Jeremy Sumpter Biography
Born: February 05, 1989
Date of Birth: February 5, 1989
Although he was born in Carmel, California, Jeremy Sumpter spent most of his childhood growing up in a small Kentucky town. At age six, he was the youngest child in Kentucky to be accepted into the state's Gifted Arts program and had some of his artwork exhibited in a local gallery. When he was 11, Jeremy was convinced to enter a modeling/talent competition, and was chosen to compete at the International Modeling and Talent Association's Convention in Los Angeles. He won "Pre-Teen Male Model of the Year" and was signed with a personal manager. In June 2000, he relocated to Los Angeles with his parents, Gary and Sandy, twin sister Jessica, and younger sister Jennifer.
His first role was working with one of his favorite actors, Bill Paxton, in the feature film Frailty (2001). Jeremy won his first Young Artist Award when he starred in the Showtime network's TV movie Just A Dream (2002), directed by Danny Glover. In the teen drama Local Boys (2002), Jeremy played Skeet, a young surfer. He won his first feature film starring role in 2002, when director P.J. Hogan and his talent scouts spent three months scouring several countries looking for young actors to play roles in a new, live action feature film version of J.B. Barrie's Peter Pan. After several auditions, Jeremy was cast as Peter and spent the next year filming in Australia.
For his work in the film, Jeremy won a 2004 Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for Best Performance by a Younger Actor, as well as a second Young Artist Award.
Jeremy has also appeared on the TV series Murphy's Dozen, Raising Dad, and played alongside his younger sister on an episode of the hit drama E.R. (all 2001). From 2008 to 2010, he played J.D. McCoy on the hit drama series Friday Night Lights. He made his theater debut as "The Boy" in the play Six Characters in Search of an Author. In his spare time, he enjoys being outdoors and takes part in activities such as baseball, basketball, hiking, tennis, soccer, rafting, camping, snowboarding and surfing. Jeremy received a third Young Artist Award nomination in 2006 for his starring role in the NBC-TV movie Cyber Seduction: His Secret Life (2005), as a teen addicted to Internet porn.