# Skyler Gisondo
**Skyler Gisondo** (full name Skyler Augustus Gisondo; born 1996 in [Palm Beach, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/palm-beach-florida)) is an American actor who began working as a child in the early 2000s and became known as an adult for playing Eric Bemis on Netflix's *Santa Clarita Diet*, Gideon Gemstone on HBO's *The Righteous Gemstones*, and [Jimmy Olsen](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimmy-olsen) in [James Gunn](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-gunn)'s *Superman* (2025).[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2010065626) • [2](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/skylergisondo) • [3](https://variety.com/2025/film/features/superman-skyler-gisondo-jimmy-olsen-1236453501/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1996, Palm Beach, Florida[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2010065626) |
| Start in acting | SAG card at age 6 after a Pizza Hut commercial; screen debut in an episode of *Miss Match* (ABC, 2003)[4](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/skyler-gisondo-interview-primetime-1236686881/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/skyler-gisondo) |
| Child-career volume | Over 40 acting credits before he was old enough to vote[6](https://www.gq.com/story/skyler-gisondo-exit-interview-2019) |
| Breakthrough TV roles | Series regular as Eric Bemis on *Santa Clarita Diet* (Netflix, 2017) and as Gideon Gemstone on *The Righteous Gemstones* (HBO)[2](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/skylergisondo) |
| Signature film roles | James Griswold in *Vacation* (2015), Jerrod in *Booksmart* (2019), Ben in *The Social Dilemma* (2020), Lance Brannigan in *Licorice Pizza* (2021)[2](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/skylergisondo) |
| Superman | Jimmy Olsen, the Daily Planet reporter and sidekick to Clark Kent and Lois Lane, in James Gunn's *Superman* (2025)[3](https://variety.com/2025/film/features/superman-skyler-gisondo-jimmy-olsen-1236453501/) |
| Voice work | B-Dawg across the Air Buddies franchise; Dale on *Fairfax*; Max Brinly in the video game *The Quarry*; Farkle in *Shrek 5*[2](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/skylergisondo) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/skyler-gisondo) • [7](https://www.vanityfair.com/story/gisondo-primetime-fockers-in-law-profile) |
## Early life and background
Gisondo was born in 1996 in Palm Beach, Florida.[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2010065626) His parents worked in the ocean engineering world, not show business, and he has described his childhood on sets as feeling like "a normal childhood."[6](https://www.gq.com/story/skyler-gisondo-exit-interview-2019) At age six, he went on a family trip to Los Angeles; they enjoyed it enough that they chose not to return home.[6](https://www.gq.com/story/skyler-gisondo-exit-interview-2019)
He has a Jewish background: he has a Hebrew tattoo reading *Gam zeh ya'avor*, "This too shall pass."[8](https://www.vulture.com/article/righteous-gemstones-skyler-gisondo-gideon-rescue-redeemer-interview.html) He attended the [University of Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-southern-california) but left at 19 for acting work, recalling, "I was going to USC and I had to drop out of school for work."[8](https://www.vulture.com/article/righteous-gemstones-skyler-gisondo-gideon-rescue-redeemer-interview.html)
## Career as a child actor
Gisondo earned his [Screen Actors Guild](https://www.edgepedia.org/screen-actors-guild) card at age 6, after booking a [Pizza Hut](https://www.edgepedia.org/pizza-hut) commercial and guest roles on network shows including *Strong Medicine* and *What I Like About You*.[4](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/skyler-gisondo-interview-primetime-1236686881/) His screen debut came in an episode of *Miss Match* (ABC, 2003), when he was 7.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/skyler-gisondo) Guest appearances through the decade included *E.R.*, *House, M.D.*, *CSI*, *Everybody Loves Raymond*, and *Monk*.[2](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/skylergisondo) • [6](https://www.gq.com/story/skyler-gisondo-exit-interview-2019)
