# John Asher
**John Asher** (born John Mallory, 1971) is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, producer, and editor, best known for playing Gary Wallace on the television series *Weird Science* and for directing films including *Kounterfeit* (1996), *Dirty Love* (2005), *Somebody Marry Me* (2013), and *A Boy Called Po* (2016).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/john_asher) • [2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/john-asher/bio/3000494084/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971, Los Angeles, California; birth name John Mallory[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/john_asher) • [2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/john-asher/bio/3000494084/) |
| Parents | Actress Joyce Bulifant and actor Edward Mallory; adopted by Joyce's third husband, director William Asher[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038875/bio/) |
| Acting breakthrough | Gary Wallace on *Weird Science* (1994), taking over the lead from Anthony Michael Hall, who played the role in the 1985 film[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/john-asher/) |
| Directing debut | *Kounterfeit* (1996), an action film starring Hilary Swank[2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/john-asher/bio/3000494084/) |
| Notorious film | *Dirty Love* (2005), written by and starring Jenny McCarthy; premiered at Sundance and won Asher the 2006 Razzie Award for Worst Director[5](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dirty-love-2005) • [2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/john-asher/bio/3000494084/) |
| Signature experiment | *Somebody Marry Me* (2013), a romantic comedy shot in one continuous 98-minute take with no cuts[6](https://madisonhouseautism.org/arts/inside_autism_john_asher/) |
| Most personal film | *A Boy Called Po* (2016), about a family's journey with autism, inspired by his son Evan[7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038875/) |
## Family background
Asher was born into a show-business family. His mother is the actress [Joyce Bulifant](https://www.edgepedia.org/joyce-bulifant) and his biological father was the actor Edward Mallory; he was adopted by Bulifant's third husband, [William Asher](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-asher), the director of *I Love Lucy* and creator of *Bewitched*.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038875/bio/) • [6](https://madisonhouseautism.org/arts/inside_autism_john_asher/) In a 2016 interview he described his father's working maxim, "Movies are never finished, they're abandoned."[6](https://madisonhouseautism.org/arts/inside_autism_john_asher/)
He has said that growing up with dyslexia pushed him toward visual expression and that, as a child, he broke his father's video cameras while trying to capture shots.[7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038875/)
## Acting career
Asher's television debut was a bit part on *Beverly Hills, 90210* in 1990.[2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/john-asher/bio/3000494084/) Four years later he took his first lead role as Gary Wallace on the science-fiction comedy series *Weird Science*, continuing the character [Anthony Michael Hall](https://www.edgepedia.org/anthony-michael-hall) played in John Hughes's 1985 film.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/john-asher/) He has described the four years on that set as his informal film school, where he used each job as a chance to observe directors at work.[7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038875/)
His film acting includes the role of Mike in *Showdown* (1993), Shane Robinson in *The New Swiss Family Robinson* (1998), and Young Jerry, a younger version of [Donald Sutherland](https://www.edgepedia.org/donald-sutherland)'s character, in *Space Cowboys* (2000).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/john_asher) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/john-asher/) Later guest appearances include *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation*, where he played a director named Zack Putrid as a joke on musician-filmmaker [Rob Zombie](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-zombie), along with *NCIS*, *The Mentalist*, *Rizzoli & Isles*, *The Rookie*, and *Grace and Frankie*.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/john-asher/) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/person/john-asher/)
## Directing career
Asher moved behind the camera in his twenties. Sources agree he directed his first feature, the action film *Kounterfeit* starring [Hilary Swank](https://www.edgepedia.org/hilary-swank), in the mid-1990s, but they differ on the details: Rotten Tomatoes dates it to 1997 and says he was 24, [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) calls it a 1996 film, and his own bio site says he was 23 while a 2016 interview says 21.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/john_asher) • [2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/john-asher/bio/3000494084/) • [9](https://www.directedbyjohnasher.com/bio) • [6](https://madisonhouseautism.org/arts/inside_autism_john_asher/) He followed with *Chick Flick* (1998) and *Diamonds* (1999), a Miramax production starring [Kirk Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirk-douglas) and Dan Aykroyd, all before he turned 30.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/john_asher)
