# Sean Faris
**Sean Faris** (full name Sean Hardy Faris) is an American actor and producer, born in 1982 in Houston, Texas, best known for his lead role as mixed-martial-artist Jake Tyler in the 2008 film *Never Back Down* and for television roles on *Life As We Know It*, *Reunion*, *The Vampire Diaries*, and *Pretty Little Liars*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sean_faris)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1982, Houston, Texas, to Katherine (Miller) and Warren Stephen Faris; of English, German, Scottish, and Irish descent[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511) |
| Breakout year | 2008: lead roles as rugby player Rick Penning in *Forever Strong* and fighter Jake Tyler in *Never Back Down*[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sean_faris) |
| Awards | MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (2008, shared with Cam Gigandet); Young Hollywood Award "The One To Watch" (2007); Young Artist Award nomination (2005)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511/awards/) |
| Notable TV roles | Dino Whitman on *Life As We Know It* (2004), Craig Brewster on *Reunion*, Ben McKittrick on *The Vampire Diaries*, Gabriel Holbrook on *Pretty Little Liars* (2013–2015)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sean_faris) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sean-faris/) |
| Physical preparation | Three months of training at 6 hours a day, 6 days a week for *Never Back Down*; gained 15 pounds of muscle, then lost 17 pounds while filming[5](https://www.fanbolt.com/12391/interview-sean-faris-from-never-back-down/) |
| Producing | Executive producer of *Freerunner* (2011) and *Lost for Words* (2013); producer of *Adulterers* (2015)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511) |
| Personal life | Married Cherie Jimenez on September 5, 2017; height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511) |
## Early life and modeling
Faris was born in Houston, Texas, and moved to Ohio at age twelve with his mother.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511/trivia/) He began modeling as a teenager in his adopted home of Cleveland, Ohio, training at the [Barbizon school](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbizon-school) there, and after graduating from high school in 2000 he moved to Los Angeles to turn modeling success into an acting career.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sean_faris) • [7](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Sean%2BFaris-134702) As a high-school athlete he played soccer, basketball, and baseball and also dove for the swim team.[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511/trivia/)
## Early career
His first screen work included [Michael Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-bay)'s *Pearl Harbor* (2001), in which he played a gunner alongside [Ben Affleck](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-affleck) and [Josh Hartnett](https://www.edgepedia.org/josh-hartnett), and the independent film *The Brotherhood 2: Young Warlocks* (2001).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511) • [8](https://www.cinemagia.ro/actori/sean-faris-18015/) On television he had a recurring role as Darren on MTV's teen soap *Undressed* and guest appearances on *Smallville*, *One Tree Hill*, *Boston Public*, and *Eve*.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sean_faris) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sean-faris/)
**First leads.** In 2004 he played the prom king Steve in the MGM teen comedy *Sleepover* and then took his first lead role, sensitive jock Dino Whitman, in ABC's teen dramedy *Life As We Know It*, adapted from Melvin Burgess's novel *Doing It*; trade papers including *Daily Variety* and *The Hollywood Reporter* named him a breakout talent for the part.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sean_faris) After that series was canceled he played heir Craig Brewster on Fox's mystery series *Reunion*, which also ended during its first season.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sean_faris) In 2005 he played William, the eldest son of [Dennis Quaid](https://www.edgepedia.org/dennis-quaid)'s character, in Paramount's remake *Yours, Mine & Ours*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511)
## Never Back Down and 2008
2008 was Faris's breakout year on film: he starred as a troubled high-school rugby player in *Forever Strong* and as a troubled mixed-martial artist in [Summit Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/summit-entertainment)'s *Never Back Down*.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sean_faris) In *Never Back Down* his character Jake Tyler joins a mixed-martial-arts fight club at his new Orlando high school and trains under a mentor played by [Djimon Hounsou](https://www.edgepedia.org/djimon-hounsou).[5](https://www.fanbolt.com/12391/interview-sean-faris-from-never-back-down/)
The physical preparation was extensive. In his own account, Faris trained for three months before filming at 6 hours a day, 6 days a week, starting each day with [Muay Thai](https://www.edgepedia.org/muay-thai), jujitsu, and taekwondo before fight choreography and weight training; he gained 15 pounds of muscle on a 5,000-calorie daily diet and then lost 17 pounds during shooting. He broke his thumb on the second-to-last day of filming and fractured a small bone in his lower back when Hounsou body-slammed him over ten takes, but still performed about 75 percent of his own stunts afterward.[5](https://www.fanbolt.com/12391/interview-sean-faris-from-never-back-down/) IMDb's trivia page gives the training figure as 7 hours a day, 6 days a week, slightly higher than the 6 hours Faris described in interviews.[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511/trivia/) • [5](https://www.fanbolt.com/12391/interview-sean-faris-from-never-back-down/)
The role brought him the 2008 MTV Movie Award for Best Fight, shared with co-star [Cam Gigandet](https://www.edgepedia.org/cam-gigandet).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511/awards/) He had earlier won the Young Hollywood Award "The One To Watch" in 2007 and been nominated for a 2005 [Young Artist Award](https://www.edgepedia.org/young-artist-award) for the young ensemble cast of *Sleepover*.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511/awards/)
## Television and later film work
Faris played Ben McKittrick in a multi-episode arc on [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw)'s *The Vampire Diaries* in its first season, and appeared as Gabriel Holbrook in seasons 4 and 5 of *Pretty Little Liars* (2013–2015), a total of 24 episodes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511) • [9](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-61932/filmographie/) In 2011 he starred as [Jennifer Love Hewitt](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-love-hewitt)'s love interest and [Betty White](https://www.edgepedia.org/betty-white)'s grandson in the CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame telefilm *The Lost Valentine*, which earned him a MovieGuide Grace Award nomination in 2012.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511/awards/)
His later film roles include [Kyo Kusanagi](https://www.edgepedia.org/kyo-kusanagi) in the video-game adaptation *The King of Fighters* (2010), the lead in the crime thriller *Pawn* (2013) opposite [Forest Whitaker](https://www.edgepedia.org/forest-whitaker), Jack McGurn in *Gangster Land* (2017), and leads in television movies such as *Christmas with Holly* (2012), *An Uncommon Grace* (2017), and *A Veteran's Christmas* (2018).[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sean_faris) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sean-faris/) More recent credits include *Algorithm: Bliss* (2020), *Sparkle: A Unicorn Tale* (2023), and *A Gettysburg Christmas* (2023).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511)
## Producing
Faris began producing with the 2008 short *Manifest Destiny* (associate producer) and has executive-produced *Freerunner* (2011) and *Lost for Words* (2013), and produced *Adulterers* (2015), in which he also starred as Samuel Deuprey.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511) • [8](https://www.cinemagia.ro/actori/sean-faris-18015/)
## References
1. [Sean Faris, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511)
2. [Sean Faris Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sean_faris)
3. [Sean Faris Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511/awards/)
4. [Sean Faris, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sean-faris/)
5. [Interview: Sean Faris from Never Back Down, FanBolt (2008)](https://www.fanbolt.com/12391/interview-sean-faris-from-never-back-down/)
6. [Sean Faris Trivia, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267511/trivia/)
7. [Sean Faris, Filmweb](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Sean%2BFaris-134702)
8. [Sean Faris, CineMagia.ro](https://www.cinemagia.ro/actori/sean-faris-18015/)
9. [Sean Faris : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-61932/filmographie/)
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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 F*
*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