Chris Zylka

American actor and model (born 1985)

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Chris Zylka (born Christopher Michael Settlemire; May 9, 1985) is an American actor and model, known for his roles as Blake in the film Shark Night (2011), Jake Armstrong in The CW's supernatural series The Secret Circle (2011–2012), Flash Thompson in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and Tom Garvey in the HBO series The Leftovers (2014–2017).

Early life

Zylka was born on May 9, 1985, in Howland Township, Ohio. He took his mother's maiden name, Zylka, as a stage name. He graduated from Howland High School in 2003. Zylka studied art at the University of Toledo for two years, but dropped out to care for his maternal grandfather when he suddenly became ill. His grandfather is from Ukraine.

At the age of 19, he relocated to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in acting. He was homeless for six months upon arriving to Los Angeles and lived in his car in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven in Burbank. Zylka began working at restaurants, where he was discovered by manager and acting coach Jon Simmons.

Career

Acting

Zylka began his acting career with a guest appearance as Jason on the teen drama television series 90210 in 2008. He was cast in a recurring role in Everybody Hates Chris and had guest roles in television shows Hannah Montana, Cougar Town and Zeke and Luther. In 2009, Zylka landed a 16-episode recurring role as Joey Donner in sitcom 10 Things I Hate About You. Zylka began to move into films around this time, appearing in the comedy film The People I've Slept With (2009) and the horror television film My Super Psycho Sweet 16 (2009). Zylka would later reprise this role in the sequel, My Super Psycho Sweet 16: Part 2 (2010). He portrayed Thor in the mystery comedy film Kaboom (2010), which premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

Zylka starred in two animal-attack-themed films, Shark Night (2011) and Piranha 3DD (2012). Zylka portrayed Flash Thompson in the superhero film The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), based on the Marvel Comics and directed by Marc Webb. He played the role of Jake Armstrong in The CW's supernatural drama television series The Secret Circle (2011–2012). He had a leading role as Kermit opposite of Riley Keough in the crime drama film Dixieland (2015), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film centers around good-hearted Kermit, who just got out of prison and returns home to Mississippi.

He played Tom Garvey in HBO's supernatural television series The Leftovers from 2014 to 2017. He portrayed Alex Lachan in Lifetime's television film I Killed My BFF (2015). The film is inspired by a true story, the murder of Anne Marie Camp by Jamie Dennis and her husband, Michael Gianakos, in Minnesota in 1997. He played Chuck Harris in the drama film Novitiate (2017), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and fans. In 2018, he directed Paris Hilton's music video for the song "I Need You". He portrayed Will Jefford Jr. in the drama film The Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2018), released in September 2018 at the Toronto International Film Festival. In April 2019, Zylka was cast in a recurring role as Officer Corporal Kurtz in USA Network's teen drama television series Dare Me (2020). The series follows the lives of competitive high school cheerleaders in a small Midwestern town. In April 2020, USA Network canceled the series after one season. On May 29, 2019, talent agency ICM Partners announced that they signed Zylka. Zylka portrayed Adult Ray in the short film Sorry or What Could Have Been (2020) opposite Paris Hilton.

He portrayed Oliver in the thriller television film Killer Infatuation (2021), which was filmed in Oklahoma City. The title was later changed to "How I Met Your Murderer". He played Thomas in Model House (2024).

Modeling

Early in his career, Zylka appeared in an advertising campaign for Abercrombie & Fitch, shot by photographer Bruce Weber. He has appeared on the cover of several magazines, including Wonderland, Glamoholic and Bello.

Art

He launched his first art exhibition titled "Why Use A Name" at Pikes Hotel in Ibiza, Spain in August 2018.

Personal life

In 2012, Zylka dated American actress Lucy Hale for nine months and split in September 2012. He was engaged to model Hanna Beth Merjos in April 2014. The couple called off the engagement and broke up in early 2015. In January 2018, Zylka became engaged to American heiress and media personality Paris Hilton. He proposed to her with a ring worth US$2 million during a vacation in Aspen, after one year of dating. They called off the engagement in November 2018.

He has several tattoos, including a tattoo that says "Mom" in a heart on his arm, "an angel gone bad" and a gorilla.