**Series work.** He was a series regular as Bryan Pearson on TBS's *The Bill Engvall Show* from 2007 to 2009, and played young Shawn Spencer on USA's *Psych* from 2010 to 2012.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/skyler-gisondo) • [2](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/skylergisondo)
**Early films.** He voiced B-Dawg, a hip-hop-loving mutt, in *Air Buddies* (2006), the sixth film in the [Air Bud](https://www.edgepedia.org/air-bud) franchise, and reprised the role five more times between 2008 and 2012.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/skyler-gisondo) His live-action credits from this period include *Walk Hard* and *Four Christmases*[6](https://www.gq.com/story/skyler-gisondo-exit-interview-2019), young [Moe Howard](https://www.edgepedia.org/moe-howard) in *The Three Stooges* (2012), and Howard Stacy, Gwen Stacy's younger brother, in *The Amazing Spider-Man* (2012) and its 2014 sequel.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/skyler-gisondo) In 2014 he replaced Jake Cherry as Nick Daley, Ben Stiller's screen son, in *Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb*.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/skyler-gisondo) By the time he was old enough to vote he had accumulated more than 40 acting credits.[6](https://www.gq.com/story/skyler-gisondo-exit-interview-2019)
## Television breakthrough: Santa Clarita Diet and The Righteous Gemstones
Gisondo's adult career took shape through two series-regular roles. On Netflix's *Santa Clarita Diet* (2017) he played Eric Bemis.[2](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/skylergisondo) On HBO's *The Righteous Gemstones* he played Gideon Gemstone; GQ described him as "the moral center of Gemstones, the lone straight man in an Evangelical family of bombastic fools and liars."[2](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/skylergisondo) • [6](https://www.gq.com/story/skyler-gisondo-exit-interview-2019) Filming on the show's fourth and final season overlapped with production on *Superman*, with creator [Danny McBride](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-mcbride) accommodating both schedules.[3](https://variety.com/2025/film/features/superman-skyler-gisondo-jimmy-olsen-1236453501/)
Between the two series he played Sam on Peacock's *The Resort* (2022) and Charlie in the animated *Scavengers Reign* (2023).[9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/skyler-gisondo/)
## Film career
Gisondo's film work moved from family comedies to lead and supporting roles in studio and independent features. He played [Ed Helms](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-helms)'s anxious son James in *Vacation* (2015), a lead role as James Griswold for New Line Cinema.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/skyler-gisondo) • [2](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/skylergisondo) His resume lists lead roles in *Hard Sell*, *Class Rank*, *Time Freak*, *Feast of the Seven Fishes*, and *The Cat and the Moon*.[2](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/skylergisondo)
In 2019 he played Jerrod in [Olivia Wilde](https://www.edgepedia.org/olivia-wilde)'s *Booksmart*; GQ called him "the funniest part of Booksmart," a goofily exuberant outcast who tries, unsuccessfully, to buy friendship, and Wilde described the character as "extra."[6](https://www.gq.com/story/skyler-gisondo-exit-interview-2019) He then played Ben, a lead role, in Netflix's *The Social Dilemma* (2020), and Lance Brannigan, a supporting part, in [Paul Thomas Anderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-thomas-anderson)'s *Licorice Pizza* (2021).[2](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/skylergisondo) Both *Booksmart* and *Licorice Pizza* were filmed before he turned 25.[7](https://www.vanityfair.com/story/gisondo-primetime-fockers-in-law-profile)
## Superman and recent work
In James Gunn's *Superman* (2025), Gisondo played Jimmy Olsen, the plucky, redheaded [Daily Planet](https://www.edgepedia.org/daily-planet) reporter and sidekick to Clark Kent ([David Corenswet](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-corenswet)) and [Lois Lane](https://www.edgepedia.org/lois-lane) (Rachel Brosnahan).[3](https://variety.com/2025/film/features/superman-skyler-gisondo-jimmy-olsen-1236453501/) Even before his casting was announced, comic book fans had been discussing online how he would make a good Jimmy.[3](https://variety.com/2025/film/features/superman-skyler-gisondo-jimmy-olsen-1236453501/) He will reprise the role in Gunn's *Man of Tomorrow*, scheduled for the following summer.[4](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/skyler-gisondo-interview-primetime-1236686881/)
