Connor Paolo

Connor Paolo
Paolo in 2009
Born (1990-07-11) July 11, 1990 (age 34)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active2002–present

Connor Paolo (born July 11, 1990[1]) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Eric van der Woodsen on The CW's teen drama series Gossip Girl and Declan Porter on the ABC drama series Revenge. He has also appeared in two Oliver Stone films, Alexander (2004) and World Trade Center (2006).

Personal life

Paolo was born in New York City, the son of Julia Mendelsohn, a vocal coach and classical pianist, and Colin Paolo, a writer and screenwriter.[2]

He attended, beginning in 2006, the Professional Performing Arts School alongside Sarah Hyland, Paul Iacono and Taylor Momsen. He took acting classes at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. Paolo also attended Appel Farm Arts and Music Center Summer Arts Camp located in Elmer, New Jersey for several summers. He attended New York University for one semester in fall 2008.[3][4]

Career

He played a preteen murderer-rapist in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.[5] He made his motion picture debut in Clint Eastwood's Oscar-nominated Mystic River, playing young Sean. In 2004, Paolo was on One Life to Live as Travis O'Connell, a recurring character. Paolo also made a return appearance on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, playing a disturbed teenager based on the real case of Justin Berry.[6] Other films include World Trade Center for Oliver Stone in 2006; Snow Angels, directed by David Gordon Green; and Favorite Son, his first leading role.

Paolo has a background in theatre and commercials. He has appeared on the Broadway stage in the hit musical The Full Monty[7] and off-Broadway in the New York public theater production of Shakespeare's Richard III.[citation needed] He played Nick Bottom in an abridged production of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.[citation needed]

From 2007 to 2011, Paolo had a supporting role on The CW's series Gossip Girl, where he played Eric van der Woodsen, the brother of lead Serena van der Woodsen's character. His last appearance was in the sixth season.

In 2010, he starred in the vampire apocalypse film Stake Land directed by Jim Mickle.[8]

In April 2011, Paolo joined the cast of ABC's dramatic series Revenge. In August 2011, Paolo stated that he would be taking on the new series Revenge full-time and his character Eric van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl would no longer appear on the show.[9] He, however, returned to Gossip Girl for a brief appearance during the series finale.[10] Paolo exited Revenge in May 2013, after his character was written off the second season finale.[11]

In 2020, Variety announced Paolo was joining the cast of the Chris Blake quarantine comedy Distancing Socially. The film was shot at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, using remote technologies and the iPhone 11. The film was acquired and released by Cinedigm in October 2021.[12]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2003 Mystic River Young Sean Devine
2004 Alexander Young Alexander
2006 World Trade Center Steven McLoughlin Nominated—Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actor[13]
2007 Snow Angels Warren Hardesky
2008 Favorite Son Ross
2009 The Winning Season Damon
2010 Camp Hell Jack
Stake Land Martin
2016 Friend Request Kobe
Like Lambs Mick Springfield
Outlaw Connor
Stake Land II: The Stakelander Martin
2017 Flock of Four Tony Pacarelli
2021 Distancing Socially Paul
2023 Fire Island Troy
Ambush Ackerman
The Young Wife Post-production
TBA Viral Post-production
TBA Better Half Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2002 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Zachary Connor Episode: "Juvenile"
2004 One Life to Live Travis O'Connell 16 episodes
2006 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Teddy Winnock Episode: "Web"
2007–2012 Gossip Girl Eric van der Woodsen Recurring (seasons 1–4); special guest (season 6 episode 10: "New York, I Love You XOXO")
2010 Mercy Everett Cone Episode: "I Did Kill You, Didn't I?"
2011 Stake Land: Origins Martin Episode: "Martin"
2011–2013 Revenge Declan Porter Main cast (seasons 1–2)
2016 Rush Hour Henry Episode: "Welcome Back, Carter"
Swedish Dicks Tim Episode: "When Ingmar Met Axel"
2017 The Brave Nate Episode: "Break Out"
Business Doing Pleasure Jason Season 1 episodes 1-6
2018 Electric Dreams Ethan Episode: "Safe & Sound"
2020 The Resident Isaac Morgan Episode: "Support System"

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Bully Tom Gurney

Music videos

Year Artist Song
2012 The Pretty Reckless "My Medicine"

References

  1. ^ "Connor Paolo Biography". TV Guide. Archived from the original on March 28, 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Kids' stuff: Do's and don'ts for young performers. (Spotlight on Young Performers)". Highbeam Business. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015.
  3. ^ "Connor Paolo Biography". TVLine. January 26, 2014. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  4. ^ "Connor Paolo Biography". Rotten Tomatoes. January 26, 2014.
  5. ^ "Juvenile". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 4. Episode 9. November 22, 2002. NBC.
  6. ^ "Web". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 7. Episode 21. May 9, 2006. NBC.
  7. ^ League, The Broadway. "Connor Paolo – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB".
  8. ^ Behind-the-Scenes Images: Stake Land from dreadcentral.com
  9. ^ Gelman, Vlada (August 8, 2011). "Connor Paolo Confirms Gossip Exit: 'I'm Done'". TV Line. Archived from the original on October 27, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  10. ^ "Taylor Momsen Returning To 'Gossip Girl' Along With Connor Paolo". The Huffington Post. AOL. October 16, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  11. ^ Keck, William (May 27, 2013). "Keck's Exclusives: Revenge Isn't So Sweet". TV Guide. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  12. ^ Malkin, Marc (October 7, 2020). "Schitt's Creek Actor Sarah Levy Cast in COVID-Inspired Indie Distancing Socially (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  13. ^ "28th Annual Young Artist Awards – Nominations". Young Artist Awards. Retrieved June 25, 2010.