Derek Theler (born October 29, 1986) is an American film and television actor and model.

Acting career

Theler started his acting career in 2009, starring in several minor roles in TV series such as '' The Middle'', ''

Cougar Town ''Cougar Town'' is an American television sitcom that ran for 102 episodes over six seasons, from September 23, 2009, until March 31, 2015. The first three seasons aired on ABC, with the series moving to TBS for the remaining three seasons. AB ...

'', and '' The Hills''. In between acting gigs, Theler appeared as a model in TV commercials. He first landed a Coke Zero commercial in 2009. This was followed by a campaign for

State Farm State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Overview State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the la ...

, in which he played a "hot guy" who was conjured up by three women. He has also been in commercials for

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

Kayak.com Kayak (styled as KAYAK) is an American online travel agency and metasearch engine owned and operated by Booking Holdings. Kayak's website and mobile apps are currently available in over 18 languages and more than 30 countries, including the Un ...

Arby's Arby's is an American fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants system wide and third in terms of revenue. In October 2017, ''Food & Wine'' called Arby's "America's second largest sandwich chain (after Subway)". Arby ...

, and

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

. Aside from acting, he was also the writer and executive producer of a short film called ''Intrusion''. In 2012, Theler landed his first major role when he was cast in the

ABC Family The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its h ...

comedy ''

Baby Daddy ''Baby Daddy'' is an American sitcom created by Dan Berendsen that premiered on June 20, 2012, on ABC Family ( Freeform). The series follows Ben, a man in his twenties, who gets the surprise of his life when a one-night stand leaves his baby a ...

'', playing Danny Wheeler, the brother of the title character. Also that year, Theler starred as Riggins in the web series ''

Project S.E.R.A. ''Project: S.E.R.A.'' is a 2012 zombie horror short film written and directed by Ben Howdeshell and starring Julia Voth. Voth previously portrayed Jill Valentine in the 2002 video game '' Resident Evil'', and Project: S.E.R.A. was said to be inspi ...

'' In 2015, he starred as Chase Walker in the movie ''Shark Killer'', which released on June 16, 2015 via digital download. Theler played the role of shark killer who hunts down a black-finned shark that swallowed a valuable diamond during a gang transaction. He also starred as Jordan in Christmas movie ''How Sarah Got Her Wings'', which was released on digital hd and video on demand on November 1, 2015. The Christmas movie premiered on

Ion television Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented ent ...

on December 6, 2015. On November 19, 2015, Theler starred in the

Funny or Die Funny or Die is a comedy video website and film/television production company owned by Henry R. Muñoz III that was founded by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Mark Kvamme, and Chris Henchy in 2007. The website contained exclusive material from a re ...

parody titled ''Chicago Sanitation''. In 2016, Theler starred as Jake Kenman in family movie ''Secret Summer,'' which was released on April 2, 2016 on PixL (On Demand and YouTube). He also appeared on short ''

Princess Rap Battle Whitney Avalon is an American actress, writer, producer, singer, and rapper best known for creating the ''Princess Rap Battle'' series and other musical comedy on YouTube, where her channel has over 600 million views. '' Variety'' listed her i ...

'', where he played the role of Huntsman and it was released on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

on April 6, 2016. In 2017, he starred as Chris in the short film ''Brotherly Love'' alongside Krista Kalmus. The same year, Theler was cast as Craig Hollis / Mister Immortal in the planned

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

series ''

New Warriors The New Warriors is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to The Avengers in mu ...

''. The series notoriously lost its distributor before it could air proper and was ultimately cancelled. He guest starred in an episode of ABC comedy ''

American Housewife ''American Housewife'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from October 11, 2016, to March 31, 2021. It is created and written by Sarah Dunn and co-executive produced with Aaron Kaplan, Kenny Schwartz, Rick Wiener, and for the ...

'' as Dirk. In 2018, he played the role of Aric Dacia/

X-O Manowar X-O Manowar (Aric of Dacia) is a fictional superhero co-created by writers Jim Shooter and Steve Englehart, and artists Bob Layton and Barry Windsor-Smith. The eponymous comic book series published by Valiant Comics has sold more than 8 million c ...

in the Valiant Entertainment's '' Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe.'' He also guest starred as Conan in the

series ''Wayne'' and as Thor a.k.a. Donar the Great in the

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consis ...

series ''

American Gods ''American Gods'' (2001) is a fantasy novel by British author Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn Shadow. The book was pu ...

''. Theler guest starred in Hulu's web comedy series '' Dollface'' playing the role of Ryan, a man Jules has a fling with. On September 24, 2019, Theler was cast as Sasquatch in the

Paramount Network Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was or ...

military series '' 68 Whiskey''. In 2022, he guest starred as Billy McShane in an episode of Levergae: Redemption.

Personal life

Theler was diagnosed with

Type 1 Diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar f ...

at age 3. He attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. He started dating actress Lisa Marie Summerscales in May 2016. In July 2022, Theler announced on his Instagram that he and Summerscales had become engaged. They got married in September of the same year.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web series

Music

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Theler, Derek 1986 births Living people American male television actors American male film actors Male actors from Colorado Colorado State University alumni Actors from Alaska People with type 1 diabetes 21st-century American male actors