Eric Christian Olsen

About this actor

Eric Christian Olsen (born May 31, 1977) is an American actor. Olsen was born in Eugene, Oregon, the son of Jeanne, a non-denominational chaplain, and Paul Olsen, a professor of English and head track and cross country coach of Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. He spent most of his childhood in Bettendorf, Iowa and attended Bettendorf Middle and High School, where he pursued such interests as sports and Japanese. In addition to many local theatre performances, Olsen trained in improv with ComedySportz Quad Cities and later joined the cast. In 1999, he went to California with $500 in his pocket. In his first week he scored a guest role on the ABC-TV series High Incident, produced by Steven Spielberg. He found early critical acclaim with an Emmy submitted portrayal of a dying burn victim on NBC's ER. His next role was a small one in HBO's Black Cat Run. The casting agent on ER called the producers of a new show and Eric soon landed a starring role in the Fox TV series Get Real...