# Josh Zuckerman
**Josh Zuckerman** (birth name Joshua Ryan Zuckerman) is an American actor, writer, and director born in 1985 in [Stanford, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/stanford-california), known for the comedy film *[Sex Drive](https://www.edgepedia.org/sex-drive-film)* (2008), his recurring television roles as Max Miller on *90210* and Eddie Orlofsky on *Desperate Housewives*, and his starring role as Mr. Martin on the [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) series *School Spirits* (2023– ).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958430/) • [2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/josh-zuckerman/credits/3000230676/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1985, Stanford, California, USA; birth name Joshua Ryan Zuckerman[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958430/) • [2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/josh-zuckerman/credits/3000230676/) |
| Professions | Actor, director, writer, producer; IMDb lists 86 acting credits, 3 writing credits, and 3 directing credits[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958430/) |
| Early film roles | Young Evil in *Austin Powers in Goldmember* (2002), Brian Valco in *Surviving Christmas* (2004), Hot Wheels in *Feast* (2005)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958430/) |
| Lead film role | Ian in the road-trip comedy *Sex Drive* (2008), his first big leading role[3](https://www.naludamagazine.com/josh-zuckerman/) |
| Signature TV roles | Mark on *Kyle XY* (seasons two and three); Max Miller on *90210*; Eddie Orlofsky on *Desperate Housewives*; Mr. Martin on *School Spirits* (2023– )[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/josh-zuckerman/) • [5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/25556/josh-zuckerman) |
| Recent work | Rossi Lomanitz in *Oppenheimer* (2023); Peter Bart in *The Offer* (2022)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958430/) |
| Personal life | Married actress Andrea Bowen on August 29, 2024; they have one child[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958430/) |
## Early life and start in acting
Zuckerman was born in Stanford, California, and grew up in the Los Altos area of [Northern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-california) with his four siblings before his family moved to Los Angeles after the seventh grade.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958430/) • [6](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/josh-zuckerman.html) • [3](https://www.naludamagazine.com/josh-zuckerman/) He fell into local theater in his small town rather than setting out to act; the audience response he got on stage kept him performing, and an audition that failed to win him a role nonetheless landed him an agent through the casting director.[7](https://www.dailyactor.com/interview/josh-zuckerman-siginificant-mother/)
His first professional job, at about age 13 or 14 while in middle school, was a [Nickelodeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/nickelodeon) pilot called *No Place Like Home*, made with [Amanda Bynes](https://www.edgepedia.org/amanda-bynes); he has said he doubts it was ever aired.[7](https://www.dailyactor.com/interview/josh-zuckerman-siginificant-mother/) [Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television) work followed through his teens, with early appearances on *Once and Again*, *Judging Amy*, *The West Wing*, *Bette*, and *That's Life* in 1999 and 2000.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/person/josh-zuckerman/) He spent one year at Princeton University, leaning his coursework toward history, before deciding during the summer after his freshman year, while working on the film *Pretty Persuasion*, that acting would be his career; he has described acting as the only job he has ever had.[9](https://firstorderhistorians.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/10-questions-with-josh-zuckerman/)
## Television career
After guest and recurring parts through most of the 2000s, Zuckerman's first substantial career break came on the ABC Family science-fiction drama *Kyle XY*, playing Mark in seasons two and three.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/josh-zuckerman/) His first stand-alone attention came as Eddie Orlofsky on the 2009–10 season of ABC's *Desperate Housewives*, a mechanic with a taste for serial killing in an 11-episode arc.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/josh-zuckerman/) Fans also remember him as Max Miller, the nerdy boyfriend of [AnnaLynne McCord](https://www.edgepedia.org/annalynne-mccord)'s character on the *90210* revival; Famous Birthdays counts 33 episodes between 2010 and 2013, while TVmaze lists 26 episodes in the role.[6](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/josh-zuckerman.html) • [5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/25556/josh-zuckerman)
