# Travis Van Winkle
**Travis Van Winkle** (born 1982) is an American film and television actor best known for the films *Accepted* (2006) and *Friday the 13th* (2009), for playing Lt. Danny Green across five seasons of TNT's action series *The Last Ship*, and for Cary Conrad in the Netflix thriller *You*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/travis-van-winkle/) His screen career began with guest spots in 2004 and has since ranged from horror and comedy to network drama, streaming action, and Hallmark holiday films.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1982, Victorville, California; birth name Travis Scott Van Winkle[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/travis-van-winkle/) |
| First major film role | Hoyt Ambrose in the college comedy *Accepted* (2006), followed by Trent in Michael Bay's *Transformers* (2007)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/travis-van-winkle/) • [2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-134671/filmographie/) |
| Signature TV role | Lt. Danny Green on *The Last Ship* (TNT), seasons 1 through 5, 2014 to 2018[3](https://www.crew-united.com/en/Travis-Van-Winkle_129922.html) |
| *You* role | Cary Conrad, season 3 (2021, 11 episodes by IMDb's count through 2025) and a return in season 5, episode 7 (2025)[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1670886/) • [2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-134671/filmographie/) |
| Recent series regular | Aldon on Netflix's *FUBAR* (2023 to 2025)[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1670886/) |
| Film (2024) | Dex in the *Road House* remake[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1670886/) |
| Education | Attended the University of West Georgia but did not graduate; left at 20 to pursue acting in Hollywood[5](https://www.sensacine.com.mx/actores/actor-134671/biografia/) |
## Early life and start in acting
Van Winkle was born in [Victorville, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/victorville-california), and moved around frequently with his family as a boy before the family settled in Georgia.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/travis-van-winkle/) He attended the University of West Georgia without finishing a degree, leaving at age 20 to try an acting career in Hollywood.[5](https://www.sensacine.com.mx/actores/actor-134671/biografia/) He also did some modeling work during this period, including for [Abercrombie & Fitch](https://www.edgepedia.org/abercrombie-and-fitch).[5](https://www.sensacine.com.mx/actores/actor-134671/biografia/)
His television debut came in a December 2004 episode of the Fox sitcom *Quintuplets*, and guest appearances followed quickly on *That's So Raven*, *Malcolm in the Middle*, *7th Heaven*, and *The O.C.*.[5](https://www.sensacine.com.mx/actores/actor-134671/biografia/) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/travis-van-winkle/)
## Film roles, 2005 to 2012
**Breakthrough comedies and horror.** In 2006 he took his first major film role as Hoyt Ambrose, Blake Lively's rich boyfriend, in the college comedy *Accepted*, and in 2007 played Trent, Shia LaBeouf's bully, in [Michael Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-bay)'s *Transformers*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/travis-van-winkle/) • [6](https://daman.co.id/exclusive-fashion-feature-travis-van-winkle) A 2008 parody role as Sonio in *Meet the Spartans* followed.[2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-134671/filmographie/) In 2009 he played Trent Sutton DeMarco, the same character type he had portrayed in *Transformers*, in the New Line and Paramount remake *Friday the 13th*.[5](https://www.sensacine.com.mx/actores/actor-134671/biografia/) Independent thrillers of the early 2010s included *247°F* (2011, as Ian) and *Bloodwork* (2011, as Greg), along with *Last Call* (2012).[3](https://www.crew-united.com/en/Travis-Van-Winkle_129922.html) • [2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-134671/filmographie/)
## Television career
While building film credits, Van Winkle stayed busy on television. He had recurring roles on *90210* (as Jamie, 2009), *Hart of Dixie* (as Jonah Breeland, five episodes), and *Happy Endings* (as Bo Bazinski, two episodes in 2011), and single-episode parts on shows including *CSI: Miami*, *Raising Hope*, *Two and a Half Men*, *2 Broke Girls*, and *Veronica Mars*.[2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-134671/filmographie/) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/person/travis-van-winkle/)
**The Last Ship.** In 2014 he joined the cast of TNT's action series *The Last Ship* as Lt. Danny Green. The series, also starring [Eric Dane](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-dane), Rhona Mitra, Adam Baldwin, and Charles Parnell, follows the crew of a lone naval destroyer after a global pandemic wipes out most of the world's population; it premiered in the summer of 2014 and ran through a fifth season in 2018.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/travis-van-winkle/) • [8](https://www.dailyactor.com/interview/interview-the-last-ship-travis-van-winkle-comic-con/) Van Winkle said that the Navy SEALs working on the production were "authenticating everything", and that "no matter what, I'm always going to bring me into" a role.