Skeet Ulrich

SKEET ULRICH

Date of Birth: January 20, 1969

Skeet Ulrich has said that his biggest fear is "being labeled the next Keanu Reeves." But he doesn't have to worry about that because he's actually being compared to Johnny Depp. What with the high cheekbones, the clear eyes and the gaunt figure, he's a bit of a Depp clone. There are even career similarities—both had early big screen moments in horror films (Depp in Wes Craven's Nightmare on Elm Street and Skeet in Scream) and both have had moments with Winona Ryder (Depp in Edward Scissorhands and Skeet in Boys)—although Depp continued his dalliance with Winona off-screen while Skeet did not.

Skeet moved around a lot as a kid until his mother (his father wasn't around) settled down in Concord, North Carolina. Skeet was not a well child, suffering numerous bouts of pneumonia and having to undergo open-heart surgery at age 10 to correct a ventricle defect. But he still managed to become something of an athlete, playing both soccer and baseball, the latter of which gave him the name Skeet after his coach dubbed him "Skeeter," because he looked like a "skinny little mosquito."

After college, Skeet spent five years doing stage work in New York, taking the odd construction job to stay afloat. In 1994, he landed a part in Same Difference, the story of a Catholic boy who falls in love with a Jewish girl. While working on that film he met director Stacy Cochran, who cast him as Winona Ryder's one-night-stand in Boys. And suddenly, Skeet was hot, hot, hot, appearing in a total of five films the following year. "I think that it all happened at the same time for a reason," he says. "And believing that, in a way, is believing in a God."

Things cooled down somewhat after that, and Skeet turned to television for work, appearing in series such as Miracles and Jericho, but returned to the big screen in 2009 opposite Matt Dillon in Armored.

More recently, he appeared on the 2017 Netflix series Riverdale, playing Jughead's father, FP Jones. He also plays a supporting role in the crime comedy Austin Found (2017), starring Linda Cardellini.

Filmography:

Austin Found (2017)
Armored (2009)
For Sale by Owner (2009)
Kevin of the North (2001)
Soul Assassin (2001)
Nobody's Baby (2001)
Takedown (2000)
Ride with the Devil (1999)
Chill Factor (1999)
A Soldier's Sweetheart (1998)
The Newton Boys (1998)
Albino Alligator (1996)
The Craft (1996)
Last Dance (1996)
Scream (1996)
Touch (1996)
Boys (1995)
Chill Factor (1999)
Ride with the Devil (1999)
Takedown (1999)