Ross Thomas

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Ross Thomas (born August 21, 1981) is an American actor, filmmaker, philanthropist and adventurer.

Early Life

Ross Thomas was born in Stockton, California and raised in both Stockton and Woodbridge, California ^[1]. His mother Catherine Schuler is a computer science professor and author ^[2], and his father, Randy Thomas, is a trial attorney, poet and adventurer ^[3]. He has three sisters and one brother. He attended St. Mary’s High School ^[4]and subsequently attended Arizona State University and The University of Southern California ^[5]. He played left wing for the Arizona State University rugby team. He studied anthropology, broadcasting and theatre arts. He graduated from The University of Southern California in the winter of 2004 ^[6].

Career

In 2005, Thomas received his first big break in the festival favorite "What’s Bugging Seth?," in which he played ‘Seth,’ a deaf man determined to find love and career success despite his handicap. The exigent role was one of Thomas’ favorite challenges as an actor. The film went on to win the prestigious Audience Award at the DancesWithFilms Festival, the Santa Cruz Film Festival and the Empire Film Festival^[7]

Other past film credits include starring roles in films such as "The Cutting Edge 2: Going for the Gold," ^[8], the mega-franchise "American Pie: The Naked Mile,"^[9], the Wayans’ Brothers comedy "Dance Flick," in which he spoofed Channing Tatum’s character in Step Up^[10], "Burning Palms," opposite Dylan McDermott and Rosamund Pike ^[11]and the indie flick "Shelter," which went on to win the GLAAD Outstanding Film Award in 2009 ^[12].

On the small screen, Thomas was a series regular on the Nickelodeon (The N) original teen series “Beyond the Break.” Thomas played ‘Bailey,’ a stellar surfer who had a reputation for being a playboy. The show aired from 2006-2009 ^[13]. He also had a recurring role on the wildly successful soap opera “General Hospital” in which he played 'Brandon,' a hardened criminal just being released from jail^[14]. Moreover, Thomas has appeared on other popular shows such as "NCIS," ^[15] “Lie to Me,” ^[16] “CSI,” ^[17] “CSI: NY,” ^[18] “Cold Case,” ^[19]& “Living with Fran” ^[20]

Most recently, Thomas can be seen in Sony’s "Soul Surfer," opposite Academy Award Winner Helen Hunt, Golden Globe Winner Dennis Quaid and Grammy Award Winner Carrie Underwood. Directed by Sean McNamara, the film is based on the amazing true story of shark attack survivor Bethany Hamilton, a young professional surfer who fights to overcome the loss of her arm in order to achieve her dream of winning the National Championship. Thomas stars as Bethany’s older brother ‘Noah.’ ^[21]

Personal life

Thomas is an extreme sports enthusiast and avid adventure traveler. He recently summited Huayna Potossi in Bolivia at 19,974 ft. He surfs and snowboards ^[22] and performed many of his own stunts for his role as an extreme sports professional turned figure skater in ABC Family channel movie The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold ^[23].

Ross is a supporter of tribal peoples rights ^[24]. He has made a short documentary film about the plight of the Harakmbut tribe in the Madre De Dios region of Peru, and has visited Brazil to support the tribes against the Belo Monte Dam.^[25] Ross has worked with indigenous rights organizations Survival International and Amazon Watch.^[26][27] In 2010, Ross spent months in the Southern Peruvian Amazon shooting and producing the documentary "Extraction: The Plundering of the Amarakaeri Reserve."^[26] He also spent time with the Secoya tribe along the Shushufindi and Aguarico River in the Ecuadorian Amazon. He is interested in anthropology, ethnobotany and alternative medicine. ^[28]

Filmography

References

External links

• Ross Thomas at the Internet Movie Database
• Ross Thomas - Facebook.com Page
• Ross Thomas as Bailey Reese at "The N" webpage