Jeremy Merton Sisto is an actor, producer, and screenwriter from the United States who has worked in film, television, and theater. He is a gifted thespian who has spent the majority of his life performing professionally. Sisto grew up in a household of actors and fell in love with performing almost by accident. He made his cinematic debut in 1991 in the film ‘Grand Canyon,’ starring Kelvin Kline and Danny Glover, and then went on to perform in two television films in a row before appearing in the cult classic ‘Clueless,’ in 1995. He was cast in his first major role as the Messiah in the biblical historical drama ‘Jesus’ after a string of tiny parts and guest appearances. In the years since, he’s played a devil, Julius Caesar, and a variety of other characters in films. He also gave Bruce Wayne’s voice in an animated film. He has also been on television. He played Billy Chenowith in the comedy-drama ‘Six Feet Under’ from 2001 to 2005, then he was cast in ABC’s ‘Suburgatory’ in 2011. In 2014, he co-wrote, produced, and acted in the comedy film ‘Break Point,’ which represented a turning point in his career. He is now starring in Robert Munic’s new production, ‘Ice.’
Childhood and Adolescence
Jeremy Merton Sisto is the youngest child and only son of Reedy Gibbs and Richard “Dick” Sisto, and was born on October 6, 1974, in Grass Valley, California. Sisto was a jazz musician and professor, while Gibbs was an actor. They have a daughter, actress Meadow Sisto, in addition to Jeremy. When Jeremy’s parents divorced when he was four years old, his father remarried, this time to fabric artist Penny Sisto.
He was raised by his mother, first in the lower Sierra Nevada Mountains and then in Chicago, Illinois, from the age of seven. Before attending Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, he attended Hayfield Montessori School in Louisville, Kentucky. He went on to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned his bachelor’s degree (UCLA).
Career of Jeremy Sisto
When Jeremy Sisto was a student, he had a serious interest in acting. He went on to work in his first film, ‘Grand Canyon,’ after performing for local theater companies Cherry Street Theater and Absolute Theater Company (1991).
He opted to pursue acting full-time after finishing his education. He co-starred with Reese Witherspoon in the 1992 television film ‘Desperate Choices: To Save My Child,’ and in the 1994 television adaptation of ‘The Shaggy Dog’ (1959). He was able to demonstrate his aptitude and talent in the early years of his profession by portraying a wide range of characters.
He acted alongside Viggo Mortensen in ‘The Crew’ (1994), Gwyneth Paltrow in ‘Moonlight and Valentino’ (1995), Jeff Bridges in ‘White Squall’ (1996), Luke Wilson in ‘Bongwater’ (1998), and Giovanni Ribisi in ‘Some Girl’ (1998), in addition to playing the wealthy, arrogant teen Elton Tiscia in ‘Clueless’ (1995). (1998). In ‘Hideaway,’ he played the demon Vassago,’ a medical student turned kidnapper in ‘Suicide Kings,’ a Republican politician Frederick W. Seward in ‘The Day Lincoln Was Shot,’ and Olympic gold medalist Frank Shorter in ‘Without Limits.’
In 1999, he had his first leading part in a major film, ‘Jesus.’ The film starred Jacqueline Bisset as Mary, Jesus’ mother, Armin Mueller-Stahl as Joseph the carpenter, Debra Messing as Mary Magdalene, and Gary Oldman as Pontius Pilate, and had a $20 million budget. In the Moxie Award-winning film ‘This Space Between Us,’ he plays a widowed filmmaker (2000). He was cast as Julius Caesar in the miniseries ‘Julius Caesar’ in 2003. Veteran performers Richard Harris and Christopher Walken played Lucius Sulla and Cato the Younger, respectively, in the film.
He then got the chance to play the racist Southerner Shane Mungitt in Richard Greenberg’s drama “Take Me Out.” In 2006, he returned to the stage to play Michael Klingenfelt in a Broadway production of ‘Festen’ at the Music Box Theatre. He co-starred in the low-budget black-and-white independent film ‘Don’s Plum’ alongside his sister Meadow in 2001. ‘May,’ a psychological horror thriller, was his next major release (2002).
He played a man whose fiancée wants to call off their wedding in the romantic comedy ‘Now You Know (2002). He played Brady, one of the supporting characters in the Oscar-nominated film ‘Thirteen’ (2003). He also starred in ‘The Movie Hero,’ a 2003 film in which he played the protagonist Blake Gardner. For the cyberpunk science-fiction picture ‘Paranoia 1.0,’ Sisto took on the role of producer (2004). He was cast as former FBI operative Lucian Knapp in NBC’s short-lived crime drama ‘Kidnapped’ in 2006.
In 2008, he voiced Bruce Wayne / Batman in the direct-to-video animated feature ‘Justice League: The New Frontier.’ In 2009, he co-starred in the independent drama ‘Into Temptation’ with Kristin Chenoweth. He plays a single parent who moves to the suburbs with his daughter (Jane Levy) in Emily Kapnek’s situational comedy “Suburgatory.” After three seasons, the show was canceled. He has been appearing in Audience Network’s ‘Ice,’ a show about a family in the diamond trade, since 2016. In the upcoming military movie ‘The Long Road Home,’ he will play Sgt. Robert Miltenberger.
Major Projects of Jeremy Sisto
Jeremy Sisto is most known for his part in Alan Ball’s ‘Six Feet Under,’ a black-comedy masterwork that received great critical praise and consistently high HBO ratings. Billy Chenowith, played by Sisto, was a main character in the first season and a recurrent character in season two. Chenowith is an artist with bipolar disorder who frequently loses control of his behavior, resulting in violent and destructive outbursts.
In season 18, 19, and 20, Sisto replaced Milena Govich’s Nina Cassady as Jesse L. Martin’s character Ed Green’s partner on NBC’s police procedural and legal drama television series ‘Law & Order’ as Det. Cyrus “Lupes” Lupo.
Achievements & Awards
Jeremy Sisto received his first award nomination for ‘Six Feet Under’ at the 2002 Screen Actors Guild Award in 2002. In 2003, he won the Dahlonega International Film Festival’s Jury Award for Best Actor – Feature Film and the Cinequest Film Festival’s Special Jury Maverick Acting Award for ‘The Movie Hero.’ For ‘Into Temptation,’ he received the Achievement Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival in 2009.
Personal Experiences of Jeremy Sisto
Jeremy Sisto married Marisa Ryan, an actress of the same age, in Las Vegas when he was 18 years old. They were married for only two days before they divorced. However, they were officially married until 2002, when they divorced. In February 2007, he began dating Addie Lane, a production assistant. Their first child, a daughter named Charlie-Ballerina, was born on June 5, 2009. Four months later, on October 13, the pair married at New York City Hall. On March 9, 2012, Lane gave birth to their son, Bastian Kick. The family currently resides in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Laurel Canyon.
He is a committed supporter of Hollygrove, a children’s charity initiative dedicated to serving mistreated and neglected children, and The Art of Elysium, which encourages working actors to help various children’s causes, as an active member of the community. Sisto was named after Trappist philosopher Thomas Merton by his parents.
For James Cameron’s epic romance-disaster film ‘Titanic,’ he and Kate Winslet auditioned together for the roles of Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater, respectively (1997). However, Leonardo DiCaprio was cast in the role.
Estimated Net Worth
Jeremy Sisto is a $6 million dollar actor from the United States. He is most recognized for his roles in TV shows such as Six Feet Under, Suburgatory, Law & Order, and FBI.