Kevin Zegers
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Kevin Zegers (born September 19, 1984) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles as Josh Framm in the ''Air Bud'' film series, Toby Osbourne in '' Transamerica'' (2005), Damien Dalgaard in
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 ...
teen drama ''
Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...
'', and as rookie FBI Agent Brendon Acres on the ABC crime drama '' The Rookie: Feds''. He has also starred in the films '' Dawn of the Dead'' (2004), '' It's a Boy Girl Thing'' (2006), '' The Jane Austen Book Club'' (2007), '' Fifty Dead Men Walking'' (2008), '' Frozen'' (2010), '' The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones'', and '' Nighthawks'' (2019).


Early life

Zegers was born in
Woodstock, Ontario Woodstock is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The city has a population of 46,705 according to the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 Canadian census. Woodstock is the seat of Oxford County, Ontario, Oxford County, at the head of the Thames River, On ...
, the son of Mary-Ellen (née Veldman), a teacher, and Jim Zegers, a quarry worker. He has two sisters, Krista and Katie. (The latter is also an actress; she appeared with him in
John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...
's '' In the Mouth of Madness''.) He is of Dutch descent; all four of his grandparents were born in the Netherlands. He attended St Mary's Catholic High School in Woodstock. Zegers is active in sports, especially basketball, ice hockey, and golf. He played on the Hollywood Knights celebrity basketball team, raising money for local Los Angeles schools.


Career


Early work

Zegers began his performing career at the age of six, appearing in about 30 TV commercials. His first film role was at the age of seven, in a small part in the
Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian and American actor and activist. Beginning his career as a child actor in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ...
comedy '' Life with Mikey'' (1993), playing a younger version of Fox's character. Subsequently, he made a guest appearance on the acclaimed science fiction series ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...
'', playing a stigmatic child, Kevin Kryder, in the 1995 episode "Revelations," and had a recurring role on the Canadian TV series '' Traders'' (1996). During this time, he appeared in several made-for-television films, including '' Thicker Than Blood: The Larry McLinden Story'', ''The Silence of Adultery'', and '' Rose Hill'', and as Noah Thompson in the "Let's Get Invisible!" episode of '' Goosebumps''. His career received a major boost when he won the role of Josh Framm in '' Air Bud'' (1997), a film about a lonely boy who befriends a basketball-playing dog. ''Air Bud'' launched a franchise, with four sequels. Zegers appeared in four of the films, as well as a similar title, '' MVP: Most Valuable Primate'' (2000), which featured a
hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
-playing chimp. Around that time, he starred in other family-friendly fare, including ''A Call To Remember'' (1997) with Joe Mantegna, ''Nico the Unicorn'' (1998) with Elisha Cuthbert, '' Treasure Island'' (1999) with Jack Palance, and '' Time Share'' (2000) with
Nastassja Kinski Nastassja Aglaia Kinski (; née Nakszynski, ; born 24 January 1961) is a German actress and former model who has appeared in more than 60 films in Europe and the United States. Her worldwide breakthrough was with '' Stay as You Are'' (1978). Sh ...
. He also played a boy who discovers he is a clone in the TV series '' So Weird'' (1999). While also headlining numerous family/animal films, between 1997 and 2004, Zegers had starring or costarring roles in many low-budget
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
s, often Canadian, including '' Shadow Builder'', '' Komodo'' (1999), '' Wrong Turn'' (2003), and ''
Fear of the Dark Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among Toddler, toddlers, children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darknes ...
'' and ''
The Hollow ''The Hollow'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company, Dodd, Mead & Co. in 1946 and in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in November of the sam ...
'' (both 2004). In ''Four Days'' (1999), Zegers played a nameless boy devoted to his bank-robber father. He also appeared in the short-lived American television series ''
Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...
'' (2000), opposite Yasmine Bleeth, for which he was chosen by producer Aaron Spelling. It was his first regular television series role. Zegers had previously worked with Bleeth in the 1999 film '' It Came from the Sky'', where he played a mentally disabled child visited by an angel-like couple. He co-starred with Harry Hamlin in ''Sex, Lies & Obsession'' (2001), a Lifetime Network film about sex addiction, and with
Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (; June 19, 1930 – August 14, 2024) was an American actress, whose career in film, stage, and television spanned nearly seven decades. She was a four-time Emmy, Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe winner, and ...
and
James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...
in ''The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie'' (2003), a television film drama that won three Daytime Emmy awards: Outstanding Children/Youth/Family Special, Outstanding Performer (Rowlands), and Outstanding Writing. In the summer of 2003, he filmed the drama ''Some Things That Stay'' at the same time as the remake of '' Dawn of the Dead'', shuttling across Canada between sets. Around this time, he also continued his television work, appearing on ''
Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...
'' in 2003 and ''
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
'' in 2004.


2005–present

In 2005, he had a major role in the
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-nominated independent film '' Transamerica'', co-starring
Felicity Huffman Felicity Kendall Huffman (born December 9, 1962) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lynette Scavo in the ABC comedy-drama ''Desperate Housewives'' and her role as Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne, a transgender woman, in the film ''Trans ...
. Zegers' performance as Toby Osbourne, the street-hustling bisexual son of a
trans woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...
(Huffman) was praised by several critics, and he won the Trophée Chopard for Male Revelation at the
2006 Cannes Film Festival The 59th Cannes Film Festival was held from 17 to 28 May 2006. Chinese filmmaker Wong Kar-wai served as jury president for the main competition, the first Chinese to preside over the jury. English filmmaker Ken Loach won the Palme d'Or for th ...
. Director Duncan Tucker said he had to overcome his initial wariness over Zegers' good looks before casting him for the role. ''Variety''s reviewer wrote that "Zegers... finds multiple dimensions in pic's potentially most clichéd character...," and ''The Hollywood Reporter''s critic said, "As a boy who considers sex his chief talent, Zegers... conveys Toby's essential sweetness and hunger for real affection, making him much more than just a vain or damaged kid." Also in 2005, he appeared with Shailene Woodley in '' Felicity: An American Girl Adventure'', a television film set in
Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...
, in 1775, based on the ''American Girl'' book series. He played 15-year-old Benjamin "Ben" Davidson, an apprentice at a shop owned by Felicity's father. In 2006, Zegers played supervillain Concussion in the comedy '' Zoom'', with
Tim Allen Timothy Alan Dick (born June 13, 1953), known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement'' (1991–1999) for which he won a Golden Gl ...
, and had the lead role opposite Samaire Armstrong in the romantic comedy '' It's a Boy Girl Thing''. He guest-starred as Damien Dalgaard in ''
Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...
'' from 2009 until 2010, and returned again in late 2010 for multiple episodes throughout season 4. He appeared in Rock Mafia's 2010 music video "The Big Bang", and in 2012, played the male protagonist in the television series '' Titanic: Blood and Steel''. Zegers portrayed Alec Lightwood in '' The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones'' (2013). He joined the cast of ''
Fear the Walking Dead ''Fear the Walking Dead'' is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series created by Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson for AMC. It is a spin-off to '' The Walking Dead'', which is based on the comic book series of the same na ...
'' for the series' fourth season.


Personal life

In August 2013, Zegers married Jaime Feld, a talent agent. The couple had twin girls in August 2015. In 2024, Zegers announced he had converted to Judaism.


Filmography


Film


Television


Music video


Awards


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zegers, Kevin 1984 births 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian male child actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian people of Dutch descent Jewish Canadian male actors Living people Male actors from Ontario People from Woodstock, Ontario Chopard Trophy for Male Revelation winners Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States 21st-century converts to Judaism