# Ethan Embry
**Ethan Embry** is an American actor born Ethan Philan Randall in 1978 in [Huntington Beach, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/huntington-beach-california), who began working as a child actor in 1991 and is known for roles in *Empire Records*, *That Thing You Do!*, *Vegas Vacation*, *Can't Hardly Wait*, and the Netflix series *Grace and Frankie*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121) He was credited early in his career as Ethan Randall before adopting the stage name Embry.[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/randall-ethan/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978, Huntington Beach, California, USA[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121) |
| Birth name | Ethan Philan Randall; also credited as Ethan Randall early in his career[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121) • [2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/randall-ethan/) |
| Film debut | 1991, at age 13, in *Defending Your Life*, followed the same year by *Dutch* and *All I Want for Christmas*[3](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/ethan-embry/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121) |
| Signature teen-era roles | Mark in *Empire Records* (1995), the bass player in *That Thing You Do!* (1996), Rusty Griswold in *Vegas Vacation* (1997), Preston Meyers in *Can't Hardly Wait* (1998)[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/ethan-embry-931486/film-credits) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121) |
| Leading television roles | Derek Barnes in *FreakyLinks* (2000), Det. Frank Smith in *L.A. Dragnet* (2003), Declan Giggs in *Brotherhood* (2006), Coyote Bergstein in *Grace and Frankie* (2015–2022)[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/3242/ethan-embry) |
| Notable later films | Pete Conrad in *First Man* (2018), Officer Molina in *Blindspotting* (2018), Vince in *Cheap Thrills* (2013)[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_embry) |
| Marriages | Amelinda Smith (1998–2002); Sunny Mabrey (married 2005, filed for divorce 2012, reconciled 2013, remarried 2015)[3](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/ethan-embry/) |
## Name and early life
Embry was born Ethan Philan Randall to Karen and Charles Randall and grew up in [Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-california) with his older brother, Aaron, and his sister, Kessia.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121) Before acting in films he appeared in more than 100 television and radio commercials.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121) Some databases give his birth name as Ethan Philian Randall rather than Philan.[7](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/ethan-embry/credits/3000877368/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121)
He began acting at age 12 or 13, depending on the account, making his film debut in the 1991 romantic comedy *Defending Your Life* as Steve.[3](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/ethan-embry/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121) That same year he appeared in three films: *Defending Your Life*, the John Hughes comedy *Dutch* opposite [Ed O'Neill](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-oneill), and *All I Want for Christmas*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121) He also worked in television early on, with guest roles on *Murder, She Wrote* in 1994 and 1995.[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/3242/ethan-embry)
## Teen-era film career
Through the 1990s Embry released or filmed at least two films per year on average, a pace that continued until 1999, when he filmed about five.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121) [Ridley Scott](https://www.edgepedia.org/ridley-scott) cast him as Tracy Lapchick in the sea drama *White Squall* (1996), a role that also carried a stunts credit, and he appeared alongside [Tom Hanks](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-hanks) in *That Thing You Do!* (1996) as the unnamed bass player of the film's fictional band.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_embry) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121)
**Teen comedies.** He closed out his teen-role era playing Rusty Griswold, the son [Chevy Chase](https://www.edgepedia.org/chevy-chase)'s character, in *Vegas Vacation* (1997), the National Lampoon *Vacation* installment, and then took the lead as Preston Meyers in the 1998 teen comedy *Can't Hardly Wait*.[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/ethan-embry/) • [4](https://www.fandango.com/people/ethan-embry-931486/film-credits) Other 1990s credits include *Empire Records* (1995), listed as Mark on Fandango and as Marc on Metacritic, *Dancer, Texas Pop. 81* (1998), in the role of Squirrel, and *[Disturbing Behavior](https://www.edgepedia.org/disturbing-behavior)* (1998).[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/ethan-embry-931486/film-credits) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/ethan-embry/)
## Television work
Embry's first sustained television roles came at the turn of the millennium. In the fall of 1999 he co-starred as Sebastian on the short-lived CBS sitcom *Work with Me*, which ended after four episodes, and in the fall of 2000 he starred as Derek Barnes on the Fox series *FreakyLinks*, canceled after its thirteen-episode first season.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121) He then played Detective Frank Smith on [Dick Wolf](https://www.edgepedia.org/dick-wolf)'s remake *L.A. Dragnet* (2003) and Declan Giggs on the Showtime drama *Brotherhood* (2006).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121) • [5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/3242/ethan-embry)
