Kurt Yaeger (born January 3, 1977) is an American actor, writer, director, disability advocate, and professional athlete, who is also a below-the-knee amputee. Recent work includes varying roles on the CBS series NCIS, the HBO/Cinemax series Quarry, Netflix series Another Life, and many other television appearances. Kurt gathered notoriety appearing in season five of the FX series Sons of Anarchy as Greg "the Peg" and in the Rudimental music video for the UK hit single "Waiting All Night" featuring vocals from Ella Eyre.

Early life

Kurt Yaeger was born in San Francisco, California, United States (US), and was raised in South San Francisco. He currently resides in the Los Angeles area.

As a BMX rider, Yaeger gained the nickname "Crowbar" and acquired sponsors for his BMX riding, participating in tours and competing in events.Fudger, Ryan "Kurt Yaeger – Athlete" , Ride BMX Transworld, August 30, 2010. Retrieved August 7, 2011.

As an actor, Yaeger auditioned for a Nickelodeon/Clear Channel Communications live tour based on the popular cartoon show Rocket Power. What he thought to be an acting role turned out to be an athletic/stunt role. On the first day of rehearsals, the director found out that his BMX talent was at a professional level and incorporated it into the show. The show briefly toured the US Midwest in spring 2002 before being canceled due to low ticket sales. After experiencing many BMX-related injuries, he decided to go back to college to pursue a master's degree in hydrogeology. In 2006, while attending school in San Francisco, he was in a motorbike crash that resulted in multiple injuries.Vigil, Delfin "Actor brings a little extra to the job", SF Gate, November 15, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2011. He hit a pole and went over a 40-foot embankment, crashing on the side of the freeway.

His left leg was amputated below the knee, his right anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament were torn, his pelvis was torn in half along with his bladder, seven vertebra were broken, his lungs collapsed, multiple ribs were broken, and he had a severe concussion."Give it up for BMX Pro Kurt Yaeger. That's a direct order." , Action Recon. Retrieved August 18, 2011. One year later, Yaeger made a full recovery, returning to his acting career.Vetter, Pam "Kurt Yaeger: Actor reaches beyond label of amputee" , Disaboom, April 8, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2011.

Career

Yaeger started taking acting courses and began acquiring role after role.Tunney, Brian "Pro BMXers Make the Jump to Television (9 of 11)" , ESPN Action Sports, September 28, 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2011. Some of his early work includes Michael Anderson's Tenderloin, a film about one of the most infamous neighborhoods in San Francisco. The film premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October 2009.Hamlin, Jesse "The human touch at Mill Valley Film Festival" Marin News, October 09, 2009. Retrieved August 6, 2011. Yaeger also shares the joy of working on Dolphin Tale with Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd and Harry Connick, Jr.;Vetter, Pam "2011 Media Access Awards Honor Efforts in Promoting Awareness of People With Disabilities" , American Chronicle, October 7, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2011. Knife Fight with Rob Lowe; War Flowers with Christina Ricci, Tom Berenger and Jason Gedrick; and the Syfy feature film Piranhaconda with Michael Madsen and Rachel Hunter. In 2012, he appeared in a recurring role for six episodes of the highest rated FX television series Sons of Anarchy."Kurt Yeager – Filmography by TV series" , IMDB.com Retrieved March 25, 2013. Late 2016 brings Yaeger to the set of Cinemax's New Series Original QuarryGilmam, Greg "Cinemax Orders Vietnam-Era Drama 'Quarry' To Series" , TheWrap.com, February 03, 2015. Retrieved August 08, 2016. and to NCIS: Los Angeles for a multi-episode arc.Frith, Vanessa "NCIS: LA's Season 8: Meet Sullivan!" , Enstars.com August 8, 2016 Retrieved. August 8, 2016. In 2018 Yaeger was cast in CBS All Access series Tell Me a Story.Petski, Denise "'Tell Me A Story': Michael Raymond-James, Kurt Yaeger & Rarmian Newton Join CBS All Access Drama Series" , Deadline.com, August 20, 2018. Retrieved May 08, 2019. Having 2019 bringing him to star in his third separate NCIS franchise show on NCIS: New Orleans,Darwish, Meaghan "'NCIS: New Orleans': Daryl 'Chill' Mitchell on Working with Real-Life Pal Kurt Yaeger" , TVinsider.com, April 02, 2019. Retrieved May 08, 2019. along with The Rookie,Rayner, Daniel "'The Rookie' Season 1, episode 15 'Manhunt' Recap: Prisoner Transport", TVmoviefix.com, March 05, 2019. Retrieved May 08, 2019. and a spot on the fresh television drama The Village.Moreau, Jordan "Kurt Yaeger on Standing Up for Actors With Disabilities: 'I Represent the Tip of a Spear'" , Variety.com, March 14, 2019. Retrieved May 08, 2019. In 2023 he was cast in NCIS: Hawaiʻi gaining status of the only known actor to appear on all four NCIS (franchise) editions as separate characters.Shneider, Michael "'NCIS': How Kurt Yaeger Became the First Actor to Appear as Different Characters in All Four Editions"|, Variety.com, April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023. His list of Television and Movie credits continues to grow.Sklar, Debbie "Kurt Yaeger: Actor, Director, and Athlete Who Knows No Bounds" , August 06, 2016. Retrieved August 08, 2016.

