Derek Theler

Derek Theler
Theler at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California
Born (1986-10-29) October 29, 1986 (age 38)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materColorado State University
Occupations
  • Actor
  • model
Years active2007–present
Spouse
Lisa Marie Summerscales
​
​
(m. 2022)​
Children1[3]
Modeling information
Height6 ft 6.5 in (199 cm)[1]
Hair colorBlond
Eye colorBlue
AgencyDonna Baldwin Agency[2]

Derek Theler (born October 29, 1986) is an American actor and model.[4] He is best known for portraying Danny on Baby Daddy (2012–2017).

Acting career

Theler started his acting career in 2009, starring in several minor roles in TV series such as The Middle, Cougar Town, and The Hills.[5]

In between acting gigs, Theler appeared as a model in TV commercials. He first landed a Coke Zero commercial in 2009.[6] This was followed by a campaign for State Farm, in which he played a "hot guy" who was conjured up by three women.[7] He has also been in commercials for Nike, Kayak.com, Arby's, and Verizon.[8]

Aside from acting, he was also the writer and executive producer of a short film called Intrusion.[9]

In 2012, Theler landed his first major role when he was cast in the ABC Family comedy Baby Daddy, playing Danny Wheeler, the brother of the title character.[10][11] Also that year, Theler starred as Riggins in the web series Project S.E.R.A.[12]

In 2015, he starred as Chase Walker in the movie Shark Killer, which released on June 16, 2015 via digital download.[13] Theler played the role of shark killer who hunts down a black-finned shark that swallowed a valuable diamond during a gang transaction. He also starred as Jordan in Christmas movie How Sarah Got Her Wings, which was released on digital hd and video on demand on November 1, 2015.[14] The Christmas movie premiered on Ion television on December 6, 2015.[15][16]

On November 19, 2015, Theler starred in the Funny or Die parody titled Chicago Sanitation.[17] In 2016, Theler starred as Jake Kenman in family movie Secret Summer, which was released on April 2, 2016 on PixL (On Demand and YouTube).[18] He also appeared on short Princess Rap Battle, where he played the role of Huntsman and it was released on YouTube on April 6, 2016.[19][20]

In 2017, he starred as Chris in the short film Brotherly Love alongside Krista Kalmus.[21] The same year, Theler was cast as Craig Hollis / Mister Immortal in the planned Marvel Cinematic Universe series New Warriors.[22][23] The series notoriously lost its distributor before it could air proper and was ultimately cancelled.[24] He guest starred in an episode of ABC comedy American Housewife as Dirk.[25] In 2018, he played the role of Aric Dacia/X-O Manowar in the Valiant Entertainment's Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe.[26] He also guest starred as Conan in the YouTube series Wayne and as Thor a.k.a. Donar the Great in the Starz series American Gods.[27] Theler guest starred in Hulu's web comedy series Dollface playing the role of Ryan, a man Jules has a fling with.[28]

On September 24, 2019, Theler was cast as Sasquatch in the Paramount Network military series 68 Whiskey.[29] In 2022, he guest starred as Billy McShane in an episode of Leverage: Redemption.[30]

Personal life

Theler was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 3.

He attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.[31]

He started dating actress Lisa Marie Summerscales in May 2016.[32] In July 2022, Theler announced on his Instagram that he and Summerscales had become engaged.[33] They were married that September.[34]

Theler is 6 ft 6.5 in (199 cm) tall.[1]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2009 G Love Cliff Short film
2010 Intrusion Mike Myers Short film
Valentine's Day Masseur Uncredited
Get Him to the Greek Standard guest Uncredited
2011 Katherine Heigl Hates Balls Model Short film
Camp Virginovich Derek Moore
2015 Shark Killer Chase Walker
How Sarah Got Her Wings Jordan
2015 Chicago Sanitation Sanitation Worker Short film
2016 Secret Summer Jake Kenman
2017 Brotherly Love Chris Short film

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2007 The Hills Himself Guest star in episode "New Year, New Friends"
2009 Cougar Town Beach Guy Episode: "Two Gunslingers" (uncredited)
The Middle Sound Guy Episode "The Scratch" (uncredited)
2009–2010 The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien Bike Cop / Loki Uncredited
2010 Vampire Zombie Werewolf Derekktor
2011 Conan All-star / Thor
90210 Shawn 2 episodes
2012 Project S.E.R.A. Riggins Web series
2012–2017 Baby Daddy Danny Wheeler Main cast
2017 American Housewife Dirk, The Pig Whisperer Episode: "The Pig Whisperer"
2018 Marvel's New Warriors Craig Hollis / Mister Immortal Unsold pilot
2019 Wayne Conan Episode: "Buckle The F**k Up"
American Gods Donar the Great Episode: "Donar the Great"
Dollface Ryan Episode: "F*** Buddy"
2020 68 Whiskey Sasquatch Main role
2022 Leverage: Redemption Billy McShane Episode: "The Turkish Prisoner Job"
2023 The Villains of Valley View Blue Granite 3 episodes
The Naughty Nine Bruno TV movie