**Guest and recurring roles.** Across the 2000s and 2010s he appeared as a guest on a long list of series, including *House*, *Grey's Anatomy*, *CSI: Miami*, *Hawaii Five-0*, *Drop Dead Diva*, *Once Upon a Time* (as Greg Mendell, 11 episodes), *The Walking Dead* (as Carter), *The Twilight Zone*, *[Creepshow](https://www.edgepedia.org/creepshow-tv-series)*, *DC's Stargirl* (as Johnny Thunder), *[Gotham Knights](https://www.edgepedia.org/gotham-knights-tv-series)* (as Arthur Brown), and *Sneaky Pete* (as Real Pete Murphy, 13 episodes).[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/3242/ethan-embry)
**Grace and Frankie.** His longest television commitment was the Netflix sitcom *Grace and Frankie*, on which he played Coyote Bergstein, appearing in 63 episodes listed by TVmaze and credited by IMDb across 2015 to 2022.[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/3242/ethan-embry) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121)
## Film work since 2000
Embry's 2000s film roles included Bobby Ray in *[Sweet Home Alabama](https://www.edgepedia.org/sweet-home-alabama-film)* (2002), where he reunited with [Reese Witherspoon](https://www.edgepedia.org/reese-witherspoon) after the 1993 Disney adventure *A Far Off Place*, Josh Stern in *Timeline* (2003), Billy Carver in *Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle* (2004), and the lead in the 2005 indie drama *Pizza*.[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/ethan-embry/) • [4](https://www.fandango.com/people/ethan-embry-931486/film-credits) In the 2010s he moved toward independent genre work, with roles as Vince in *Cheap Thrills* (2013), Jesse Hellman in *The Devil's Candy* (2015), and Will in *Late Phases* (2014).[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/ethan-embry-931486/film-credits)
His most visible recent film roles are [Pete Conrad](https://www.edgepedia.org/pete-conrad), the astronaut, in [Damien Chazelle](https://www.edgepedia.org/damien-chazelle)'s *First Man* (2018) and Officer Molina in *Blindspotting* (2018); *First Man* carries Metacritic's highest score among his films, 84, while *Vegas Vacation* carries the lowest, 20.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_embry) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/ethan-embry/) More recent credits include *Last Seen Alive* (2022), *Christy* (2025), *Safe House* (2025), *Alma and the Wolf* (2025), and *Scream 7* (2026), in the role of Marco.[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/ethan-embry-931486/film-credits) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/ethan-embry/)
## Personal life
Embry married actress Amelinda Smith in 1998; their son Cogeian, named after the Latin word "cogeo," meaning "to think over," was born in 1999, and the marriage ended in 2002.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121) • [3](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/ethan-embry/) He married actress [Sunny Mabrey](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunny-mabrey) in 2005, the pair filed for divorce in 2012, reconciled the following year, and remarried in 2015.[3](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/ethan-embry/)
He is a trained gymnast and often performs his own stunts; he placed sixth in a California gymnastics tournament at age 10, and back flips he performs appear in *Can't Hardly Wait*.[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/ethan-embry/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121)
## References
1. [Ethan Embry, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0256121)
2. [Randall, Ethan, Disney A to Z, D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/randall-ethan/)
3. [Ethan Embry, Us Weekly](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/ethan-embry/)
4. [Ethan Embry Filmography and Movies, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/ethan-embry-931486/film-credits)
5. [Ethan Embry, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/3242/ethan-embry)
6. [Ethan Embry Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_embry)
7. [Ethan Embry List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/ethan-embry/credits/3000877368/)
8. [Ethan Embry, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/ethan-embry/)
9. [Ethan Embry, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/ethan-embry/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Do to Es*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license