From Sons of Anarchy to Army of the Dead: Theo Rossi’s Career

 

Who is Theo Rossi?

American actor and producer John Theodore ‘Theo’ Rossi was born on Staten Island, New York City USA, on 4 June 1975, meaning that Gemini’s his zodiac sign. He’s appeared in 65 movies and TV series, and is perhaps known best for playing Youcef, the main character in the 2022 crime thriller movie “Emily the Criminal”, written and directed by John Patton Ford, and which also starred Aubrey Plaza and Bernardo Badillo. It follows Emily who’s turned to criminal activities to pay off her debt – the movie won nine of its 32 award nominations.

Education and early life

Theo was raised in New York City as an only child, solely by his mother Mary Jane Tomasino; he hasn’t spoken about his father, and it’s believed that he abandoned the family when Theo was two years old.

He studied at a local high school and was a rather problematic teenager, as he often got into fights perhaps because he was also a drug dealer; Theo’s spoken openly about that time, and that he mostly chose to focus on acting so that he could get away from that kind of life.

He matriculated in 1993, and then stayed in New York City for a couple of more years, prior to moving to California and enrolling at Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in acting in 2000.

Roles in movies

Theo’s debut film role was playing Montilli in the 2001 drama “The Myersons”, while some of his following roles were in the 2002 drama “Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie”, the 2003 adventure family comedy “The Challenge”, and the 2004 short comedy “Missing in Action”.

The year 2005 saw him play Greg Berlin in the action horror comedy “House of the Dead 2”, directed by Michael Hurst, and which starred Emmanuelle Vaugier, Ed Quinn and Sticky Fingaz; it follows a virus outbreak at a university which has turned all the students into zombies. Theo could then have been seen appearing in the 2005 family sports drama “Code Breakers”, the 2006 crime mystery “Jane Doe: Yes, I Remember It Well”, and the 2007 short comedy “Nurses”.

The year 2008 saw him play Antonio in the critically acclaimed action adventure horror “Cloverfield”, which starred Jessica Lucas and Mike Vogel, and was directed by Matt Reeves. It follows a group of friends who’ve embarked on a rescue mission during a monster attack on New York City, and the film won five of its 39 award nominations. Some of Theo’s roles in the remainder of the decade were in the 2008 crime thriller “The Informers”, and in 2009 the horror thriller “Kill Theory” and the action horror thriller “Red Sands”.

In 2016, he starred as Mike Mitchell in the thriller “When the Bough Breaks”, directed by Jon Cassar, and which also starred Morris Chestnut and Regina Hall; it follows a surrogate mother who’s become obsessed with a man who’s to adopt her child, and the film was nominated for a Canadian Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography in Theatrical Feature.

Some of Theo’s most recent film roles have been in the thriller “The Devil You Know”, the horror thriller “Escape the Field” and the action thriller “Vendetta”, all released in 2022; he’s currently shooting for seven upcoming movies, which include “Site”, “Carry On” and “The Getback”.

Roles in TV series

Theo’s debut TV series role was playing Brandon Webber in the 2001 episode “Chapter Twenty-Nine” of the comedy “Boston Public”, and the following years saw him appear in an episode of the family comedy “Malcolm in the Middle”, the crime mystery “NYPD Blue” and the mystery “Medical Investigation”.

What marked the 2000s for him was perhaps portraying Randy Payton in the action mystery “Jericho”, which starred Lennie James and Skeet Ulrich, and was created by Josh Schaer and Stephen Chbosky. It follows the citizens of a small town in Kansas which has been covered in a mysterious mushroom cloud – the series aired from 2006 through 2008 and won one of its seven award nominations.

Theo started off the 2010s by appearing in an episode of the crime action “Hawaii Five-0”, another crime action “Alcatraz”, and the crime mystery “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”. From 2008 through 2014, he played Juan Carlos ‘Juice’ Ortiz in the critically acclaimed crime thriller “Sons of Anarchy”, which starred Katey Sagal and Charlie Hunnam, and was created by Kurt Sutter; it follows a father who’s a member of an outlaw motorcycle club, and the series won 11 of its 67 award nominations.

Theo’s also known for portraying one of the main characters Hernan ‘Shades’ Alvarez in all the 26 episodes of the hit crime action “Luke Cage”, created by Cheo Hodari Coker, and which also starred Simone Missick and Mike Colter. It follows Luke Cage who has gained superpowers through a sabotaged experiment, and now has unbreakable skin and super-strength; the series won six of its 28 award nominations.

.@Theorossi‘s response to the one accessory he can’t live without will melt your heart. https://t.co/BqtpBTrroU pic.twitter.com/M3F3188ZqA

— WWD (@wwd) October 3, 2016

Theo’s three most recent TV series roles have been in six episodes of the 2021 crime thriller mini-series “True Story”, the 2020 episode “Choices” of the short animated action “Tales of the Jedi” (voice role) and seven episodes of the 2022 mystery comedy “The Lower Bottoms”; he’s currently shooting for the upcoming mini-series “The Penguin”, set to be released in 2024.

Other credits

Theo produced the 2015 drama movie “Bad Hurt” and the 2016 short drama film “#RightToBeMe”.

Some of his recent talk-show appearances have been in “Life in Film”, “In Three” and “Tamron Hall”.

Awards and nominations

Theo won a 2015 Sunscreen Film Festival West Prize for Best Narrative Feature, for “Bad Hurt”.

He was also nominated for a 2017 Imagen Foundation Award for Best Actor – Feature Film, for his performance in “Lowriders”, and a 2023 Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Performance, for “Emily the Criminal”.

Love life and marriage

Theo avoids sharing the details of his love life with his fans, but it’s known that he’s been a married man for close to a decade. He and American non-celebrity Meghan McDermott married in a small and private ceremony on 17 November 2014, attended by not more than 100 of their friends and family members; Meghan prefers to stay away from media, and even her profession remains unknown. Meghan gave birth to their son Kane Alexander Rossi on 8 June 2015, and their second son Arlo Benjamin Rossi followed on 3 August 2017.

Theo’s yet to speak about other women with whom he’s been, he’s married to Meghan McDermott as of May 2023, and has two sons with her.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Theo’s been a vegan since the age of 23, and loves to eat almond butter and popcorn; he’s also an animal rights activist, and supports the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Theo’s ancestry includes Spanish, Italian and Lebanese.

He’s a philanthropist and has donated money to several charity organizations working with wounded soldiers, especially those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); he’s visited a number of US military bases, and is an ambassador to the Boot Campaign. His charity program Staten Strong rebuilt three homes destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in November 2012.

Theo’s followed by close to 650,000 people on Instagram, and has posted over 120 pictures and videos onto the network.

One of his favorite actors in now-retired Jack Nicholson, while some of his favorite movies include “A Few Good Men”, “The Departed” and “The Shining”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Theo’s age is 47. He has brown eyes and black hair, is 5ft 11ins (1.8m) tall and weighs about 170lbs (76kgs).

Theo’s net worth’s been estimated at over $4 million, as of May 2023.