Patrick Fugit Biography

Patrick Raymond Fugit (born October 27, 1982) is an American actor best known for his debut performance in the lead role of Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous.

Career

Making his acting debut in a school production while in the seventh grade (he played the shoemaker in The Twelve Dancing Princesses), Fugit pursued an acting career and landed guest roles on episodes of Promised Land and Touched by an Angel (both from CBS) in 1998. That same year, he was a meal for hungry insects in the Fox television movie Legion of Fire: Killer Ants. Work in the more mild-mannered Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder (CBS) followed in 2000.

Fugit became much more widely known when he was cast in the starring role in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, playing a young rock-fan-turned-reporter. He later claimed that his knowledge of 1970s rock music was nil ("I actually thought Led Zeppelin was one person"). Fugit's performance was widely praised. Before Almost Famous was released, he auditioned for the title role in Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko. The role eventually went to Jake Gyllenhaal.

Fugit later played a sweetly geeky, aspiring comic book artist in White Oleander (film) (2002) and a naive drug addict in the indie dark comedy Spun (2003). His next film, Saved! (2004), was a satirical look at the religious right in high school. Fugit played the cool young pastor's skateboarding son and love interest to a pregnant, once-popular teen (Jena Malone) who must re-evaluate her moral positions.

In 2005, he co-starred in The Amateurs, an independent comedy about a sleepy town that comes together to film a porno. In the 2006 film, Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas, his love interest was Olivia Wilde of the television series House, M.D., where Fugit had a guest star appearance. In 2007, he co-starred with Shannyn Sossamon in Wristcutters: A Love Story.

Fugit portrayed the role of a snake boy, Evra Von, in the movie Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, released on October 23, 2009.

In November 2010, Fugit signed on to Cameron Crowe's adaptation of Benjamin Mee's We Bought a Zoo, which was released in December 2011.

Personal life

Fugit was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. His mother, Jan Clark-Fugit, is a dance teacher, and his father, Bruce Fugit, is an electrical engineer. Fugit is the oldest of three children; he has a younger sister, Jocelyn, and a younger brother, Colin. In high school, Fugit was diagnosed with ADHD while a student at East High School in Salt Lake city.

Fugit has been an avid skateboarder since he was 15. In the film Saved!, the character of Patrick was originally supposed to be a surfer. But when Fugit was cast, the character was changed to a skateboarder because of Fugit's skateboarding experience.

Fugit formed the Salt Lake City band "Mushman" with best friend David Fetzer, by "accident". The band can best be described as a blend of folk and rock. Fugit plays the guitar and sometimes sings. Fugit is also studying flamenco guitar, which he can be heard playing on the Cavedoll song "MAYDAY".

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Other notes
2000	Almost Famous	William Miller
2002	Spun	Frisbee
	White Oleander	Paul Trout
2004	Saved!	Patrick
	Dead Birds	Sam
2005	The Amateurs	Emmett	Alternative title: The Moguls
2006	Wristcutters: A Love Story	Zia
	Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas	Bickford Shmeckler
2007	The Good Life	Andrew
2009	Horsemen	Cory
	Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant	Evra the Snake Boy
2011	Cinema Verite	Alan Raymond
	We Bought a Zoo	Robin Jones
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997, 1998	Touched by an Angel	Boy #1 Joey	Episode: Nothing But Net Episode: Only Connect
1998	Legion of Fire: Killer Ants!	Scott Blount	TV-Movie
1999	Stray Dog	Duncan	TV-Movie
2001	MADtv	William Miller	Episode: 6.19
2003	ER	Sean Simmons	3 episodes
2006	House, M.D.	Jack Walters	Episode: Whac-A-Mole