Sean Faris

Sean Faris is an American actor known for his roles as Jake Tyler in Never Back Down, Kyo Kusanagi in The King of Fighters, and Rick Penning in Forever Strong. He also played Tom in the film Ghost Machine and has appeared across a range of feature films, television shows, and voice projects.

Faris was born on March 25, 1982, in Houston, Texas, to Katherine and Warren Stephen Faris. Raised in a working-class family in a small Houston house, he moved to Ohio at age 12. There, he attended Padua Franciscan High School in Parma as well as the Barbizon Modeling and Acting School in Cleveland. In 1999, he competed at the International Model and Talent Association.

In his early television career, Faris starred in two series, Life as We Know It and Reunion, both of which were canceled prior to completing their first seasons. His early film work included appearing alongside Alexa Vega in Sleepover in 2004, the same year he was nominated for the Young Actors Award at the 7th Annual Young Hollywood Awards. He also portrayed William Beardsley in the film Yours, Mine & Ours.

In 2007, Faris filmed three consecutive features: Forever Strong, Never Back Down, and Brooklyn to Manhattan. Never Back Down was released on March 14, 2008, alongside the 2008 releases of the other two projects. Also in 2008, he stepped into producing by producing and starring in the short film Manifest Destiny.

Faris expanded his television and media appearances in 2010 by guest-starring in three episodes of The Vampire Diaries. That year, he was featured on the cover of the January/February issue of U.S. Men's Health Magazine, which became the publication's highest-selling issue of 2010. In early 2011, he co-starred in the CBS television movie The Lost Valentine opposite Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Faris also provided the voice for Jack Rourke in the 2011 video game Need for Speed: The Run.

On March 22, 2013, Faris was announced in the role of Pennsylvania State Police Officer Gabriel Holbrook on Pretty Little Liars. In February 2014, it was reported that he had secured a lead role in Supernatural: Bloodlines, a planned spin-off of Supernatural. He appeared in the backdoor pilot during the twentieth episode of Supernatural's ninth season, though the spin-off was not selected for a full series.

In his personal life, Faris married actress Cherie Daly, also known as Cherie Jimenez, on September 5, 2017, during that year's Burning Man festivities. In November 2021, the couple shared on Instagram that they were expecting their first child.