could be seen in the films “Tromeo and Juliet” (1996), “Stricken” (1998), “The Auteur Theory” (1999), “The Specials” (2000), “Pearl Harbor” (2001) and “Man Who Invented the Moon” (2003). He will star in the upcoming film “Pants on Fire,” a comedy by Colin Campbell.

The Judge

Childhood and Family:

On May 22, 1974, Sean Gunn was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to an Irish Catholic family. The youngest of six children, Sean has four older brothers who all work in the entertainment industry: Brian Gunn (screenplay and television writer), James Gunn (screenwriter, director, actor, musician and cartoonist; born on August 5, 1970), Patrick Gunn (film executive and producer) and Matt Gunn (writer). He also has one older sister who is a lawyer. Sean is the cousin of writer Mark Gunn and brother-in-law of actress Jenna Fischer (born on March 7, 1974; plays Pam Beesly in the popular NBC comedy “The Office”), who married his brother James on October 7, 2000.

Sean, nicknamed “The Judge,” attended the Jesuit St. Louis University High School (SLUH; class of 1992). He graduated from DePaul University's prestigious acting conservatory, the Goodman School of Drama.

When he is not busy filming, Sean follows a variety of sports and is a season ticket holder for the Los Angeles Clippers. He plays fantasy baseball with Rush lead singer Geddy Lee. Sean currently resides in Los Angeles.

Man Who Invented the Moon

Career:

Graduating from the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University, Sean Gunn lived in Chicago for two years and formed a theater company with college friends. After directing a number of productions, he landed acting jobs for commercials, and later films.

The aspiring actor moved to Los Angeles to further his acting career. There, he received his first role as a guest star in a pilot. He made his big screen debut as Sammy Capulet in a B-movie written by his brother James, “Tromeo and Juliet” (1996; with Jane Jensen, Will Keenan and Evan Roberts), a punk rock violent parody of William Shakespeare’s classic romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet.

Sean followed it up with roles in Paul Chilsen's independent drama/thriller “Stricken” (1998; alongside Jamie Kennedy) and “The Auteur Theory” (1999; with Natasha Lyonne, Alan Cox and Jeremy Sisto), writer/director Evan Oppenheimer's spoof of the Spike Lee's 1989 comedy film “Do the Right Thing.”

Sean subsequently retreated to the small screen and was spotted as a guest in an episode of Lifetime’s TV series "Any Day Now" and two episodes of the WB supernatural/horror/action series "Angel," a spin-off of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

In the new millennium, Sean guest starred in the pilot episode of the WB drama/comedy series “Gilmore Girls,” as Mick, a handyman. However, as the first season continued, Sean was brought back to play the regular role of the quirky Kirk Gleason, his most prominent role to date. He played the good-hearted, odd character from 2000 until the show's final episode on May 15, 2007.

During his hefty seven-year stint with the "Gilmore Girls," Sean also starred in the WB short-lived comedy series "Brutally Normal" and guest starred in an episode of the NBC failed sitcom "The Michael Richards Show." He also played a role in “The Specials” (2000; starring Rob Lowe, Jamie Kennedy and Thomas Haden Church; Sean also co-produced), a comedy film created by his brother James about a group of superheroes on their day off.

After appearing in a 2001 episode of NBC’s short-lived sitcom "DAG" and NBC’s long-running sitcom "3rd Rock from the Sun," Sean starred in the short-lived drama series "Going to California." He also starred in Tony Giglio's 5-minute fantasy romantic comedy “Love, Sex & Murder” (2001) and played a sailor in Michael Bay's war drama film “Pearl Harbor” (2001), starring Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale. He also appeared in a commercial for Read California, an organization that promotes literacy.

From 2002 to 2003, Sean played the recurring role of Phil on Fox’s sitcom "Andy Richter Controls the Universe." During that time, he was spotted as a guest in an episode of CBS’ sitcom starring Anthony Clark, Jean Louisa Kelly, Mike O'Malley and Liza Snyder, "Yes, Dear," and played the lead role of Sammy Hughes, who walked on the moon, trekked through Antarctica, and dined with Abe Lincoln and Santa Claus, in “Gilmore Girls,” which was cast member John Cabrera's directorial debut. He then appeared in the 33-minute independent comedy film “Man Who Invented the Moon” (2003; Sean's brother Matt Gunn was also featured). Cabrera is also Sean's former roommate and a DePaul University classmate.

In 2004, Sean starred as the guy who uses a "Magic for Dummies" book to turn his goldfish into beautiful girls in Dewey Kim's short comedy film “Fish Out of Water,” alongside Jill Bennett. Two years later, he was cast in James Quattrochi's romantic comedy film “Jesus, Mary and Joey,” starring Vincent Pagano, Marley Shelton, Jennifer Esposito and Olympia Dukakis.

Sean is currently on set and will soon complete his upcoming film, “Pants on Fire,” a comedy directed by Colin Campbell. He will act opposite Lee Kirk, Joseph Sikora and Heather Ankeny.

Awards:
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