His slate after *Superman* is dense. He has a major role in *Focker-in-Law*, the latest film in Universal's *Meet the Parents* franchise, due out in November, in which his character brings home Ariana Grande as his fiancée.[4](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/skyler-gisondo-interview-primetime-1236686881/) *Primetime*, in which he stars, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2025, where he and his costars received an eight-minute standing ovation, ahead of a nationwide release on September 25.[7](https://www.vanityfair.com/story/gisondo-primetime-fockers-in-law-profile) At the time of the *Vanity Fair* profile, he voiced Farkle, one of Shrek's three children, in *Shrek 5* alongside Marcello Hernández and Zendaya, was filming the HBO Max series *The People vs. Gorilla Grodd*, and had an upcoming A24 film, *Goblin*, with Kenneth Branagh.[7](https://www.vanityfair.com/story/gisondo-primetime-fockers-in-law-profile)
## Voice acting and video games
Voice work has run through Gisondo's career from the start. Beyond B-Dawg in the Air Buddies films, he was a series regular as Dale on Amazon's *Fairfax* (2021), has had a recurring role as Matty Moyer on *American Dad!*, and played Max Brinly in 2K Games' video game *The Quarry*.[2](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/skylergisondo) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/skyler-gisondo/) *Shrek 5* adds Farkle to the list.[7](https://www.vanityfair.com/story/gisondo-primetime-fockers-in-law-profile)
## Reception and career pattern
A *Hollywood Reporter* profile written when Gisondo was 30 described his screen persona as "the nice guy, the lovable dork, the hapless sidekick."[4](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/skyler-gisondo-interview-primetime-1236686881/) GQ framed 2019, with *Booksmart* and *The Righteous Gemstones* airing the same year, as his breakout.[6](https://www.gq.com/story/skyler-gisondo-exit-interview-2019)
His path differs from many child actors of his generation. Rather than launching through a Disney Channel or Nickelodeon vehicle, he built his career through the audition circuit, one guest role and independent film at a time, and crossed into adult roles with *Booksmart* and *Licorice Pizza*.[7](https://www.vanityfair.com/story/gisondo-primetime-fockers-in-law-profile) The fan-driven campaign for him to play Jimmy Olsen, which began before any announcement, reflects the same profile: a supporting-player reputation that audiences carried into a major franchise role.[3](https://variety.com/2025/film/features/superman-skyler-gisondo-jimmy-olsen-1236453501/)
## References
1. [Gisondo, Skyler, LC Linked Data Service, Library of Congress](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2010065626)
2. [Skyler Augustus Gisondo, Resume, Actors Access](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/skylergisondo)
3. ['Superman': Skyler Gisondo on Playing Jimmy Olsen, Variety](https://variety.com/2025/film/features/superman-skyler-gisondo-jimmy-olsen-1236453501/)
4. [Skyler Gisondo Interview About 'Primetime' Role, The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/skyler-gisondo-interview-primetime-1236686881/)
5. [Skyler Gisondo, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/skyler-gisondo)
6. [Skyler Gisondo, 'Booksmart' and 'Righteous Gemstones' Breakout, on His Massive 2019, GQ](https://www.gq.com/story/skyler-gisondo-exit-interview-2019)
7. [Skyler Gisondo Found His Dark Side for 'Primetime', Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/story/gisondo-primetime-fockers-in-law-profile)
8. ['Righteous Gemstones' Skyler Gisondo on the Redeemer Escape, Vulture](https://www.vulture.com/article/righteous-gemstones-skyler-gisondo-gideon-rescue-redeemer-interview.html)
9. [Skyler Gisondo, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/skyler-gisondo/)
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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 G to Gl*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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