**Dirty Love.** His 2005 comedy *Dirty Love*, written by and starring his then-wife [Jenny McCarthy](https://www.edgepedia.org/jenny-mccarthy), premiered at Sundance and was released that September.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/john_asher) • [10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_love/reviews/top-critics) The film was panned: Roger Ebert, the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times) critic and 1975 [Pulitzer Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/pulitzer-prize) winner for criticism, wrote that it was "so pitiful, it doesn't rise to the level of badness," and it earned Asher the 2006 Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director.[5](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dirty-love-2005) • [2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/john-asher/bio/3000494084/)
**Television and comedy specials.** Asher directed episodes of Showtime's *Going to California* (2001) and seven episodes of the CW teen drama *One Tree Hill*, and he directed live comedy specials including *Margaret Cho: PsyCHO* (Showtime, 2015), *Sebastian Maniscalco: Aren't You Embarrassed?* (Showtime, 2014), and *Ralphie May: Unruly* (Netflix, 2015).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/john_asher) • [2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/john-asher/bio/3000494084/)
**The 2010s.** In 2013 he directed *Somebody Marry Me*, a romantic comedy shot in a single continuous 98-minute take with no cuts; it won the Hoboken International Film Festival's Best of the Festival award that year.[6](https://madisonhouseautism.org/arts/inside_autism_john_asher/) • [2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/john-asher/bio/3000494084/) His next feature, *A Boy Called Po* (2016), follows one family's journey with autism and was inspired by his son Evan, who has autism; Asher has called it his most personal and most honest work, and he edited the film himself, his first time editing.[6](https://madisonhouseautism.org/arts/inside_autism_john_asher/) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038875/) He followed with the *Taken* spoof *Tooken* (2015), starring [Margaret Cho](https://www.edgepedia.org/margaret-cho), and the family comedy *I Hate Kids* (2018).[7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038875/) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/john_asher) In 2018 he founded EZPZ Films, a music video company that has made videos for artists including [Snoop Dogg](https://www.edgepedia.org/snoop-dogg), Sum 41, [New Kids on the Block](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-kids-on-the-block), Dan + Shay, and Kane Brown.[9](https://www.directedbyjohnasher.com/bio)
**A Love Like This.** Asher's dramatic romance *A Love Like This*, starring [Emmanuelle Chriqui](https://www.edgepedia.org/emmanuelle-chriqui) and Hayes MacArthur, follows a couple over a long weekend in Malibu as a secret affair unravels. Sources place its release in 2024, 2025, or 2026; IMDb lists it as a 2026 film, while his own site says 2024 and Rotten Tomatoes says 2025.[7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038875/) • [9](https://www.directedbyjohnasher.com/bio) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/john_asher) In interviews Asher described it as his first serious dramatic turn as a director, his first film with final cut, and a film he also edited himself, shot in 12 eight-hour days with no overtime.[11](https://behindthelensonline.net/site/interviews/interview-exclusives/john-asher-interview-a-love-like-this/) His mother, Joyce Bulifant, appears in a small role as an antiques shop owner.[11](https://behindthelensonline.net/site/interviews/interview-exclusives/john-asher-interview-a-love-like-this/)
## Personal life
Asher married actress Jenny McCarthy on September 11, 1999; they divorced in September 2005 and have one son, Evan Asher.[7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038875/) McCarthy's engagement to Donnie Wahlberg was announced in 2014, with US Weekly noting she had previously been married to "actor and director John Mallory Asher."[12](https://time.com/65384/jenny-mccarthy-engaged-donnie-wahlberg/)
## References
1. [John Asher Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/john_asher)
2. [John Asher Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/john-asher/bio/3000494084/)
3. [John Asher - Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038875/bio/)
4. [John Asher - Actor, Director, Writer, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/john-asher/)
5. [Aspiring to awfulness (Dirty Love review), RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dirty-love-2005)
6. [Inside Autism: A Conversation with John Asher, Director of PO and Evan's Dad, Madison House Autism Foundation](https://madisonhouseautism.org/arts/inside_autism_john_asher/)
7. [John Asher, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038875/)
8. [John Asher, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/john-asher/)
9. [BIO, directedbyjohnasher.com](https://www.directedbyjohnasher.com/bio)
10. [Dirty Love Reviews, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_love/reviews/top-critics)
11. [Growing Up on Screen: JOHN ASHER Finds Heart, Vulnerability, and Final Cut with A LOVE LIKE THIS, Behind The Lens Online](https://behindthelensonline.net/site/interviews/interview-exclusives/john-asher-interview-a-love-like-this/)
12. [Jenny McCarthy: I'm Engaged to Donnie Wahlberg, Time](https://time.com/65384/jenny-mccarthy-engaged-donnie-wahlberg/)
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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 A*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 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