Jalen Thomas Brooks
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for biographies. (June 2022) |
Jalen Thomas Brooks | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 11, 2001 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2019–present |
Jalen Thomas Brooks (born October 11, 2001) is an American actor. He is known for his recurring roles in the short lived ABC legal drama, Rebel and The CW's Walker, a reboot of the iconic 1990s action series, Walker, Texas Ranger. He also had a brief recurring role in the TNT drama, Animal Kingdom. Brooks made his feature film debut in the 2023 horror film, Thanksgiving.
Early life and education
[edit]Jalen Thomas Brooks was born on October 11,[1] 2001.[2] in Los Angeles, California. He has one brother.[3] Brooks was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he attended Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada, and played basketball growing up.[4] Brooks even had letters from college scouts as early as his freshman year in high school. He ultimately gave up basketball due to boredom and physical exhaustion. He credited The Hunger Games (2012) with piquing his interest in acting as he saw kids his age. Brooks began training in theater courses which he admits were intimidating. Instead, he later enrolled in a film acting course. He likened film acting to a team sport like basketball.[5] Brooks studied at DreamTraxx Acting Academy in Vegas.[4] There he found an agent and began taking auditions.[5]
Career
[edit]Brooks credited his mother for his career as his family resided in Las Vegas, Brooks and his mother would often commute for his auditions in Burbank.[6] In 2019, Brooks made his television debut in an episode of The CW's Supergirl.[4] Fresh off a recurring role as Blaise on TNT's Animal Kingdom, Brooks was cast in the recurring role of Sean in ABC's Rebel on February 9, 2021.[7] While the series was short lived, Brooks appeared in 8 out of the 10 episodes. On October 22, 2021, it was announced that Brooks had been cast as Colton Davidson on The CW's Walker.[8] At the time, Brooks had just wrapped Rebel and he was looking to take a break when his manager urged him to audition for Walker instead. He was shocked when he booked the gig and said "It was honestly the best decision in my life, just to do it." Having grown up on Supernatural, the actor was excited to work opposite Jared Padalecki and fellow Supernatural alumni, Mitch Pileggi.[9] Brooks had briefly met his Walker co-star Odette Annable when they both worked on Supergirl.[2] Brooks would appear in 20 episodes of the series. In February 2023, Brooks booked a starring role Eli Roth's Thanksgiving. The film was released on November 17.[10] In 2024, Brooks was cast in the Max drama series, The Pitt.[11]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 7 Minutes in Hell | Eric | Short |
| 2023 | Thanksgiving | Bobby |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Supergirl | Simon Kirby | Episode: "In Plain Sight" |
| 2020 | Henry Danger | Jack Swagger | Episode: "Cave the Date" |
| 2021 | Rebel | Sean | Recurring role Episode: "Pilot" Episode: "Patient X" Episode: "Superhero" Episode: "The Right Thing" Episode: "Just Because You're Paranoid" Episode: "It's All About the Chemistry" Episode: "Trial Day" Episode: "36 Hours" |
| Animal Kingdom | Blaise | Recurring role | |
| 2021–2023 | Walker | Colton Davidson | Recurring role Episode: "They Started It" (2021) Episode: "The One Who Got Away" (2021) Episode: "Barn Burner" (2021) Episode: "Dog Fir" (2021) Episode: "Where Do We Go From Here?" (2022) Episode: "Sucker Punch" (2022) Episode: "Nudge" (2022) Episode: "Boundaries" (2022) Episode: "Common Ground" (2022) Episode: "No Such Thing As Fair Play" (2022) Episode: "Bygones" (2022) Episode: "Torn" (2022) Episode: "Search and Rescue" (2022) Episode: "A Matter of Miles" (2022) Episode: "Something's Missing" (2022) Episode: "World on a String" (2022) Episode: "Rubber Meets the Road" (2022) Episode: "Something There That Wasn't There Before" (2022) Episode: "Just Deserts" (2022) Episode: "Buffering" (2023) |
References
[edit]- ^ Kluge, Peter [@pfkluger] (October 11, 2020). "Peter Kluge on Instagram: "Happy Birthday @jalenthomasbrooks 🔥🙌🏼"". Retrieved May 29, 2022 – via Instagram.
- ^ a b Stone, Sam (April 28, 2022). "Walker: Jalen Thomas Brooks Hints at Season 2's Bigger Twists & Turns". Comic Book Resources. Valnet Inc. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ "JALEN THOMAS BROOKS ON TELLING SIMPLE STORIES WITH UNIVERSAL MESSAGES". Phosphor. United States. December 1, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ a b c Frank Parillo and Jalen Thomas Brooks (August 21, 2021). DreamTraxx Live and Uncut with Frank Parrillo. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ a b Turitz, Neil (December 13, 2023). "Jalen Thomas Brooks on Learning From Horror Director Eli Roth on the Set of 'Thanksgiving'". Casting Networks, LLC. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ "Exclusive Interview: Jalen Thomas Brooks Talks About the Horror-Slasher Classic 'Thanksgiving,' Collaborating with Eli Roth, and More". Pop Culturalist. November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
- ^ Petski, Denise (February 9, 2021). "'Rebel': Mary McDonnell, Adam Arkin, Matthew Glave & Jalen Thomas Brooks Join ABC Drama Series As Recurring". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ Holbrook, Damian (October 22, 2021). "'Walker' Casts 'Rebel' Vet Jalen Thomas Brooks as Rival Family Scion". TV Insider. United States: TVGM Holdings, LLC. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ Byrne, Craig (April 28, 2022). "Interview: Jalen Thomas Brooks Talks Walker's Colton". KSiteTV. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ Kit, Borys (February 24, 2023). "Eli Roth's Horror Thriller 'Thanksgiving' Finds Its Stars in Jalen Thomas Brooks, Nell Verlaque (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Eldridge Industries. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ Petski, Denise (August 14, 2024). "'The Pitt' Drama Series Starring Noah Wyle Adds 9 To Recurring Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved August 18, 2024.