Web series

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Princess Rap Battle Huntsman
2018 Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe X-O Manowar

Music

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Rihanna - Hard ft Jeezy Real Soldier #10 Actor/model

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2013 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV: Breakout Baby Daddy Nominated
2016 Choice TV: Liplock: shared with Chelsea Kane

References

  1. ^ a b Derek Theler Interview – Zach Sang & The Gang
  2. ^ "The Reel Deal: Derek Theler Q&A". 303 Magazine. 2013-08-15. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  3. ^ "Instagram".
  4. ^ "UPI Almanac for Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022". United Press International. October 29, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  5. ^ Corriston, Michelle (11 July 2012). "Baby Daddy: Derek Theler Talks About His New Hit Show". College Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  6. ^ "Coca-Cola Zero NANODISK". YouTube. 29 November 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  7. ^ "State Farm "Like a Good Neighbor" Darkside Ad". YouTube. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  8. ^ "Derek Theler - Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  9. ^ Derek Theler at IMDb
  10. ^ "Derek Theler plays Danny Wheeler". Baby Daddy. ABC family. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  11. ^ Lowry, Brian (18 June 2012). "Baby Daddy". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  12. ^ "Project: S.E.R.A - Original Sci-Fi Series - Episode 1 of 6". YouTube. 2013-01-30. Retrieved 2015-09-02.
  13. ^ "Shark Killer". iTunes. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  14. ^ "How Sarah Got Her Wings on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  15. ^ "Networks begin eight weeks of Christmas movies". Gusto. Archived from the original on 2015-11-03. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  16. ^ "Serial Scoop: ION Movie 'How Sarah Got Her Wings' Premieres Tonight, Stars Lindsey Gort, Derek Theler". www.serialscoop.com. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  17. ^ "Chicago Sanitation". Funny Or Die. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
  18. ^ "Secret Summer Movie".
  19. ^ Whitney Avalon (2016-04-06), FREYA vs RAVENNA: Princess Rap Battle (Laura Marano, Derek Theler, Whitney Avalon), retrieved 2016-04-07
  20. ^ Lovett, Jamie (October 8, 2016). "Ninjak Vs. The Valiant Universe Trailer Released At NYCC". ComicBook.com.
  21. ^ DJI (2017-02-14), DJI - Brotherly Love (A Short Film for Valentine's Day), retrieved 2017-02-28
  22. ^ "Marvel's 'New Warriors' Sets Its Cast — Including Squirrel Girl (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  23. ^ Petski, Denise (2017-07-10). "'Marvel's New Warriors' Sets Cast; Milana Vayntrub Is Squirrel Girl". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  24. ^ Polito, Thomas (September 15, 2019). "Exclusive: Marvel's 'New Warriors is Dead; Superhero Show Fails to Find a New Home". The GWW. Archived from the original on September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  25. ^ "Dirk - American Housewife | TVmaze". www.tvmaze.com. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  26. ^ "Valiant Entertainment". Valiant Entertainment. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  27. ^ Stephens, Emily L. (15 April 2019). "Drumroll, please, as American Gods comes to the cabaret". TV Club. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  28. ^ "Derek Theler on Instagram: "It's official, @hulu just dropped the first season of Dollface and @katdenningsss is amazing and hilarious. I had a great time working on…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  29. ^ Petski, Denise (2019-09-24). "'68 Whiskey': Derek Theler, Beth Riesgraf & Lamont Thompson Among Six Cast In Paramount Network Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
  30. ^ Leverage: Redemption: The Turkish Prisoner Job | TVmaze, retrieved 2023-01-04
  31. ^ "The Reel Deal: Derek Theler Q&A". 303 Magazine. 15 August 2013.
  32. ^ "Live Ramp Up". 7 March 2017.
  33. ^ @derektheler (July 6, 2022). "🙌🏼❤️💍 @lsummerscales" – via Instagram.
  34. ^ @derektheler (September 18, 2022). "9.18.22 ❤️❤️ @lsummerscales" – via Instagram.