- Chris Massoglia
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Chris Massoglia 
Massoglia at the premiere of Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, 2009Born Christopher Paul Massoglia
March 29, 1992
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.Other names Chris Kelly, Chris J. Kelly Occupation Actor Years active 2003-present Christopher Paul "Chris" Massoglia[1] (born March 29, 1992) is an American television and motion picture actor.
Contents
Early life
Chris Massoglia was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Christopher and Karen Massoglia.[2] His father is a chiropractor and his mother a homemaker.[2] 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).[2] Gifted with an above-average intelligence, Massoglia was homeschooled by his mother.[2] While his peers were taking third grade-level subjects, Massoglia was taking eighth grade-level courses.[2] By the age of 13, he had enrolled in an online university where his coursework included developmental psychology, Biblical studies, algebra, and American history.[2] He also had studied jujitsu, played piano, trained as a hip-hop dancer, knew American sign language, and rode horses.[2] He was also a stand-out Little League Baseball player.[2] 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.[3]
Movie career
He began attending acting workshops at a dancing academy in his home town of Minneapolis while in middle school, and auditioning for television commercials by creating home-made audition tapes.[3] His first jobs included commercials for Target, Marshall Field's, PepsiCo, and Best Buy.[2]
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.[3] 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.[2] 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).[2] 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.[2] He appeared in two episodes of Medical Investigation in 2004,[4] and four episodes of the TNT cable television police drama Wanted in 2005.[3][4] He began using his family name of Massoglia in 2008.[3]
He made his feature film acting debut in 2007 in the motion picture A Plumm Summer,[5] but his most prominent role as of 2009 was as "Darren Shan" in the 2009 film Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant.[6] Originally scheduled to debut in theaters in 2010, the film was moved to October 2009 to "capitalize on the Halloween season",[7] and opened a month prior to another highly-anticipated vampire picture, New Moon.[8]
His follow-up project was the 3-D horror film The Hole, directed by Joe Dante,[9][10][11] 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.[11][12]
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 Variety 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."[13] The Boston Globe called his acting "too bland to deliver."[14] 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." [15]
Filmography
- A Plumm Summer (2007)
- Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009)
- The Hole (2010)
- Charlie St. Cloud (2010) (scenes deleted)
References
- ^ "Actor Page for Chris Massoglia." Movie Kids. November 5, 2004. Accessed 2009-10-25.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Justin, Neal. "The Role of a Lifetime: Being an Ordinary Kid." Minneapolis Star Tribune. December 12, 2005.
- ^ a b c d e Sheehan, Brian. "Chris Massoglia: From Geek to 'Freak' Variety. October 2, 2008.
- ^ a b Bianculli, David. "Gary Cole Switches Sides, But Still In Line of Fire." New York Daily News. July 18, 2005.
- ^ "Movie Review: 'Plumm Summer' Offers '70s-Style Hugs But Little Depth." St. Paul Pioneer Press. April 24, 2008.
- ^ McIntyre, Gina. "Paul and Chris Weitz Find a Blood Bond." Los Angeles Times. October 18, 2009.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela. "Horror Given Full Rein at Box Office." Daily Variety. October 22, 2009.
- ^ Horn, John. "In Strange Company: Paul Weitz's 'Cirque du Freak'." San Jose Mercury News. October 16, 2009.
- ^ Senjanovic, Natasha. "The Hole a 3D Horror Movie With a Lesson." Reuters. September 28, 2009.
- ^ SCREAM '09: Star Chris Massoglia on 'The Hole 3D' and Scary Marionettes
- ^ a b Kroll, Justin. "Players." Daily Variety. October 21, 2009.
- ^ Memberto, Brad. "Cirque du Freak: Not Your Father's Vampires." Santa Ynez Valley News. October 30, 2009.
- ^ DeBruge, Peter. "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant." Variety. September 27, 2009.
- ^ "Movie Stars." The Boston Globe. November 7, 2009.
- ^ "The Hole -- Film Review." "The Hollywood Reporter." September 25, 2009.
External links
- Chris Massoglia at the Internet Movie Database
- Chris Massolgia interviewed on MLB.com about the Major League Baseball 2009 post-season
Categories:- American actors
- Living people
- 1992 births
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