John Allen "Jake" McDorman IV (born July 8, 1986) is an American actor best known for the 2014 film American Sniper and starring on television shows such as CBS' Limitless (2015–2016) and the Disney+ historical drama The Right Stuff as Alan Shepard. He is also well known for his roles on the ABC Family comedy-drama Greek (2007–2011), the fourth season of the Showtime comedy-drama Shameless (2014), the revival season of the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown (2018), FX's What We Do in the Shadows (2019), and Peacock's sci-fi comedy drama series Mrs. Davis (2023).
Early life McDorman was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of Deborah Gale () and John Allen McDorman III. He has a younger sister, Morgan, and an older half-sister, Amanda. McDorman studied acting at the Dallas Young Actors Studio and Nancy Chartier's Film and Acting Studio. He attended Richardson High School, Westwood Junior High and Northwood Hills Elementary in Texas.
Career McDorman starred in the Fox sitcom Quintuplets from 2004 to 2005, and later guest-starred on House, CSI: Miami and Cold Case. He made his film debut in the 2005 thriller Echoes of Innocence, and later has appeared in Aquamarine, Bring It On: All or Nothing and Live Free or Die Hard. From 2007 to 2011, McDorman starred as Evan Chambers in the ABC Family teen drama series Greek. He also played the lead role in the 2011 Lifetime movie The Craigslist Killer.
In 2012, McDorman played the male lead role opposite Laura Prepon in the short-lived NBC sitcom Are You There, Chelsea?. He later joined the cast of Showtime comedy-drama, Shameless as Mike Pratt. He starred in the film See You in Valhalla opposite Sarah Hyland, and in 2014 co-starred in Clint Eastwood's film American Sniper. Also in 2014, McDorman was cast in the male lead role opposite Lio Tipton in the ABC romantic comedy series, Manhattan Love Story. In 2015, he starred in CBS's Limitless as Brian Finch, a young man who uses a mysterious drug called "NZT" to enhance his intelligence to help the FBI solve cases. The TV series continued the story of the motion picture of the same name. McDorman went on to play Mr. Bruno in the Academy Award nominated film Lady Bird in 2017. Additionally he was seen as Nelson Gardner on the highly acclaimed episode of HBO's Watchmen entitled "This Extraordinary Being". His main role in 2023's Mrs. Davis reunited him with Watchmen creator Damon Lindelof.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 2005 Echoes of Innocence Dave2006 Aquamarine Raymond Bring It On: All or Nothing Brad Warner 2007 Live Free or Die Hard Jim 2008 Moment Man 2010 See You on the Other Side James Short film2014 See You in Valhalla Magnus Burwood American Sniper Ryan "Biggles" Job 2015 Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story Charlie MacNeel 2016 Me Him Her Griffin 2017 Lady Bird Mr. Bruno 2018 Ideal Home Beau Brumble Unlovable Jesse The Escape of Prisoner 614 Thurman Hayford 2020 Happiest Season Connor 2022 Jerry & Marge Go Large Doug Selbee Spring Bloom Chef Post-production
Television Year Title Role Notes 2003 Run of the House Scott Banks 2 episodes 2004–2005 Quintuplets Parker Chase Main role, 22 episodes2006 House Dan 1 episode CSI: Miami Carl Thornton 1 episode 2007 Cold Case Tanner 1 episode 2007–2011 Greek Evan Chambers Main role, 70 episodes2011 Memphis Beat Shane Vereen 1 episode The Craigslist Killer Philip Markoff Television film2012 Are You There, Chelsea? Rick Miller Main role, 12 episodes The Newsroom Tate Brady 2 episodes 2013–2014 Shameless Mike Pratt Recurring role, 10 episodes 2014 Manhattan Love Story Peter Main role, 11 episodes 2015–2016 Limitless Brian Finch Main role, 22 episodes 2018 Murphy Brown Avery Brown Main role, 13 episodes 2019 Watchmen Nelson Gardner / Captain Metropolis Episode: "This Extraordinary Being" 2019–2020 What We Do in the Shadows Jeff Suckler / Gregor 4 episodes 2020 The Right Stuff Alan Shepard Main role, 8 episodes 2021 Dopesick John Brownlee Miniseries, 8 episodes2023 Mrs. Davis Wiley Main role Class of '09 Murphy Main role
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