Justin Whalin

Justin Garrett Whalin (born September 6, 1974) is a teacher and former American actor. He portrayed the teenage Andy Barclay in Child's Play 3, Ridley Freeborn in Dungeons & Dragons, and Jimmy Olsen in the American television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.[2]

Justin Whalin
Whalin at WonderCon 2009
Born
Justin Garrett Whalin

(1974-09-06) September 6, 1974
Occupation(s)Actor, teacher
Years active1987–2009
Spouse
Reina Flynn
(m. 2006; div. 2009)
[1]

Early life

Whalin was born in the Sunset District of San Francisco, California. His mother, Terry Villanueva, is a teacher and school administrator who owns and operates two L.A. area schools: The Learning Castle and La Cañada Preparatory. His father, Craig Whalin, is a real estate appraiser.[3] His parents divorced when he was seven years old and both remarried. He has a younger half-brother and an older stepbrother and stepsister.

He studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in San Francisco, and attended Lowell High School. After years of commuting between Los Angeles and San Francisco, he and his mother relocated to L.A. permanently when he was fifteen years old. He completed his high school education through U.C. Berkeley's homeschooling program.

Career

Whalin worked as an actor from the age of eleven, when he appeared in a production of the play The Little Prince at San Francisco's Victoria Theatre.[4] His first TV role was on General Hospital, after he caught the attention of a casting director who was giving an acting class.[4] He starred in the 1993 CBS Schoolbreak Special production Other Mothers, for which he won a Daytime Emmy.[4] He went on to star in Miracle at Midnight opposite Mia Farrow and Sam Waterston. He also auditioned to play Billy Loomis in Scream.

Whalin was cast as the young Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen in the TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman from 1994 to 1997. Whalin said that initially the only fan mail he got on the show was from people complaining that he was not as good as Michael Landes (who played Olsen during the show's first season), and that it was not until around his fifth episode that he began to see an even mix of positive and negative fan reactions.[5] He enjoyed the role, though he said it often seemed limited to delivering exposition; a reoccurring motif of the series was that Lois and/or Clark would ask Jimmy to research a suspicious person or organization, and in a later scene Jimmy would rattle off the requested names, dates, addresses, and backstory.[6] When Whalin was first cast, the producers had planned a Jimmy Olsen-centric episode in which Jimmy heads to South America to look for his long-lost father,[4] but it was never produced, though the show did get Olsen-centric episodes in season 3 ("The Dad Who Came in From the Cold") and 4 ("AKA Superman").

Whalin quit acting in 2009 to work as a social studies/drama[7] teacher and administrator at The Learning Castle and La Cañada Preparatory, his mother's exclusive schools in the Los Angeles area.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1988The Dead PoolJason
1990DenialJason
1991Child's Play 3Andy Barclay
1993Murder of InnocencePhil Andrew
1994Serial MomScotty Barnhill
1995White Wolves II: Legend of the WildJeff
1996Susie QZach Sands
1996Jimmy ZipBillyShort
1997Academy BoyzJeffrey Wagner
2000For the CauseSutherland
2000Dungeons & DragonsRidley Freeborn
2003RouletteBobbyShort
2003SlammedJeff
2005Blood of BeastsEric
2006National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2FoosballDirect-to-video
2009Super CapersEd Gruberman
2009The House That Jack BuiltFather Joe
2009Off the LedgeHopper Jackson

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1988–1989General HospitalA.J. Quartermaine
1988CBS Summer PlayhouseJohnnyEpisode: "Silent Whisper"
1989One of the BoysNick Lukowski6 episodes
1989Charles in ChargeAnthony6 episodes
1989Mr. BelvedereEricEpisode: "Big"
1989–1990The Wonder YearsHenchman / Mark KovinskyEpisode: "Fate"
Episode: "The Cost of Living"
1990–1991BlossomWilliam Zimmerman / Jordan Taylor / JimmyEpisode: "Pilot"
Episode: "The Geek"
Episode: "Second Base"
1991Santa Barbara
1991Perfect HarmonyTaylor BradshawTV movie
1992The Young RidersAdrian DawkinsEpisode: "The Sacrifice"
1993The Fire Next TimePaul Morgan2 episodes
1993CBS Schoolbreak SpecialChaz Havelik / Will JurgensonEpisode: "Crosses on the Lawn"
Episode: "Other Mothers"
1993It Had to Be YouDavid Quinn6 episodes
1994–1997Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of SupermanJimmy Olsen65 episodes
1998The Wonderful World of DisneyHenrik KosterEpisode "Miracle at Midnight"

Awards

List of awards and nominations
YearAwardCategoryRecipientResult
1991 Young Artist Award Best Young Actor in a Daytime Series Santa Barbara Nominated
Best Young Actor Guest Starring or Recurring Role in a TV Series Blossom Nominated
Best Young Actor Starring in a Cable Special Perfect Harmony Nominated
Saturn Award Best Performance by a Younger Actor Child's Play 3 Nominated
1994 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special CBS Schoolbreak Special (Episode: "Other Mothers") Won
1996 ALMA Award Outstanding Television Series Actor in a Crossover Role Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Nominated

References

  1. Account (2009-11-03). "Superman's Whalin Files For Divorce". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  2. "WITH AN EYE ON . . . : As ABC's second assigned Jimmy Olsen, Justin Whalin hits the newsroom running". Los Angeles Times. March 26, 1995. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  3. "Justin Whalin Biography (1974-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  4. Winslow, Harriet (March 5, 1995). "A Younger Jimmy Joins 'Lois & Clark'". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2010.
  5. Lois & Clark Second Season DVD Set, "Marketing Metropolis: The Fans of Lois & Clark". Warner Bros. Entertainment. 2006.
  6. Lois & Clark Second Season DVD Set, "Lois & Clark: Secrets of Season 2". Warner Bros. Entertainment. 2006.
  7. "Theater".
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