Chris Conrad stars as Young Jason, the Crown Prince of Corinth, in Young Hercules, the new half-hour action-adventure series premiering on Fox Kids Network this fall. Though raised to be a king, Jason inherited the mantle much sooner than expected and while he's serious about his obligations to his people, he also has a craving for adventure that he shares with his close friends Hercules and Iolaus.
One of Hollywood's most promising young actors, Chris has already worked extensively in film and television. Most recently seen on the big screen as martial arts movie star Johnny Cage in the high-action feature Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, he has played leading roles in a number of other films, including The Next Karate Kid with Pat Morita and Hilary Swank, the action comedy Airborne and the upcoming Lovers and Liars with David Carradine and David Faustino. He also enjoyed small roles in the motion picture hits Clear and Present Danger and The Specialist.
On television, Chris has been featured in such movies as Mario and the Mob, Touch of Truth with Melissa Gilbert and Patty Duke, and UPN's Star Command. He also starred opposite Shannon Doherty in an episode of Billy Friedkin's Showtime series Rebel Highway Jailbreakers and guest-starred in NBC's Jag.
Chris originated the role of Young Jason when he co-starred in the two-hour Universal Home Video feature Young Hercules, released this past spring. He went on to guest-star as the character in two episodes of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys last season and relocated to New Zealand in May 1998 to reprise his role in the new series.
Born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Chris is the third eldest of four boys in a close-knit family. He and his brothers were extremely athletic and excelled in a variety of sports, including football, baseball, basketball, soccer and judo. His love of performing began in grade school where he was always the class cut-up, but it wasn't until he improvised a comedy skit in high school that he realized he wanted to become an actor.
Following graduation, he enrolled in Florida State University where his two older brothers, Tim and Steve, were also students. He signed up for an acting class in his freshman year, but was quickly turned off by the serious academic tone of the course and dropped out. Later, his acting teacher sought him out on campus and persuaded him to give acting another try.
During his sophomore year, Chris, who grew up improvising comedy routines with his younger brother Mike, teamed up with a buddy to enter Florida State's Funniest Man Competition. Performing a comedy skit they wrote, the two won first prize - $500 and a trip to New York City to open at the Improv. They ended up becoming a regular act at Florida State, performing at parties and at comedy clubs around town. Chris also got a job doing sports on the radio through his brother Tim, who had started his own radio show and was an enormously popular sports broadcaster at Florida State. The job gave Chris another excellent outlet for his comedy.
After his sophomore year, Chris decided to leave school and move to Chicago to join his brother Steve, who had transferred to Northwestern to complete his major in creative writing. Chris spent his first year there studying at the acclaimed Piven Theatre Workshop and, after signing with an agent, landed his first acting role in the television movie Mario and the Mob, a comedy starring Robert Conrad and Ann Gillian. When Steve decided to move to Los Angeles to try to sell Wrestling Ernest Hemingway, the screenplay he'd been writing in his spare time, Chris moved with him. Neither, of course, expected the amazing response the script would receive. It was sold within a month and the resulting film starred Robert Duvall, Richard Harris, Shirley MacLaine and Piper Laurie.
While this was happening, Chris' fortunes also improved. He was cast in an episode of Raven and then in a small film called Star Food. Since then, he has worked steadily in film and television. He and a friend also started their own improv group in L.A. that performed as The Stick Men.
Chris thrives on the physical demands of his role as Young Jason. He started kick boxing and wrestling when he was in high school and currently works out two or three times a week doing Machado jujitsu, a Brazilian form of the sport that involves a combination of wrestling and joint manipulation. He also lifts weights to keep in shape.
