Andrew Bowen

Andrew Bowen (born March 31, 1972) is an American actor. Bowen is known most for his appearances on the sketch comedy series MADtv.

Life

Andrew Bowen was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Vermont. At the age of six, after watching the movie Grease, he announced to his parents that he wanted to be "like John Travolta when I grow up". His mother quickly enrolled him in dance class and a year later he performed as the lead in his first play, Once Upon a Rhyme. He continued studying modern jazz and ballet for eight years and was involved in local theater throughout high school.

During the summer following his high school graduation, Bowen acquired an agent in New York City, then moved to Los Angeles. His first film role was as Kathryn Erbe's love interest in the comedy film What About Bob? (1991). He received a letter from director Frank Oz before the film's release informing him that his role had ended up on the cutting room floor. Over the next few years, Bowen worked in part-time jobs, such as commercials and small roles in television, while also taking part-time screen-writing courses at the University of Southern California.

A father of three, comedy presence on Vine and devoted family man (whose son Seth Lucas Bowen is following in his tracks soon to be seen on CBS's new show Bad Teacher), Bowen's high standards, wit, talent and ability to bring out the creative best in people have resulted in a large and growing fan base eager to support his career as creative force, an inventive character Actor and chameleon like Leading Man.

Career

In 1996, Bowen was hired to play the lead role in Fox Hunt, a live-action interactive video game from Capcom. His character, Jack Fremont, was a comedic twist on a "James Bond" type of character. His comedy made the game very popular, and it was developed as a potential television series. Bowen's performance in the game was also noticed by executives at Warner Bros., who signed him to a talent development deal.

While waiting for the Fox Hunt pilot to be filmed, Bowen wrote, directed, and financed a short film called Lone Defender. The film was intended as an audition for the role of Peter Parker in a Spider-Man movie that James Cameron was slated to direct. The Spider-Man production encountered legal problems by the time Bowen finished Lone Defender, but the process of making it had catalyzed Bowen's desire to direct films. He quickly wrote a spec script for a film called Along the Way and began to look for a producer for it.

Bowen eventually filmed the pilot for Fox Hunt, but the show was not picked up. Instead, he joined the cast of Fox's MADtv later that year and was quickly called one of the new talents to watch by TV Guide. Despite his success, Bowen left the show after one season and, with the help of his father, raised enough money to start principal photography for Along the Way. He gained over 40 pounds to play the hulking character "Jocko" in the film. This paid off when the rough cut was screened for the first time and it earned a standing ovation. Scott Weinberg wrote, "Andrew Bowen (formerly of the underrated MADtv) is stunningly strong as Jocko, creating a character that on the surface seems like little more than an affable giant, yet the actor brings a fierce sense of loyalty, a goofy sense of humor, and an overall air of desperate sadness to this role. He delivers easily one of the best 'unknown' performances I’ve seen in years."

While Bowen raised the money he needed to finish his film, he continued acting, landing recurring roles on ER and Reno 911! and guest roles on programs such as CSI: NY, Las Vegas, JAG, Charmed, and appeared in movies such as Ivan Reitman's Evolution (2001). He also starred in several television pilots, including Breadwinners for producers Gale Anne Hurd and Steven Tao. In addition, Bowen has lent his voice to the video games Ice Age: The Meltdown, Rise of Nations, Yakuza, The Matrix: Path of Neo, Mortal Kombat X and others.

Most recently, Bowen finished developing Super... Mann?, a comedy series in which he planned to star and was looking for a producer for his family/fantasy adventure script Rune and his action film Decision Height. He was also continuing his work on a three-episode science fiction epic called The McCalliff Equation that he had been developing since the early 2000s. He appeared in the critically acclaimed film series The Work and the Glory (Parts II and III) playing Brigham Young, Big Bad Wolf for Universal Studios, and the vampire film Immortally Yours, and had a small role in the Joss Whedon television series Dollhouse. He has completed filming pilots for Star Stories (the American version of a British comedy series), Conjurer with John Schneider and Maxine Bahns, and the independent feature Butterfly Dreaming for director Rufus Sam Williams and has filmed commercials for products including Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)#Bud Light, Circuit City, Chrysler, Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, and Diet Coke.

Celebrity Impressions on MADtv

Television

Films

Video games

References

External links

• Andrew Bowen at the Internet Movie Database