Jason Gann

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Jason Gann
Gann at the San Diego Comic Con in July 2011
Born
Jason Gann

Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
Occupation(s)Actor, writer, producer, comedian, musician, entrepreneur
Years active1997–2014
Children2

Jason Gann is an Australian-born former actor, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known for his role as the title character in the Australian comedy series

U.S. reboot
of the same name.

Biography

Early life

Jason Gann was born in

Queensland, Australia,[1] At 14, while attending an all-boys school, Gann discovered his love for comedy when he performed as Suzanne, leader of the can-can dancers in a high school production of Paint Your Wagon.[2] After high school, he went on to study acting at the University of Southern Queensland. He earned a B.A. in Acting while also attending classes in humanities and the arts.[3]

Early career

Immediately following his studies, Gann moved to Brisbane where he continued studying theatre and music.

Queensland Theatre Company as an actor in several development projects and starred in the Sven Swenson play The Vertigo and the Virginia for QTC in 1999.[4]

Wilfred and Australian TV

In 2001, Gann wrote and produced several short films that screened in festivals internationally. In 2002 he co-wrote and starred in the short Wilfred. He first came to national attention when he won Best Male Actor and the short won Best Comedy and the Peoples' Choice Award at Tropfest in 2002. Wilfred went on to screen at festivals including Sundance Film Festival in 2003.[4]

Gann won the Tropfest Best Male Actor award again in 2003 for Buried. He then appeared in Australian feature films including Gettin' Square, Thunderstruck, The Illustrated Family Doctor, and Kenny.[3][2][4]

In 2004, for Australian TV, Gann appeared in two episodes of

Network Ten. Gann then created, produced, wrote and starred in the network's spin-off comedy series Mark Loves Sharon. The following year, Gann co-created and played the title character for the Australian comedy series Wilfred, based on the short film. It ran for two seasons, both of which went on to win awards at Tropfest in 2007 and 2009.[4]

US Television

In 2010, Renegade Films sold the Australian format of

FX. Faced with redeveloping the show for an American market without Tony Rogers, Gann teamed with Family Guy executive producer David Zuckerman. Actor Elijah Wood signed on to co-star with Gann.[5] The Wilfred debut became FX's highest-rated comedy series debut.[6]

Gann is managed by

WME in 2012.[7] After Wilfred, Gann has been commissioned to produce and develop new television series by networks including ABC.[8]

Music career

By his own admission, Gann has always been involved in music. His participation in several music bands in Australia did not bring success. Gann took one of the bands very seriously and expected to release a cd with recordings, however, some tragic circumstances that occurred with one of the band members and his family forced to cancel the recording indefinitely. It was never released.[9] During the filming of the series Wilfred Gann expressed the idea of re-assembling this music band, and wrote a letter to its former members planning to record vocals while being in California, however, to date there is no reliable information about the resumption of the project.

It is known about his participation in Sofamecca,[10] which released three albums: Sofa Mecca (2002), Commuters (2005), Children Dust (2008) - all three with Gann's vocals. One of the songs entitled "Ashen" is featured in a pilot episode of the Australian series Wilfred. All the albums are available for listening and buying online.

Business career

As of 2014 Gann has left both acting and writing to pursue his CBD business Wilfred CBD & Hemp.[11]

Awards and nominations

In 2007 and 2010, Gann was nominated for an

Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Actor for his work on Wilfred.[12] He was awarded the Australian GQ Comedian of the Year Award for 2011,[13] and was nominated for the annual Golden Collar Award, normally given solely to canine performers.[14]

Personal life

Family and charity

Gann married Spanish model Alejandra Varela on 4 February 2013. The two had a son, Xano, born 13 August 2013.[15] An animal lover, Gann dedicates time as a celebrity spokesperson for multiple animal rights groups including Stray Cat Alliance in Los Angeles, California, US.[16]

