Brian Austin Green

Early life

Green was born in Los Angeles County, California (some sources give Van Nuys, California), the son of Joyce and George Green, a country and western musician. His middle name, "Austin", was added to differentiate himself from another actor when he joined the Screen Actor's Guild as a child. Green grew up in North Hollywood and attended North Hollywood High School, after attending the Hamilton High School Academy of Music.

Career

Prior to his role on Beverly Hills, 90210, Green had a recurring role for three seasons (1986–89) on the CBS primetime soap opera Knots Landing, playing the role of Brian Cunningham, the son of Abby Cunningham Ewing (Donna Mills). He reprised his role in the television miniseries Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac (1997).

Producer Aaron Spelling has stated that Green was cast in the role of David Silver much because he felt that Green's own personality resembled the personality they wanted that character to have. The character was often scripted to reflect Green's own interests. As the series progressed, the character began to experiment with hip hop music and DJing, as did Green himself. In 1996, Green dropped "Austin" from his professional name and attempted a career as a rapper, releasing one album, titled One Stop Carnival, produced by The Pharcyde member Slimkid3. In the 1990s, he was a guest star on Growing Pains, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Melrose Place, Saved by the Bell: The College Years, Fantastic Four, MADtv, Biker Mice from Mars, Malibu Shores, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac.

Green appeared briefly in the multiple award-winning Showtime drama series Resurrection Blvd. as Luke Bonner (2001–04), a police officer attending law school. He had a cameo on Hope & Faith where he met Megan Fox; they started dating in 2004. He appeared on the ABC sitcom Freddie (2005) starring Freddie Prinze, Jr. He was a guest star on The Twilight Zone, Las Vegas and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He also appeared alongside former 90210 cast member Ian Ziering in the Tony Scott film Domino as parodies of themselves. Green appeared in a horror short called Grace, which was set around a miscarriage gone bad, and features Gilmore Girls actress Liza Weil as his love interest. It premiered at the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors on June 2, 2006, and was reworked as a full-length feature film (2009). He was a guest star on George Lopez as Chris in 2006.

In 2008, Green was cast as Derek Reese in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a Resistance fighter sent to the past by the future John Connor. He is the older brother of Kyle Reese (John Connor's father) and paternal uncle of John. Green was a recurring character in Season 1 but became a regular at the start of Season 2, following a positive response from critics and fans. His character is killed by a Terminator in the penultimate episode, but another Derek from an alternate timeline is introduced in the series finale and would have remained on the show if it had been renewed for a third season.

Green guest-starred on the Season 7 finale of CSI: Miami as Anthony Green. Green was cast in The CW's new drama pilot Body Politic, along with Minka Kelly, Gabrielle Union, and Jason Dohring. The series was not picked up for fall 2009. Green said in an interview that he was co-producing a big screen adaptation of Fathom, starring Megan Fox. On September 27, 2009, Green made a guest appearance on the television series Saturday Night Live in a skit involving girlfriend (now wife) Megan Fox. In the skit Green played a version of the Transformer Bumblebee in which Bumblebee is merely a man wearing a Bumblebee mask. Green was cast as Clay in One Tree Hill's seventh season. Green then left the cast because of scheduling conflicts and the role was then given to Robert Buckley and instead he starred as superhero Callan in the Patrick Durham-directed movie Cross, which was released to DVD and download in May 2011.

In 2009, Green was cast as John Corben/Metallo in Smallville. He appeared in three episodes in the ninth season between 2009 and 2010, the first being the ninth season premiere episode "Savior". The character is a war-time reporter, similar to the Silver Age John Corben. As a back-story for this version, he had been recently stationed in Afghanistan. When he meets Lois Lane, he expresses his distaste for vigilantes, particularly "the Blur" (Clark Kent). Corben is "reactivated" in the episode "Upgrade" after Tess' scientists are able to correct the initial design flaw in the Kryptonite heart that causes an adrenal overload and resulting psychosis. He reappears in the season finale episode "Prophecy" as a member of Marionette Ventures, with Supergirl assigned as his target. In 2010, Green appeared in a multi-episode story arc on the ABC series Desperate Housewives. He plays Keith Watson, Bree's contractor and lover for the first part of the season.

In 2012, Green had a guest appearance in the sitcom Anger Management playing Sean, the boyfriend of Charlie's ex-wife, Jen in the first episode of the show. This episode broke a ratings record with 5.74 million viewers on its series debut night and ranks as the most-watched sitcom premiere in cable history. He returned to the show in the episode "Charlie Breaks Up With Kate" when Jen gets back with Sean. In June 2013, Green was promoted to series regular.

Green was a guest-star in the finale episode of the second season of Happy Endings. He played Chris, who meets dateless Penny via Skype. He returned in the first episode of the third season "Cazsh Dummy Spillionaires". In the same year, Green starred in the new television series, Wedding Band, about a group of friends who perform at weddings. In the TBS comedy, Green plays Tommy, the frontman for Mother of the Bride, a group of four buddies who aren't ready to give up the dream of being rock stars. On January 22, 2013, TBS cancelled the series after one season because of low ratings.

Personal life

Green won the celebrity portion of the Grand Prix of Long Beach in early 2010.

In April 2017, Green created a podcast entitled With Brian Austin Green (stylized as w/ B.A.G...also Derek and Steve). Green hosts alongside Derek Russell and Steve Glosson.

Relationships and family

Green dated his Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Tiffani Thiessen in the early and mid-1990s. Green and his former Beverly Hills, 90210 castmate Vanessa Marcil have a son, Kassius, born in March 2002.

Green subsequently began dating actress Megan Fox in 2004, having first met on the set of Hope & Faith when he was 30 years old and she was 18. In 2006, they became engaged, and then broke off their engagement in February 2009. Later that year, Fox was targeted by a group of fashion-motivated criminals known as "The Bling Ring", who robbed Green's home because she was living with him. Green and Fox announced they were engaged again in June 2010, and several days later, on June 24, 2010, the two wed at the Four Seasons resort on the island of Hawaii. Fox filed for divorce from Green on August 21, 2015, a few days after the couple announced their separation. They reconciled in early 2016. They have three sons: Noah Shannon Green (born September 27, 2012), Bodhi Ransom Green (born February 12, 2014) and another born in 2016.

Legal issues

Brian Austin Green has criticized the paparazzi for the invasion of his private life with then-girlfriend Megan Fox, whom he married in 2010. Green said, "Megan and I so despise the paparazzi. We value our private life and our time at home. The last thing I want is to be ducking in and out of places because I'm worried about my picture being taken, especially when I'm with my son. When they follow me in cars when I pick him up from school, that's really crossing the line. I understand that they want shots of me with Megan, but we're pretty boring. They won't catch us out at clubs, getting drunk or being hauled in for DUIs. All they usually get is pictures of us leaving Staples or Target, or walking into a restaurant."

On September 17, 2010, Green stated, "It wasn't so much of a problem before Megan, but once Transformers hit, that was it. I had never experienced paparazzi on that level, because during 90210, they were still developing pictures and selling them by hand. It was a whole different experience. I hated being famous during 90210. I'm not an extrovert. I'm 37. I have a beautiful wife. I have an amazing 8-year-old son. I love acting, but this is just my job."

In March 2012, photographer Delbert Shaw filed a lawsuit against Green and Fox in Los Angeles County Superior Court for allegedly assaulting him after taking photographs of the couple while on vacation in Hawaii in 2010. In June 2012, Green claimed he was simply defending himself against Shaw and that his wife should not be included in the lawsuit.

Discography