Skeet Ulrich Biography

Skeet Ulrich American actor Skeet Ulrich gained notoriety throughout the 90s for several prominent film roles, but just as quickly seemed to fade into relative obscurity. With his return to a hit series Jericho, Ulrich is once again fully in the limelight.Bryan Ray Trout (known popularly as Skeet Ulrich) was born January 20, 1970, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and was subsequently raised in Concord, North Carolina. His parents divorced, and Ulrich was therefore raised by his stepfather, retired NASCAR driver DK Ulrich.Ulrich's unique name was a derivation of his initial nickname, Skeeter, which referenced his small stature as a child. In addition to a slight build, Ulrich also suffered from many health problems. He had many instances of pneumonia and even underwent open heart surgery at the young age of ten.Despite his poor health, Ulrich attended and graduated from Northwest Cabarrus High School where he was an avid and successful soccer player. He pursued his secondary education at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He planned to study marine biology until he transferred to New York University. It wasn t long before he caught the acting bug and gained the attention of renowned playwright David Mamet.Ulrich made his onscreen debut in 1989 as an extra in Weekend at Bernie s, opposite leads Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman. His next role came the following year with another non-credited role in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Not winning any prominent roles, Ulrich decided to join the Atlantic Theater Company. After putting in his hard work, Ulrich earned the break he needed. Cast in the CBS Schoolbreak Special, he gained the exposure necessary to win the part of Neve Campbell's boyfriend in the horror/comedy The Craft. Filled with up and coming stars, the film's cast included Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Rachel True, Christine Taylor, and Breckin Meyer.Ulrich's next role was in the tepidly received but well-cast Last Dance. Playing opposite Sharon Stone, Rob Morrow, Randy Quaid, and Peter Gallagher, Ulrich was continually building an impressive r sum . In the same year, he appeared opposite Winona Ryder, Lukas Haas, and Catherine Keener (in a supporting role) for the romantic drama Boys.Still in 1996, he took part in the Kevin Spacey directed crime thriller Albino Alligator, opposite Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, Gary Sinise, William Fichtner, Viggo Mortensen, and Joe Mantegna. Although the film was critically well-received, it was his next role in the Wes Craven horror classic Scream that would really launch his career. Indeed, it provided a job boost to nearly everyone involved, including David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, Drew Barrymore, Liev Schreiber, and Ulrich's Craft co-star Campbell.His newfound success led to many roles including a starring part in Touch, opposite LL Cool J, Gina Gershon, Christopher Walken, Bridget Fonda, and Tom Arnold. Apart from Scream, however, Ulrich is probably best known for his small but pivotal role in the Oscar darling As Good as It Gets, with Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr, and a very bit part by Lisa Edelstein.More recently, Ulrich has returned to his television roots, appearing in the supernatural series Miracles and the mini-series Into the West, with Josh Brolin, Gary Busey, Rachael Leigh Cook, and Keri Russell.He is currently a star of the CBS show Jericho beside a cast of relative unknowns, including Lennie James, Pamela Reed, Gerald McRaney, Ashley Scott, and Kenneth Mitchell.Ulrich married fellow actress Georgina Cates in October 1997. They had two children together before divorcing in 2005.