Ross Fleming Butler (born 17 May 1990) is a

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

an-born American actor. He is best known for his role as Zach Dempsey in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''

13 Reasons Why ''13 Reasons Why'' (also stylized as ''TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY'') is an American teen drama television series based on the 2007 novel '' Thirteen Reasons Why'' by author Jay Asher. Developed for Netflix by Brian Yorkey and with Selena Gomez ser ...

'' and as Brett Willis on '' K.C. Undercover''. He was also cast as

Reggie Mantle Reginald "Reggie" Mantle is a fictional teenager in stories published by Archie Comics; he is introduced by writer-artist Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater in ''Jackpot Comics'' #5 (cover-dated Spring 1942). He also appears in CW's '' Riverdale'' ...

in the Netflix/

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

show '' Riverdale'', but left the role after one season due to filming commitments to ''13 Reasons Why''. In 2019, he joined the

DC Extended Universe The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that appear in American comic books published by DC Comic ...

as Superhero Eugene Choi in the film '' Shazam!'', and reprised the role in ''

Shazam! Fury of the Gods ''Shazam! Fury of the Gods'' is a 2023 American superhero film based on the DC character Shazam. Produced by New Line Cinema, DC Films, and the Safran Company, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the sequel to '' Shazam!'' (201 ...

'' in 2023.

Early life

Butler was born in Singapore to a Chinese-Malaysian mother and an English-Dutch father. He lived in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

before moving to the United States when he was four and was raised by his mother in

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

, a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

outside

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He studied

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

and

biomolecular engineering Biomolecular engineering is the application of engineering principles and practices to the purposeful manipulation of molecules of biological origin. Biomolecular engineers integrate knowledge of biological processes with the core knowledge of chemi ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. He dropped out after a year and later moved back to Virginia, where he took courses at a community college. He then moved to Los Angeles at the age of 20.

Career

Butler took his first acting class at age 21. He got his start with roles in student films and low budget projects. He landed his breakthrough recurring role on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

series '' K.C. Undercover.'' He had roles in the Disney Channel films '' Teen Beach 2'' and '' Perfect High''. In 2017, he was cast as

in '' Riverdale''. He was later cast as Zach Dempsey in ''

'', and left ''Riverdale'' due to his commitment to ''13 Reasons Why''. He would reprise Mantle in ''Riverdales 100th episode "The Jughead Paradox" in a scene alongside his successor Charles Melton's portrayal. In 2019, he played adult Eugene Choi in the superhero film '' Shazam!''. He also played Trevor, Peter Kavinsky's best friend, in '' To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You'', released in 2020 by

. In 2020, it was announced that Butler would star alongside

Kiernan Shipka Kiernan Brennan Shipka (born November 10, 1999) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as List of Mad Men characters#Sally Draper, Sally Draper in the AMC (TV channel), AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), and Sabrina Spe ...

in the

Quibi Quibi ( ) was an American short-form streaming platform that generated content for viewing on mobile devices. It was founded in Los Angeles in August 2018 as NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and was led by Meg Whitman as CEO. The service raised $ ...

series ''

Swimming with Sharks ''Swimming with Sharks'' (also known as ''The Boss'' and ''Buddy Factor'') is a 1994 American satirical black comedy film written and directed by George Huang and starring Kevin Spacey, Frank Whaley and Michelle Forbes. Plot Buddy Ackerman, ...

''. The project remained unreleased after the demise of Quibi's platform, but was released by

Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of consumer electronics that includes streaming players, smart TVs (and their operating systems), as well as a free TV streaming service. The brand is owned by Roku, Inc., an American company. As of 2024, Roku is the U ...

in the spring of 2022. Butler also starred in Claudia Tan's ''Perfect Addiction'' alongside

Kiana Madeira Kiana Madeira (born November 4, 1992) is a Canadian actress. She starred as Moe in the Netflix television series '' Trinkets''. Madeira played Deena in the 2021 Netflix horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psyc ...

and Matthew Notzka, which was released internationally on

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

on March 24, 2023, and received a limited theatrical release in the USA. Butler then appeared in the film adaption of Abigail Hing Wen's ''Love in Taipei'' (previously titled "Loveboat Taipei") opposite Ashley Liao. The film had its debut on

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

in the summer of 2023. Upcoming projects include Butler appearing in the romantic comedy ''Worth the Wait'', with

Lana Condor Lana Therese Condor (born Trần Đồng Lan; May 11, 1997) is an American actress and YouTuber. She made her acting debut starring as Jubilee (comics), Jubilee in the superhero film ''X-Men: Apocalypse'' (2016), and gained international recogni ...

, the thriller ''Zipline'', and the fantasy comedy '' Shiver''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music video

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Ross 1990 births Living people People from McLean, Virginia American male television actors American male film actors American male voice actors American people of Dutch descent American people of English descent American actors of Chinese descent American people of Malaysian descent Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from Virginia Ohio State University College of Engineering alumni Singaporean emigrants to the United States Singaporean people of Dutch descent Singaporean people of English descent Singaporean people of Chinese descent Singaporean people of Malaysian descent 21st-century American male actors American capoeira practitioners American Jeet Kune Do practitioners American eskrimadors American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male boxers American male kickboxers 21st-century American sportsmen