Along with his business partner Josh Gillick, Yaeger created the production company ArtistFilm."ArtistFilm, Cast & Crew" . Retrieved August 20, 2011. It produced several short films and features, such as Sedona's Rule distributed by Green Apple Entertainment, Inc. Yaeger is also involved with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), and the Actors' Equity Association (AEA) Tri-Union global disability rights campaign called IAMPWD – Inclusion in the Arts & Media of People with Disabilities. He previously served as a chairperson on the AFTRA Los Angeles Local Performers with Disabilities Committee."Members of the SAG/AFTRA/AEA Tri-Union Performers with Disabilities Committee, Kurt Yaeger" , I AM PWD. Retrieved August 22, 2011.

Yaeger volunteers his time with many organizations. He has attended several Big Sunday events for the Wounded Warrior Project,Deegan, Peachy "Movers And Shakers: Kurt Yaeger, Actor" , Whom You Know, June 30, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2011. rode in a few of Kiehl's Liferides for amfAR,Keihl's Since 1851 "Kiehl's Since 1851 Embarks On Ninth Annual LifeRide For amfAR"|, PRNewswire.com, July 31, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2023. and participated in the American300 Warrior Tour.Deegan, Peachy "Getting Back Up Tour – Kurt Yaeger and Erin Simmons Nemec – May 2012 "American300 NEVER QUIT Series – Air Force Global Strike Command" , American300 Warrior Tours, May 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012. He spoke at the 10th and 11th annual United Cerebral Palsy of New York City event called Women Who Care, sharing the stage with Ivanka Trump, Michelle Bachelet, and many others."Celebrities & VIPs Attend the Star-Studded 11th Annual Women Who Care Luncheon" . United Cerebral Palsy of New York. Retrieved June 1, 2012. Yaeger was invited as a keynote speaker to the 2014 Adobe Summit in London on the subject of reinvention. On May 14, 2014, he spoke to an abundance of tech specialists, business entrepreneurs, then introduced the band Rudimental during the Summit Fest that followed.Parry, Adam "The Full Effect Pull Out All The Stops For The Adobe Summit EMEA Party" . Event Industry News UK. May 16, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014. Yaeger's next feat was a run up the Empire State Building in New York City on February 3, 2016. This run was presented by Marmot on behalf of the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF).Yaeger, Kurt "Lessons Learned In My First Triathlon" . Askmen.com. Retrieved July 28, 2016. He doesn't cease to put his efforts into activism for awareness of disabilities, specifically in regard to casting for television and movies.Paramount Global "'PARAMOUNT GLOBAL TO HOST SUMMIT ON DISABILITY"|, PRNewswire.com, October 20, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2023.

Sports and affiliations

His sports comeback came not long after in the Extreme Sports genre of BMX. Kurt is part of a small category of number one Adaptive BMXers in the world,Shepherd, Wendy "Interview With Actor Kurt Yaeger" , Officially Plugged In, November 9, 2011. and participated in X Games 16,Tunney, Brian "Getting Back Up: The Kurt Yaeger Story", ESPN Action Sports. Retrieved August 7, 2011. followed by X Games 17. Yaeger was showcased at the X Games along with other adaptive athletes. All thanks to Adaptive Action Sports, a non-profit organization promoting Action Sports camps, events and programs for youth and young adults living with permanent physical disabilities.

In 2012, the US Paralympics Bobsled & Skeleton Team invited him to train with them in Park City in early January.Tunney, Brian "Kurt Yaeger, BMXer turned Bobsledder" , ESPN Action Sports, February 17, 2012. They asked him back to train with them in Innsbruck, Austria in early March of that year.

2013 had Yaeger participating in a promotional BMX tour of the United Kingdom,"Rudimental's Waiting All Night BMX-Star Kurt Yaeger On UK Tour" , Drift. Retrieved October 25, 2013. followed immediately by a Motorcycle tour of Africa with Touratech-USA.Goldberg, Kaj Kurt currently rides motorcycles more than BMX, both personally and as a hobby.

BMX sponsors

When Yaeger initially began training again, Etnies signed up to sponsor him, supplying shoes that allowed for an expanded experimentation with a new magnetic pedal from ProTonLocks. After he figured out how to stay on the pedals, Solid Bikes and Odyssey helped him by supplying a new bike. The last obstacle was to figure out how to keep his knee from hyper-extending from the repeated impact pressures while riding. He turned to Ossur, who built him a CTi custom knee brace for his prosthetic leg. Other sponsors, including Freestyle Watches, Stüssy, Bern Helmets, Alpine Stars, Challenged Athletes Foundation, Fox Racing, ZICO Coconut Water and more, have all backed Yaeger.

Yaeger was one of the owners of ProTonLocks, Inc., a company that makes magnetic bicycle pedals.Ostegard, Jan "Dream Role with Kurt Yaeger" MovieVine, April 18, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2013.

Filmography

Kurt Yaeger has built a multifaceted career as a versatile cinema veteran, taking on roles as an actor, writer, producer, director, and model.

Professional contributions include:

Television Credits