[8](https://www.dailyactor.com/interview/interview-the-last-ship-travis-van-winkle-comic-con/) When Eric Dane died in 2025, Van Winkle posted a tribute describing Dane as "a great man" and thanking him for their shared memories on the show.[9](https://apnews.com/article/32f6979f21a085476e0c93394f0e1535)
After *The Last Ship*, he was a series regular as Det. Ryan Stock alongside [Alan Cumming](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-cumming) in the CBS drama *[Instinct](https://www.edgepedia.org/instinct-american-tv-series)* (11 episodes in 2019), appeared in Hallmark holiday television movies including *Christmas Getaway* (2017), *Project Christmas Wish* (2020), and *'Tis the Season to Be Merry* (2021), and was a series regular in the CBS medical drama pilot *Good Sam* (2022) as Dr. Eric Kace.[2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-134671/filmographie/) • [10](https://awsprxdam.crownmediadev.com.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/highRes/3779922.pdf) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1670886/)
## *You* and streaming work
**Cary Conrad.** In October 2020 it was announced that Van Winkle had been cast as Cary Conrad, a lead role in the third season of Netflix's thriller *You* (2021).[5](https://www.sensacine.com.mx/actores/actor-134671/biografia/) Cary and his wife Sherry ([Shalita Grant](https://www.edgepedia.org/shalita-grant)) are the influencer power couple of the fictional suburb Madre Linda; *Time* described Cary as a "life-optimization type who fasts and CrossFits and leads male-bonding hunting trips where participants can only eat what they kill", and called Van Winkle well cast in the role.[11](https://time.com/6107266/you-season-3-recap/) In an interview about the character, Van Winkle described Cary as a supplement-company owner and professional biohacker who believes he is teaching people to reconnect with their deeper selves.[12](https://www.theitalianreve.com/it/intervista-con-travis-van-winkle-la-terza-stagione-di-you-e-la-connessione-con-il-nostro-io-perduto/) He returned as Cary in the series' fifth and final season in 2025.[2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-134671/filmographie/) • [13](https://www.whattowatch.com/features/you-season-5-episode-7-recap-wheres-the-context)
The casting grew out of a 2020 decision he later described in a *Backstage* essay: he had booked a network pilot he loved, but when pandemic delays pushed its filming into conflict with *You* season 3, he had to choose between them. He picked *You*, a character part he felt network television was unlikely to offer him; the pilot was still made, and he wrote that he remained proud of his choice.[14](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/travis-van-winkle-you-netflix-74112/)
His streaming work since has included a recurring appearance in *Made for Love* (2022) and the leading supporting role of Aldon in Netflix's action-comedy *[FUBAR](https://www.edgepedia.org/fubar-tv-series)* opposite [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://www.edgepedia.org/arnold-schwarzenegger), which ran two seasons from 2023 to 2025, plus the role of Dex in the 2024 *Road House* remake.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1670886/) He is cast as Curtis Larson in two episodes of *The Pitt* (2026) and as Philip in the TV movie *Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True* (2026), which was in post-production as of early 2026.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1670886/) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/travis-van-winkle/)
## References
1. [Travis Van Winkle, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/travis-van-winkle/)
2. [Filmographie Travis Van Winkle, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-134671/filmographie/)
3. [Travis Van Winkle, Crew United](https://www.crew-united.com/en/Travis-Van-Winkle_129922.html)
4. [Travis Van Winkle, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1670886/)
5. [Travis Van Winkle: Su biografía, SensaCine](https://www.sensacine.com.mx/actores/actor-134671/biografia/)
6. [Exclusive Fashion Feature: Travis Van Winkle, DA MAN Magazine](https://daman.co.id/exclusive-fashion-feature-travis-van-winkle)
7. [Travis Van Winkle, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/travis-van-winkle/)
8. [Interview: The Last Ship's Travis Van Winkle, Daily Actor](https://www.dailyactor.com/interview/interview-the-last-ship-travis-van-winkle-comic-con/)
9. [Alyssa Milano, Selma Blair, Ashton Kutcher and more remember Eric Dane, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/32f6979f21a085476e0c93394f0e1535)
10. [Crown Media cast biography (Project Christmas Wish)](https://awsprxdam.crownmediadev.com.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/highRes/3779922.pdf)
11. ['You' Season 3 Is the Best Installment Yet, Time](https://time.com/6107266/you-season-3-recap/)
12. [Intervista con Travis Van Winkle, The Italian Rêve](https://www.theitalianreve.com/it/intervista-con-travis-van-winkle-la-terza-stagione-di-you-e-la-connessione-con-il-nostro-io-perduto/)
13. [You season 5 episode 7 recap, WhatToWatch](https://www.whattowatch.com/features/you-season-5-episode-7-recap-wheres-the-context)
14. [This 'You' Star Admits: Actors Are Defined by Their Choices, Backstage](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/travis-van-winkle-you-netflix-74112/)
---
*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 Wh to W*
*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