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Justin Whalin

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Justin Whalin
Whalin at WonderCon 2009
Born
Justin Garrett Whalin

(1974-09-06) September 6, 1974 (age 50)
Alma materAmerican Conservatory Theater
Occupation(s)Actor, teacher
Years active1987–2009
Spouse
Reina Flynn
(m. 2006; div. 2009)
[1]

Justin Garrett Whalin (born September 6, 1974) is an American actor turned drama teacher and administrator. 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]

Early life

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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.[citation needed]

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

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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.[citation needed]

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

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1988 The Dead Pool Jason
1990 Denial Jason
1991 Child's Play 3 Andy Barclay
1993 Murder of Innocence Phil Andrew
1994 Serial Mom Scotty Barnhill
1995 White Wolves II: Legend of the Wild Jeff
1996 Susie Q Zach Sands
1996 Jimmy Zip Billy Short
1997 Academy Boyz Jeffrey Wagner
2000 For the Cause Sutherland
2000 Dungeons & Dragons Ridley Freeborn
2003 Roulette Bobby Short
2003 Slammed Jeff
2005 Blood of Beasts Eric
2006 National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2 Foosball Direct-to-video
2009 Super Capers Ed Gruberman
2009 The House That Jack Built Father Joe
2009 Off the Ledge Hopper Jackson

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1988–1989 General Hospital A.J. Quartermaine
1988 CBS Summer Playhouse Johnny Episode: "Silent Whisper"
1989 One of the Boys Nick Lukowski 6 episodes
1989 Charles in Charge Anthony 6 episodes
1989 Mr. Belvedere Eric Episode: "Big"
1989–1990 The Wonder Years Henchman / Mark Kovinsky Episode: "Fate"
Episode: "The Cost of Living"
1990–1991 Blossom William Zimmerman / Jordan Taylor / Jimmy Episode: "Pilot"
Episode: "The Geek"
Episode: "Second Base"
1991 Santa Barbara
1991 Perfect Harmony Taylor Bradshaw TV movie
1992 The Young Riders Adrian Dawkins Episode: "The Sacrifice"
1993 The Fire Next Time Paul Morgan 2 episodes
1993 CBS Schoolbreak Special Chaz Havelik / Will Jurgenson Episode: "Crosses on the Lawn"
Episode: "Other Mothers"
1993 It Had to Be You David Quinn 6 episodes
1994–1997 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Jimmy Olsen 65 episodes
1998 The Wonderful World of Disney Henrik Koster Episode "Miracle at Midnight"

Awards

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List of awards and nominations
Year Award Category Recipient Result
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

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  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. ^ a b c d 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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Preceded by Actors to portray Jimmy Olsen
1994–1997
Succeeded by