In the small town of Danbury in Connecticut, on April 13, 1976, Greg and
Mary Brandis gave birth to baby Jonathan Gregory Brandis
This baby turned
into "The All-American good guy." Ironically, his father (previously a bus
driver) decided to name Jon after a "cool" guy that caught his bus. His
middle name is his father's name. He's an only child.
When Jon was only 2 years old, his mother took him on a long drive into
New York City, where he made he debut into show business on a Buster Brown
Shoes Poster.
Each day, they would do this, Jon working on commercials, and as a print
model. From this, he managed to get a part on "One Life to Live" at the
age of 6!
When he turned 9, his parents packed up and decided to move to LA, where Jon
could pursue a television and movie career. Almost immediately, he won a
part on the Farrah Fawcett series "Poor Little Rich Girl."
He then won small parts on several movies, until the Television Movie Series
"Stephen Kings: It," in 1990 where he played the part of a chronic stutterer.
Also later that year, he featured in the sequel to The NeverEnding Story,
and played the child hero, Bastian. It was here in Germany (where the movie
was filmed) that he got to see and go aboard a real-life submarine!!
Jonathan in "The Neverending Story (1990)"
After this part, Jonathan scored a wide variety of Television guest star
roles, on shows like "Blossom," and "Full House." However, he could not
seem to land himself a series at this stage. He attended a public school
at the time, and worked every alternate week.
His big time break into show business was when he starred in the silly
comedy Ladybugs. Jon played the part of a girl, and got to wear a couple
of dresses, however the movie did not do all that well at the box office.
Even so, many people saw the movie, and began asking questions about him.
Shortly afterward, in 1992 he scored the role of geeky Barry Gebrewski
in the movie SideKicks, which also starred Chuck Norris, and Beau Bridges.
This movie did much better that Ladybugs did.
Jumping from movie to movie, Jon tried out for another one called Airborne,
but didn't get the role. So slowing down a bit, Jon decided to double
up on his school courses, graduating a year earlier in 1992 from the
valley Professional School. He also was placed up in the "Who's who among
American High School Students."
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Doubling his courses allowed him to star in seaQuest as the smart teenager
Lucas Wolenczak, which began mid-way through 1993. This role was and still is
probably the most prominent career choice he made. Starring in seaQuest for
not only one, but two seasons, he has gained immense popularity around the
world, appearing more times on the cover of US fan magazines that any other
actor ever!
However, during the break from seaQuest DSV, Jonathan visited the Czech
Republic, where he was to star in the TV/Family movie "The Good King."
In this movie, Jonathan plays the part of "Prince Wenceslas," who is the
innocent in all the bad blood in the family.
When the second season of seaQuest returned, Jonathan and Roy Schieder (the
star of seaQuest DSV) were asked to host a TV special, "Masters of Illusion:
The Wizards of Special Effects." Jon, who wrote a script for the first
season (and was not accepted, because seaQuest's first season had been
entirely scripted, and Jon wasn't too happy about this). Anyhow, since the
second season was pretty much open to suggestions, Jonathan got to have his
script performed by the cast (it had to be changed slightly to fit in with
the new cast).
During the second season, Jon on another set was the voice of the evil wizard
Mozenrath on the Disney Animated TV Series "Aladdin." Says Jonathan about
that role: "It's a totally new experience for me," and it certainly was.
He was estatic that kids were voicing the kid's characters, and not the older
actors. It was extremely different from his seaQuest role. He had to learn
how the stand still when speaking his lines. (Apparantely the director had
a go at him, because he kept blocking in some actions, which made his mouth
keep on bumping into the microphone.)
Jon now stands at 5"10' (178 cm) and weighs 135 pounds (62 kgs). Apparently
he doesn't like doing chores around the house. He's got blue eyes,
and dark blond hair, and he's also a terrible morning person, and I
quote, "I'm a terrible morning person." (Source - STAR!)
Jon keeps his fitness up by working out at the local Gym in Florida.
Balley's Health Club to be exact. You'll often find Jonathan relaxing, on
the basketball court, or shooting a couple of games of pool or billiards.
At home, his mobile phone is a necessity for him. He's apparantely fallen
asleep talking to friends.
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