Melbourne legal incident

In 2007, Gann pleaded guilty to assaulting a shuttle bus driver, Joseph Hosny. Gann's legal counsel advised him to plead guilty rather than fight the allegation, as a tough sentence could have threatened the production of

Wilfred in the United States.[17] In September 2014, Gann was reassessing his legal options.[18][19] In March 2018, a California court ordered Gann to pay $594,452 (USD) to the bus driver.[20]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2002 Wilfred Wilfred Short film, Writer
2003 Ain't Got No Jazz Intruder
2003 Button It Jogger (Squealer A.C)
2003 Gettin' Square Wood-Duck Frank Feature film
2004 Thunderstruck Robbo Feature film
2005 The Illustrated Family Doctor Carl Lucas Feature film
2006 Kenny Buggy victim's friend Feature film
2007 Rats and Cats Feature film, writer

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2006–07 The Wedge Various characters

TV series, writer

2007–10 Wilfred Wilfred Australian TV series, co-creator, writer
2008 Mark Loves Sharon Mark Wary TV series, co-creator, writer, executive producer
2008 Jason and the Residents Jason
2008 Comedy Gold Himself TV series
2008 9am with David & Kim Himself / Mark Wary TV series, 1 episode
2009 The Squiz TV series, 2 episodes
2011–2014
Wilfred
 Wilfred U.S. TV series, creator, writer

Theatre

Year Title Role Notes
2007 'Allo 'Allo! Herr Otto Flick Twelfth Night Theatre

References

  1. ^ "Jason Gann Biography". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "One on One with Jason Gann". Hobotrashcan.com. 23 June 2011. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  3. ^ a b c "Of rats, cats and indiscretion". Brisbane Times. 8 May 2008. Archived from the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  4. ^
    IFC.com. 7 July 2006. Archived
    from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  5. ^ "Jason Gann on Bringing His Show to America". New York. 8 September 2011. Archived from the original on 14 June 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  6. ^ "Louie and Wilfred Premiere Strongly". New York. 24 June 2011. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  7. ^ "WME Signs 'Wilfred's Jason Gann". Deadline Hollywood. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  8. ^ "'Wilfred's Jason Gann To Adapt Peruvian Comedy 'My Problem With Women' For ABC". Deadline Hollywood. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  9. ^ Barta, Preston (25 June 2014). "Interview: WILFRED's Jason Gann On Hanging Up the Dog Suit". North Texas Daily. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Sofamecca". facebook.com.
  11. ^ Carter, Lance (25 November 2020). "Interview: Jason Gann on Life After 'Wilfred' and Why He Stopped Acting to Start His Own CBD Business". Daily Actor. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  12. ^ Davies, Rebecca (2 May 2011). "In full: Logies 2011 - The Winners". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Men of the Year". GQ. Australia. 21 November 2011. Archived from the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  14. ^ "Uggie is top dog at the Golden Collar Awards – of course". Reuters. 14 February 2012. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  15. ^ Nilles, Billy (14 August 2013). "'Wilfred' star Jason Gann and wife Alejandra Varela welcome son Xano William". Zap2it. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  16. ^ "StrayCat Alliance Endorsements". straycatalliance.org. The Stray Cat Alliance. 5 November 2014. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  17. ^ Deery, Shannon (1 September 2014). "Wilfred star Jason Gann reconsiders $325,000 compo payout for bashing bus driver". Herald Sun. Melbourne, Australia. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  18. ^ Mickelburough, Peter (13 September 2014). "Wilfred star Jason Gann reconsiders $325,000 compo payout for bashing bus driver". The Herald Sun. Australia. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  19. ^ Mills, Tammy (1 September 2014). "Melbourne bus driver assaulted by Wilfred star Jason Gann appears in court". The Age. Victoria, Australia. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  20. ^ Carmody, Broede (14 March 2018). "Wilfred star Jason Gann ordered to pay $750,000 over 2007 assault". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 March 2019.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jason_Gann&oldid=1217324479"