Nolan Gerard Funk

Canadian actor-singer Nolan Funk burst into entertainment for young adults in 2009 with a starring role in the rock musical "Spectacular!" (Nickelodeon, 2009), which led to heartthrob turns on such equally popular teen projects as "Glee" (Fox, 2009-15) and "Awkward" (MTV, 2011- ). A former professional diver and gymnast, Funk moved into films and television in 2001 with guest appearances on numerous episodic series and the occasional feature.

"Spectacular!" gave his profile a huge boost, which led to stints on Broadway, as a pop singer and frequent guest star on the aforementioned series. Interestingly, Funk appeared to cultivate an entirely different audience in his film roles, which hewed towards grown-up fare like "House at the End of the Street" (2012), "Riddick" (2013) and "The Canyons" (2013). His willingness to explore both lightweight TV and more dramatic feature fare seemed to indicate that Funk might have a career outside of the 12-to-18 viewership demographic.

Born Nolan Gerard Funk on July 28, 1986 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Nolan Funk began his career in sports, competing on the national level as both a diver and gymnast. He shifted his focus to acting in the early part of the new millennium, quickly amassing supporting roles in American and Canadian television aimed at young viewers, including "Smallville" (The WB, 2001-2011), "Supernatural" (The WB/CW, 2005- ) and features like "X2" (2003).

Funk's big break came as the lead in a Nickelodeon TV-movie musical called "Spectacular!" which cast him as a self-centered frontman for a rock group opposite Australian singer Tammin Sursok and Victoria Justice. The popularity of the project quickly elevated Funk to teen idol status, which he reinforced through appearances on "Glee," and on the well-received "Awkward." During this period, Funk also appeared as Conrad Birdie in a 2009-2010 limited Broadway run of "Bye Bye Birdie."

While cultivating a clean-cut image on the small screen, Funk's feature film career took some decidedly mature turns. He was a high school tough who runs afoul of Max Thieriot's unstable teen in the hit thriller "House at the End of the Street" (2012), and a Bible-toting mercenary who opposes the indestructible Vin Diesel in "Riddick" (2013). Funk closed out the year with a supporting turn in Paul Schrader's controversial drama "The Canyons" (2013), starring Lindsay Lohan and adult film star James Deen.