Skeet Ulrich Biography

Skeet Ulrich (born Bryan Ray Trout; January 20, 1970) is an American actor known for his roles in popular 1990s films, as Billy Loomis in Scream and Chris Hooker in The Craft. Television roles include Paul Callan in the short-lived ABC drama Miracles, Johnston Jacob "Jake" Green, Jr. in the television series Jericho, and L.A.P.D. Detective Rex Winters, a former Marine from the Law & Order franchise. He currently stars as FP Jones on The CW's Riverdale.

Early life

Ulrich was born Bryan Ray Trout in Lynchburg, Virginia. He was raised in Concord, North Carolina, by his mother, Carolyn Elaine Wax (ne Rudd), who owns the special events marketing agency Sports Management Group. Ulrich's father is a restaurateur, and his first stepfather was D. K. Ulrich, a NASCAR driver and team owner. Trout's mother has since remarried to Edward Lewis Wax. Ulrich's maternal uncle is retired NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Ricky Rudd, and his maternal grandfather was Alvin Ray Rudd, Sr., the president of Al Rudd Auto Parts.

The nickname "Skeet" originated from the nickname "Skeeter" he was given by his Little League coach because of his small stature. Along with his slight frame, he had poor health, including numerous bouts with pneumonia; he underwent open heart surgery at the age of 10. Ulrich graduated from Northwest Cabarrus High School. After enrolling at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington to study Marine Biology, he switched to New York University, where he was noticed by playwright David Mamet.

Career

In his earliest screen appearances, Ulrich was an uncredited extra in films Weekend at Bernie's (1989) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990). After joining the Atlantic Theater Company as an apprentice, Ulrich performed with the group, which got him noticed by director Stacy Cochran. She cast him in a CBS Schoolbreak Special. With her help he also received his first notable role on screen in 1996 as the loutish boyfriend of Winona Ryder in Boys. That same year he appeared in The Craft opposite Robin Tunney and Neve Campbell. He was also cast that same year to star alongside Neve Campbell, again, in Wes Craven's hit slasher film Scream.

In 1997, he had a small role as an emotionally conflicted gay hustler in As Good as It Gets (along with fellow Scream actor Jamie Kennedy). He appeared in films like The Newton Boys (1998) and Chill Factor (1999). He starred as Juvenal, a young man with stigmata and healing powers in the Paul Schrader film Touch (1997), and he appeared in Ride with the Devil (1999), an American Civil War drama directed by Ang Lee. In 2000, he played computer hacker Kevin Mitnick in the film Takedown.

On television, Ulrich starred in the short-lived ABC series Miracles and appeared in TNT's multiple Emmy-nominated miniseries Into the West (2005 in the US, 2006 in the UK). Also in 2005, Ulrich acted with Keri Russell in the television film The Magic of Ordinary Days. Ulrich starred as Jake Green on the CBS post-apocalyptic drama Jericho, which premiered on September 20, 2006 and ended its run on March 25, 2008.

Ulrich is a recurring guest voice actor on the Adult Swim animated stop-motion sketch comedy series Robot Chicken. In sketches based on G.I. Joe, Ulrich voices the character Duke.

Ulrich guest starred in three episodes of CSI: NY as a complex and disturbed killer. The episodes began airing October 7, 2009.

He signed on to star in Law & Order: LA as LAPD Detective Rex Winters but was released from his contract. His character was killed in a drive-by shooting of his house in the ninth episode.

In 2017, he stars as Forsythe Pendleton Jones II, the father of Jughead Jones in Riverdale, loosely based on the Archie comic book series, for The CW.

Personal life

In 1997, Ulrich married English actress Georgina Cates, whom he met at an Academy Award party. Their wedding was a small ceremony held on their farmland in Madison County, Virginia, with only the preacher and their canine companions as guests. Together, the couple have twins, son Jakob Dylan and daughter Naiia Rose, born in 2001. Skeet and Georgina divorced in 2005, citing irreconcilable differences. He married Amelia Jackson-Gray in 2012, and they divorced in 2015.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Weekend at Bernie's	Extra (uncredited)
1990	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Thug (uncredited)
1996	'	Chris Hooker
1996	Last Dance	Billy
1996	Boys	Bud Valentine
1996	Albino Alligator	Danny Boudreaux
1996	Scream	Billy Loomis
1997	Touch	Juvenal / Charlie Lawson
1997	As Good as It Gets	Vincent
1998	'	Joe Newton
1998	'	Mark Fossie
1999	Chill Factor	Tim Mason
1999	Ride with the Devil	Jack Bull Chiles
2000	Track Down	Kevin Mitnick
2001	Nobody's Baby	Billy Raedeen
2001	Soul Assassin	Kevin Burke
2001	Kevin of the North	Kevin Manley
2009	For Sale by Owner	Junior
2009	Armored	Dobbs
2014	50 to 1	Chip Woolley
2014	The Girl on the Roof		Short film; director
2017	Austin Found	Billy

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	CBS Schoolbreak Special	Vinnie DiFazio	Episode: "Same Difference"
2003	Miracles	Paul Callan	13 episodes
2005	'	Ray Singleton	Television film
2005	Into the West	Jethro Wheeler	TV miniseries
2006-2008	Jericho	Jake Green	29 episodes
2007-2014	Robot Chicken	Various voices	9 episodes
2009	Back	Richard Miles	Television film
2009	CSI: NY	Hollis Eckhart	3 episodes
2010	Gimme Shelter	Billy Jost	Television film
2010	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Det. Rex Winters	Episode: "Behave"
2010-2011	Law & Order: LA	Det. Rex Winters	14 episodes
2013	Anatomy of Violence	Adrian Raines	Television film
2015-2016	Unforgettable	Eddie Martin	2 episodes
2017-	Riverdale	FP Jones	Recurring (Season 1) Main (Season 2)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Result	Work
1997	Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films	Best Supporting Actor		Scream
2006	Character and Morality in Entertainment Awards			The Magic of Ordinary Days
2006	Western Heritage Awards	Television Feature Film		Into the West