Skeet Ulrich

film
credits

by Rebecca Flint Marx film biography

From his first onscreen appearance opposite Winona Ryder in the 1996 coming-of-age tale Boys, Skeet Ulrich has invited comparisons with actors ranging from Johnny Depp to James Dean. With his cool stare and glacier-cut cheekbones, Ulrich has repeatedly been hailed as one of Young Hollywood's hottest, brightest stars, an accolade he has attempted to live up to with steady, if uneven, work.

Born Brian Ray Ulrich on January 20, 1970, the actor was raised in North Carolina by his divorced father. Ulrich acquired his unusual nickname from a Little League coach who dubbed him "Skeeter" because he was small, like a mosquito. Following high school, Ulrich enrolled at New York University where he was "discovered" by playwright David Mamet, who invited him to join his celebrated Atlantic Theater Company as an apprentice. Ulrich performed in a number of productions, and during one of them, he was spotted by director Stacy Cochran, who cast him in an ABC Afterschool Special. Cochran then gave Ulrich his first screen role in Boys, in which he was cast as Winona Ryder's brutish boyfriend. 1996 proved to be a prolific year for the newly discovered actor, who followed his debut with performances in The Craft (which also featured his future Scream co-star, Neve Campbell), the Sharon Stone prison drama Last Dance, Albino Alligator, and, most notably, Scream, in which Ulrich played Campbell's unhinged boyfriend.

1997 emerged as a quieter year for Ulrich, who appeared only in a small part (that, it should be noted, was much larger before the tyranny of the cutting-room floor) in James L. Brooks' critically acclaimed As Good As It Gets, and in the leading role in the largely unseen Touch. 1998 saw Ulrich take part in two more films: the obscure Vietnam drama A Soldier's Sweetheart (in which Ulrich starred with his future wife, Georgina Cates) and Richard Linklater's much-anticipated The Newton Boys, a film expected to mine box-office gold in part because of its ridiculously photogenic cast, which, in addition to Ulrich, included Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, and Vincent D'Onofrio. Despite such a powerful combination of tanned skin, flawless dentistry, and charmingly exuded testosterone, the film failed to find favor among critics or audiences. Ulrich's next feature, 1999's Chill Factor, met a similar fate, causing some to ponder what would come next for an actor who just three years earlier had been toasted as one of the most tantalizing samples that Hollywood had to offer. Ulrich fared somewhat better with Ride With the Devil: a Civil War drama directed by Ang Lee and co-starring Tobey Maguire, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Jeffrey Wright, and Jewel, it received a moderately favorable critical response.

filmography snapshot

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

Year	Title	Rating
1996	Albino Alligator Actor
1996	Boys Actor
1996	Last Dance Actor
1996	Scream Actor
1996	The Craft Actor
1997	As Good As It Gets Actor
1997	Touch Actor
1998	A Soldier's Sweetheart Actor
1998	The Newton Boys Actor
1999	Chill Factor Actor
1999	Ride With the Devil Actor
2000	Track Down Actor
2001	Chilly Dogs Actor
2001	Nobody's Baby Actor
2001	Soul Assassin Actor
2003	Miracles [TV Series] Actor
2005	Into the West Actor
2005	The Magic of Ordinary Days Actor
2006	Jericho: Season 01 Actor
2008	Jericho: Season 02 Actor
2009	Armored Actor
2010	Law & Order: Los Angeles [TV Series] Actor