Andrew Bowen is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on MADtv and voices Johnny Cage in the Mortal Kombat universe.
Life Bowen was born in Boston and raised in Vermont. After watching the film Grease at the age of six, he told his parents that he wanted to be "like John Travolta when he grew up". His mother considered enrolling him in dance class, but decided against it. The following year, he performed as the lead in his first play titled Once Upon a Rhyme. He continued studying ballet and modern jazz for eight years and was involved in local theater throughout high school.
Bowen's family later relocated to New Jersey, where his grandmother's house was used as a filming location, an opportunity that helped him secure a talent agent. During the summer following his high school graduation, Bowen acquired an agent in New York City, then moved to Los Angeles at age 19 to pursue acting. His first film role would have been as Kathryn Erbe's love interest in What About Bob? (1991). He received a letter from director Frank Oz before the film's release informing him that his role had ended up on the cutting room floor. He worked in various part-time jobs, such as commercials and small roles on television, while also taking screenwriting courses at the University of Southern California.
A father of three, Bowen is a devoted family man. His son, Seth Lucas Bowen appeared in an episode of CBS series Bad Teacher.
Career In 1995, Bowen was hired to play the lead role in Fox Hunt, a live-action interactive video game from Capcom. His character, Jack Fremont, is a comedic twist on a "James Bond" type of character. Fox Hunt was later developed as a potential television series. Bowen's performance in the game was also noticed by executives at Warner Bros., who signed him to a talent development deal.
While waiting for the Fox Hunt pilot to be filmed, Bowen wrote, directed, and financed a short film called Lone Defender. The film was intended as an audition for the role of Peter Parker in a Spider-Man movie that James Cameron was slated to direct. The Spider-Man production encountered legal problems by the time Bowen finished Lone Defender, but the process of making it had catalyzed Bowen's desire to direct films. He quickly wrote a spec script for a film called Along the Way and began looking for a producer.
Bowen eventually filmed the pilot for Fox Hunt, but the show was not picked up. Instead, he joined the cast of Fox's MADtv later that year and was quickly called one of the new talents to watch by TV Guide. Despite his success, Bowen left the show after one season, and with the help of his father he raised enough money to start principal photography for Along the Way (aka The Haven]. He gained over 40 pounds in order to play the hulking character "Jocko" in the film. Scott Weinberg wrote, "Andrew Bowen (formerly of the underrated MADtv) is stunningly strong as Jocko, creating a character that on the surface seems like little more than an affable giant, yet the actor brings a fierce sense of loyalty, a goofy sense of humor, and an overall air of desperate sadness to this role. He delivers easily one of the best 'unknown' performances I've seen in years."
While Bowen raised the money he couldn't finish his film, he continued acting, landing recurring roles on ER and Reno 911! as well as guest roles on programs such as CSI: NY, Las Vegas, JAG, Charmed. He also appeared in movies such as Ivan Reitman's Evolution (2001) and starred in several television pilots, including Breadwinners for producers Gale Anne Hurd and Steven Tao. In addition, Bowen has lent his voice to the video games Ice Age: The Meltdown, Rise of Nations, The Matrix: Path of Neo, Mortal Kombat X, Mortal Kombat 11, and others.
He appeared in the critically acclaimed film series The Work and the Glory (Parts II and III), playing Brigham Young, Big Bad Wolf for Universal Studios, and the vampire film Immortally Yours. He also had a small role in the Joss Whedon television series Dollhouse and appeared in Star Stories (the American version of a British comedy series), Conjurer with John Schneider and Maxine Bahns, and the independent feature Butterfly Dreaming for director Rufus Sam Williams. He has also filmed commercials for products including Bud Light, Circuit City, Chrysler, Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, and Diet Coke.
Celebrity impressions on Mad TV
Morey Amsterdam Yasser Arafat Christian Bale Garth Brooks Nicolas Cage Matt Damon James Doohan Michael Flatley Scott Foley Donny Osmond Bill Paxton Brad Pitt Jason Priestley Keanu Reeves Seann William Scott Charlie Sheen Christian Slater Kenneth Starr Jean-Claude Van Damme Christopher Walken
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1999 The Haunting of Hell House James Farrow 2001 Evolution Road Worker 2002 American Girl Short Guard 2003 Marines Carlos Guillen Direct-to-video 2006 Big Bad Wolf Scott Cowley 2009 The Pit and the Pendulum Alan Divay 2011 Protocol Agent 2015 Tooken Doctor Summer Forever Chris 2016 Smothered Carl Holidays Reggie Segment: "New Year's Eve" A Boy Called Po Jack 2017 The Tribes of Palos Verdes Jack
Television Year Title Role Notes 1992 Saved by the Bell Matt Wilson Episode: "The Senior Prom" 1998–99 Mad TV Various 25 episodes 1999 Batman Beyond Rick (voice) Episode: "Spellbound" 1999–2000 ER Andrew 3 episodes 2001 Charmed Male Victim Episode: "Coyote Piper" 2003 John Doe Staff Sergeant Episode: "Illegal Alien" She Spies Wade Episode: "Message from Kassar" JAG Lt. Jergensen Episode: "Pulse Rate" 2003–04 Reno 911! Redneck 3 episodes 2004 Las Vegas Eric Bates Episode: "Degas Away with It" 2005 CSI: NY Bryce Sweet Episode: "The Closer" 2009 Dollhouse Scott Episode: "Gray Hour" 2010 Cold Case Lee Mavoides '10 Episode: "Almost Paradise" 2011 Big Time Rush Blain Episode: "Big Time Girl Group" 2011–14 The Division Nick Trever 4 episodes 2012 Magic City Divin' Dave Donahue 6 episodes Leverage Charles Dodgson III Episode: "The White Rabbit Job" 2013 Criminal Minds Mark Jackson Episode: "The Gathering" 2014 Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn Rod Dynamite Episode: "Get Sporty-er!" 2015 Maron Jib Episode: "Steel Johnson" 2016 NCIS Merrick Gomer Episode: "Love Boat" 2017 NCIS: Los Angeles Nick Episode: "Fool Me Twice" 2018 Shameless Darren Episode: "Are You There Shim? It's Me, Ian."
Video games Year Title Role Notes 1996 Fox Hunt Jack Fremont 2005 Jade Empire Additional voices Yakuza The Matrix: Path of Neo Neo 2006 Ice Age 2: The Meltdown Additional voices 2010 Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Soldiers Lost Planet 2 Additional voices 2011 Catherine Todd Bozeman Also Full Body Killzone 3 Sergeant Thomas "Sev" Sevchenko Infamous 2 Male pedestrians Saints Row: The Third Josh Birk Star Wars: The Old Republic Doc, additional voices 2013 Aliens: Colonial Marines Hudson Saints Row IV Josh Birk / Nyteblade Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Additional voices 2014 Murdered: Soul Suspect 2015 Battlefield Hardline Mortal Kombat X Johnny Cage, Rain, Smoke 2016 Zero Time Dilemma Carlos 2018 Red Dead Redemption 2 The local pedestrian population Fallout 76 Billy, Harold Clark Nuclear Winter DLC 2019 Mortal Kombat 11 Johnny Cage 2020 Final Fantasy VII Remake Additional voices Yakuza: Like a Dragon 2023Mortal Kombat 1Johnny Cage Mortal Kombat: Onslaught StarfieldPaxton Hull 2024 Deadlock Jacob Lash
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