Jonny Weston

Jonny Weston Photo

JONNY WESTON

Born and raised in South Carolina, Jonny Weston attended the University of Southern Carolina. He then went to New York, where he began his career with a featured role in the indie film Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You with Marcia Gay Harden and later moved to Los Angeles, where he landed several roles in "provocative" indies, including About Cherry with James Franco, in which he played the boyfriend of a naive porn starlet-to-be.

He also appeared in the indie features Sugar, John Dies at the End (which premiered at Sundance in January 2012), and Under the Bed.

His career took a major turn when he was cast in a starring role in director Curtis Hanson's film Chasing Mavericks for 20th Century Fox. He plays surfing legend Jay Moriarty, whose surfboarding prowess was well known for riding Northern California's massive maverick waves. Moriarty died in a diving accident in 2001, the day before his 23rd birthday.

Jonny, who surfed Folly Beach on the South Carolina coast when he was a teen, read the script the day before his own 23rd birthday. "It scared me," Jonny revealed. "I was like, 'Maybe I shouldn't even read this thing. It's a little too eerie.'" However, he overcame his fear and landed the part.

Jonny compares his acting to surfing. "Whatever you can do to be so far inside your body that you can feel time stop, is kind of awesome."

Filmography:

Chasing Mavericks (2012)
Under the Bed (2012)
Caroline and Jackie (2012)
Cherry (2012)
John Dies at the End (2012)
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You (2011)