Saturday, June 23, 2012

Cam Gigandet biography

  Cam Joslin Gigandet ( born August 16, 1982) is an American actor who has appeared in Twilight, The O.C., Never Back Down, The Roommate, Burlesque and Priest.

Early life

Gigandet was born in Auburn, Washington.[citation needed] After graduating from Auburn Senior High School in Auburn, Washington in 2001, he moved to California, where he attended Santa Monica College, a community college, and took an acting class.

Career

In 2003, Gigandet made his acting debut making a guest appearance in the crime television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. In 2004 and 2005 Gigandet continued his television career making noticeable recurring roles in television shows such as The Young and The Restless and Jack and Bobby.
In 2006, Gigandet successfully auditioned for the role of Kevin Volchok on the Fox teen drama television series The O.C.. Gigandet portrayed the role of Kevin, a bad boy and rebellious competitive surfer who develops a casual relationship with the rich socialite Marissa Cooper portrayed by Mischa Barton. Gigandet became a major recurring character throughout the series' third season and his performance was complimented by critics. Gigandet returned at the start of the series' fourth and final season. Gigandet guest starred in 15 episodes.
In August 2007, Gigandet was cast in the Summit Entertainment action drama film Never Back Down. He portrayed the role of the villainous bad boy and fighting champion Ryan McCarthy who sets out to take down the film's protagonist. Filming took place in Sanford and Clermont, Florida. Gigandet starred alongside Sean Faris, Amber Heard and Djimon Honsou. The film was released on March 14, 2008 and was a financial box office success earning $41,627,431 worldwide. The film received largely negative reviews.[citation needed] Gigandet and co-star Faris shared an award for "Best Fight" at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards.
In December 2007, Summit Entertainment cast Gigandet in the planned film adaptation of the best selling vampire book series Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. He signed on to portray the role of the film's "tracker" vampire James and its antagonist. The film adaptation was released on November 21, 2008 and followed instant box office success but received mixed reviews from critics.[citation needed] A universally successful film trilogy The Twilight Saga followed. Gigandet did not reprise his role as his character is destroyed at the end of the first film. He received his second "Best Fight" award win at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards with Robert Pattinson.
In 2008, Gigandet won the award for "One to Watch" at the 10th Annual Young Hollywood Awards. In August 2008 Gigandet signed on to the Screen Gems supernatural horror film The Unborn portraying the role of the protagonist's love interest. Gigandet stars alongside Meagan Good and Odette Yustman. The film focused on Yustman's character who is tormented by a ghost which tries to use her death as a gateway to physical existence. The film was produced by Michael Bay's production company Platinum Dunes. The film was released on January 9, 2009 and received universally negative reviews.[citation needed] The film was a financial success earning $75,915,793 worldwide.[citation needed] Also in 2009 he starred as Corporal Gallo in the sci-fi thriller Pandorum.
In 2010, Gigandet portrayed a supporting role in the Screen Gems comedy film Easy A: a 22-year-old Christian high school student named Micah. The film was a box office success earning $76,639,272 worldwide and unanimous critical praise from critics worldwide. That same year Gigandet starred as the villainous prison guard Chase in the psychological Straight-to-DVD thriller The Experiment. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
That same year Screen Gems cast Gigandet in the film Burlesque. The film was written and directed by first-time Director Steve Antin and starred Cher, Christina Aguilera and Stanley Tucci. The film is a musical which follows Christina Aguilera's character who moves to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of singing and ends up in a burlesque bar. Gigandet portrays Christina's love interest, Jack, a bartender who works at the club. The film was released on November 24, 2010 to mixed reviews. The film was a box office success, earning more than $89 million worldwide.
In 2009, Gigandet was cast alongside Leighton Meester and Minka Kelly in the thriller film The Roommate. The film followed a college freshman who is randomly assigned to the roommate from hell who soon becomes obsessed. He played Stephen, a university student and love interest of Kelly's character. The film received numerous pushbacks and was released on February 4, 2011. It has been compared to the film Single White Female by the media.
In May 2010, 20th Century Fox cast Gigandet in the psychological thriller Trespass alongside Nicole Kidman and Nicolas Cage. Gigandet portrayed the leading antagonist who takes the married couple portrayed by Kidman and Cage hostage. Filming took place throughout August and September 2010. The film is set to be released sometime in 2011. In March 2009, Gigandet was cast in a major supporting role in the Screen Gems action horror film Priest. Gigandet portrayed the role of Hicks, a Wasteland Sheriff. The film was pushed back numerous times, and released on May 13, 2011, shown in 3D.
 

Fun Facts

His ex-girlfriend got him to start reading the Twilight series two months before he got the part of James.

Has two tattoos, one on his right arm and the other on his left hip that says "Godspeed".

He had his first tattoo when he was 16 years old.

His last name is of French origin and it is pronounced "Jig-and-day".

Has a black belt in the Israeli martial art of Krav Maga.

Has a black belt in Karate.

Has been studying ballet for fifteen years.

Most of his best friends, co-stars and fans who have met him describe him as being very shy and quiet.

He listens to Snow Patrol and Ray LaMontagne.

He and his girlfriend, Dominique Geisendorff, welcomed daughter Everleigh Ray Gigandet on April 14, 2009

Quotes

"I was meant to play the bad guy, for always and ever."

(Talking about his character James, whom he is playing in the upcoming movie "Twilight") "I am James. I am one of three of the bad vampires. I am a bad, bad vampire. Well, so everyone else thinks. I think I'm just misunderstood! My sole goal is to basically kill Bella, I guess, and revel in Edward's pain as he watches it. It's definitely related to Edward. I see what Edward has with her. He has love. He is everything that I am not and has everything I do not have, and Bella is directly related to that. And Bella, alone, even has something I don't understand. It's something that draws everyone to her. She has that something, so being that I don't understand it, I want to squash it."

"I really love playing the bad guys. They have so much more freedom than the hero, and it's more of a challenge to give them a heart. I have a movie coming out soon called The unborn in which I play a good guy, and I would love to do more."

Personal life

Gigandet and his girlfriend, Dominique Geisendorff, had a daughter, Everleigh Rae Gigandet, on April 14, 2009. He is a practitioner of Krav Maga, a self-defense system developed by the Israeli army.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2003 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Mark Young Episode: "Feeling the Heat"
2004 Mistaken Joe Short film
The Young and the Restless Daniel Romalotti Jr 7 episodes
2005 Jack & Bobby Randy Bongard 5 episodes
2005–2006 The O.C. Kevin Volchok Recurring role; 34; 15 episodes
2007 Who's Your Caddy? Mick
2008 Never Back Down Ryan McCarthy MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (shared with Sean Faris)
American Crude Kip Adams
Twilight James MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (shared with Robert Pattinson)
Nominated for Best Villain Award2009 Scream Awards[5]
2009 The Unborn Mark
Pandorum Gallo
2010 Five Star Day Jake Gibson
Easy A Micah
Burlesque Jack Miller
The Experiment Chase
2011 The Roommate Stephen Morterelli
Priest Hicks
Trespass Jonah Collins
TBA Making Change Bishop Post-production
Broken Kyle Carter In-production

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