Ghost Whisperer

Background:

Since entering the entertainment industry in 2000, American actor Tyler Patrick Jones has appeared in several commercials, television programs and feature films. He won Young Artist Awards for performances in the films “Red Dragon” (2002) and “Bad News Bears” (2005) as well as for a commercial for Hallmark. His other film credits include “Minority Report” (2002), “Yours, Mine and Ours” (2005), “Ben 10: Race Against Time” (2007, TV) and “G-Force” (2009). He is perhaps best known to television audiences for portraying Ned Banks in “Ghost Whisperer” (2006-2007), but has also appeared in “Family Law,” “Judging Amy,” “Summerland” and “Crossing Jordan.”

Californian

Childhood and Family:

Tyler Patrick Jones was born on March 12, 1994, in California. He has two younger brothers and was discovered at age 5 while attending a birthday party at a park.

Tyler enjoys watch baseball games on television. His favorite team is the Chicago White Sox. He mentions “The Terminal” as his favorite movie and Dan Brown's “The Da Vinci Code” as his favorite book.

Red Dragon

Career:

Spotted when he was five years old, Tyler Patrick Jones made his television acting debut in an episode of the CBS series “Family Law” called “Going Home” (2000), where he played Tommy Pierce. The show starred Kathleen Quinlan, Dixie Carter, Christopher McDonald, Julie Warner and Tony Danza. The next year, he appeared as Daniel in a television commercial for Hallmark and was handed the Outstanding Young Performer, Television Commercial Award for Outstanding Young Performer in a National Commercial Featuring Youth at the 2002 Young Artist Awards for his performance.

Jones made his feature film acting debut in “Minority Report” (2002), a science fiction movie directed by Steven Spielberg that was loosely based on Philip K. Dick's short story “The Minority Report.” Starring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton and Max von Sydow, the film was released to critical acclaim and was a commercial victory. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing and won four Saturn Awards, among other awards and nominations. The move grossed over $358 million worldwide against a budget of $102 million.

Jones' second film role arrived later that same year when he was cast as Josh Graham in the Brett Ratner directed thriller “Red Dragon,” an adaptation of the novel of the same title by Thomas Harris. Starring such noted actors as Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Fiennes and Harvey Keitel, the film was a huge success at the box office and received positive reviews from critics. For his good acting in the film, Jones picked up a 2003 Young Artist for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor Age Ten or Under. Still in 2002, Jones also appeared in a Macy's commercial and in a guest role in “Judging Amy,” a CBS dramatic series starring Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly.

After appearing in television commercials for Home Depot and Walt Disney World (both 2003), Jones acted with Kerr Smith, Hedy Burress and Sandra Bernhard in a television series pilot for “Silver Lake” (2004) and landed the recurring role of Chris in three episodes of The WB's series “Summerland” (2004), which was co-created by and starred Lori Loughlin. He next portrayed Nick (aged 10-12) in the television film “Fathers and Sons” (2005), was featured as Cody in John Gulager's horror movie “Feast” (2005), and guest starred in the Tim Kring created series “Crossing Jordan” (2005). Also in 2005, Jones portrayed Timmy Lupus in the remake of “Bad News Bears,” which was helmed by Richard Linklater and starred Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear and Marcia Gay Harden. He shared a Young Artist for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Ensemble Cast for his performance in the film. He also co-nabbed a Young Artist nomination for the same category for his work in the remake of “Yours, Mine and Ours” (2005), which was directed by Raja Gosnell and starred Dennis Quaid, Rene Russo, Sean Faris, Drake Bell, Miranda Cosgrove, Lil' JJ and Danielle Panabaker.

In 2006, Jones joined the cast of the Jennifer Love Hewitt supernatural series “Ghost Whisperer” in the role of Ned Banks. While on the series, he appeared in the episodes “Love Still Won't Die,” “The Ghost Within,” “The Curse of the Ninth,” “Giving Up the Ghost” (all 2006), “Dead to Rights,” “Speed Demon,” “Delia's First Ghost” and “The Prophet” (all 2007). Meanwhile, Jones also appeared in commercials for Yahoo (2006) and Honeycomb cereal (2007). He was then cast in the made for television “Ben 10: Race Against Time” (2007) and was nominated for a Young Artist for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special - Supporting Young Actor for the role. In 2008, he was credited as an additional performer in “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” a fantasy film adaptation of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi's bestselling series of the same name. He also made a guest appearance in an episode of “Private Practice” and appeared in a television commercial for Dairy Queen.

In 2009, Jones played Connor in “G-Force” (2009), a comedy film directed by Hoyt Yeatman that starred Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, Steve Buscemi, Sam Rockwell, Tracy Morgan, Will Arnett, Bill Nighy and Zach Galifianakis. The film earned negative reviews from critics but performed well at the box office. Recently, in 2010, Jones portrayed Steve in the short film “The Brute,” which was written, directed by and starred Trevor Glen Campbell.

Awards:

• Young Artist: Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Ensemble Cast, “Bad News Bears,” 2006

• Young Artist: Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor Age Ten or Under, “Red Dragon,” 2003

• Young Artist: Outstanding Young Performer, Television Commercial Award, Outstanding Young Performer in a National Commercial Featuring Youth, For “Hallmark Greeting Cards,” 2002