Jon Gries returns as Greg Hunt in hbo‘s the white lotus Season 2. The actor has been in dozens of popular projects over the years. But looking back on his career trajectory, Gries revealed that he actually gave up acting before landing his most famous role.
Jon Gries started acting at a young age
Jon Gries is the son of Tom Gries, the screenwriter/filmmaker known for projects like The man from UNCLE (1965) and bat Man (1966). He made his acting debut at age 11, opposite Charleston Heston in his father’s 1968 film, penny.
Jon went on to appear in dozens of popular projects. He appeared in episodes of the jeffersons, quantum leap, beverly hills 90210, emergencies, x-files, Seinfeld, 24Y Sons of Anarchy. And she had recurring roles on Martin, The Pretender, CarnivalY Lost.
The 65-year-old’s film credits include dynamite napoleon and the Taken Serie. He was most recently seen in Dream Corp LLC Y the white lotus.
Jon Gries quit acting before landing his role in ‘Napoleon Dynamite’
dynamite napoleon is a 2004 comedy starring jon heder as Napoleon, a nerdy high school student, and Gries as his uncle Rico. The film was a huge commercial success, grossing over $44 million on a budget of $400,000. And since then it has become a cult classic.
Uncle Rico is one of Gries’ most famous roles to date. But as the actor revealed in an interview with the Legends and Masters podcasthe actually stopped acting to focus on the film side of things right before he got the movie.
Gries recalled how he was blown away by the hilarious script. And he pointed out that he accepted the film despite its low budget.
“Nobody, I think, even read it because it was a really independent movie, very hard to get people to read the scripts,” Gries recalled. “I said, ‘Well, I’m going to read it because I like the underdog.’ I like people who fight to get ahead. The actor notes that he “did most of my bread and butter in independent films.”
“I read it, and by page 16 or 15, I was laughing out loud,” he continued. “And that was it.”
Jon Grier says he gets projects like ‘The White Lotus’ due to ‘dumb luck’
In the white lotusGrier has a recurring role as Greg Hunt, Jennifer Coolidge’s love interest. Tanya McQuoid. When discussing his longevity and how he landed the role, the talented actor humbly suggested that it was down to luck.
“My brand of stubbornness is what has kept me going,” Grier said. news week. “It’s like, OK, bad year, maybe next year will be a good year. white lotus arrived. I auditioned for that show.” at the time, Grier notes that she “was suffering from ‘OG’ COVID” when she went to read for the role.
“I had a friend come and read about 40 feet away, and I got the job,” he recalled. “What a phenomenon it turned out to be! What an incredible stroke of dumb luck.”
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