Shorter recurring and guest roles have been a steady part of his career: Toby Porter on two episodes of *Once and Again*, James "Swirly" Kilik on two episodes of *NYPD Blue* in 2002, Leo Donwell over three 2007 episodes of *CSI: Miami*, and single-episode appearances on shows including *The Big Bang Theory*, *Boston Legal*, *House*, *Breakout Kings*, *Chicago Med*, *S.W.A.T.*, *Hunters*, and *Alaska Daily*.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/josh-zuckerman/) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/person/josh-zuckerman/) He played Peter Bart in eight episodes of the 2022 miniseries *The Offer* and Paul in two episodes of the 2023 *Fatal Attraction* miniseries.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958430/) • [5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/25556/josh-zuckerman) In 2015 he starred as Nate, a Portland restaurateur, on [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw) sitcom *Significant Mother*, a role written with him in mind; the show had been planned as a CW Seed web series but was ordered straight to the network schedule.[7](https://www.dailyactor.com/interview/josh-zuckerman-siginificant-mother/)
Since 2023 he has starred as Mr. Martin on *School Spirits*, a Paramount+ series about high school students stuck in the afterlife, appearing in 16 episodes through the first three seasons.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958430/) • [5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/25556/josh-zuckerman) His character and Janet (Jess Gabor) served as the season two antagonists before being redeemed in season three.[10](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/school-spirits-starting-remind-me-buffy-the-vampire-slayer)
## Film work
Zuckerman's early film credits include supporting parts in *Austin Powers in Goldmember* (2002), *Surviving Christmas* (2004), and the cult horror film *Feast* (2005), as well as [Robert Redford](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-redford)'s *Lions for Lambs* (2007) and [Ethan Hawke](https://www.edgepedia.org/ethan-hawke)'s *The Hottest State* (2006).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958430/) • [3](https://www.naludamagazine.com/josh-zuckerman/) His first big leading role was Ian in [Summit Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/summit-entertainment)'s road-trip comedy *Sex Drive* (2008), a young man on a trip intended to end his virginity who instead falls for his best female friend; the film tested well and received a large advertising push but opened to modest numbers, and it has since developed a cult following.[3](https://www.naludamagazine.com/josh-zuckerman/) • [9](https://firstorderhistorians.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/10-questions-with-josh-zuckerman/)
After a co-starring role in the 2010 short *Ivan's House* opposite [John Heard](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-heard-actor), he played a leading role in the 2011 drama *Storage*.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/josh-zuckerman/) • [3](https://www.naludamagazine.com/josh-zuckerman/) He played John Holmstrom, founder of Punk Magazine, in *CBGB* (2013) and Moses Ezekiel in the Civil War drama *Field of Lost Shoes* (2014).[9](https://firstorderhistorians.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/10-questions-with-josh-zuckerman/) • [11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/josh-zuckerman) Later credits include *Useless Humans* (2020), *Bau: Artist at War* (2024), and [Christopher Nolan](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-nolan)'s *Oppenheimer* (2023), in which he played physicist Rossi Lomanitz.[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/josh-zuckerman) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958430/)
## Writing and directing
Zuckerman has moved behind the camera on two independent features, serving as director, screenwriter, and producer on *A Real Adventure* (2018) and *An Orgy in Joshua Tree* (2019).[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/josh-zuckerman) In a 2015 interview he said directing had crossed his mind, noting that he enjoys watching scenes and suggesting ideas to actors, and that he prides himself on close attention to detail.[9](https://firstorderhistorians.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/10-questions-with-josh-zuckerman/)
## References
1. [Josh Zuckerman (I), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958430/)
2. [Josh Zuckerman List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/josh-zuckerman/credits/3000230676/)
3. [Josh Zuckerman Interview, Naluda Magazine](https://www.naludamagazine.com/josh-zuckerman/)
4. [Josh Zuckerman – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/josh-zuckerman/)
5. [Josh Zuckerman, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/25556/josh-zuckerman)
6. [Josh Zuckerman – Age, Bio, Family, Famous Birthdays](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/josh-zuckerman.html)
7. [Josh Zuckerman on His 'Significant Mother', Daily Actor](https://www.dailyactor.com/interview/josh-zuckerman-siginificant-mother/)
8. [Josh Zuckerman, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/josh-zuckerman/)
9. [10 Questions with Josh Zuckerman, First Order Historians](https://firstorderhistorians.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/10-questions-with-josh-zuckerman/)
10. [School Spirits Is Starting To Remind Me Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/school-spirits-starting-remind-me-buffy-the-vampire-slayer)
11. [Josh Zuckerman Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/josh-zuckerman)
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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: 2000s onward › Surnames X to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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