Kent Moran is an American actor/filmmaker best known for his roles in Listen to Your Heart[1][2] and The Challenger.
Kent Moran | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 12, 1982 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, director |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Spouse |
Kat Moran (m. 2018) |
| Children | 2 |
Personal life
editMoran was born on June 12, 1982, in New York City and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, with his younger brother Luke and older brothers, Clay and Fred. Kent is an alumnus of Rye Country Day School and Lehigh University, and currently resides in Los Angeles. His younger brother, Luke Moran, is also an actor.
Career
editAfter college, Moran moved to New York City to pursue acting and music. For the year that Moran was in New York, he was one of the lead singers of an R&B group as well as a singer/songwriter. Moran's first principal role in a movie came as a football player in Julie Taymor's Across the Universe. He then was cast as James Dean in Guy Guido's documentary Icons. After doing several commercials, short films, and a small role on As the World Turns, Moran moved to Los Angeles.
In Los Angeles, Moran studied under numerous acting coaches, including Suzanne Kent, founder of the Groundlings. Moran was cast as James Dean twice more: once in an Armstrong Flooring advertising campaign, which is featured on The Ads of the World website, and again in a European Mercedes GLK commercial cast by Vickie Thomas. Moran also landed another small role on The Bold and the Beautiful. In 2008, after the writer's strike, Moran started Wishing Well Pictures, an independent film production company. Soon after, he wrote Listen to Your Heart, which became Wishing Well Pictures' debut film. It was also Moran's debut starring role in a movie and his first time as a producer and second unit director. Moran also wrote the original music and score for the movie which can be found on the soundtrack. Listen to Your Heart became one of the first movies ever to screen outside in the middle of Times Square as part of the New York City International Film Festival, where Moran was nominated for Best Actor. Listen to Your Heart went on to win 15 awards at film festivals across the country and was distributed through Warner Brothers, Gravitas Ventures, and Vision Films.
Moran wrote and directed several short films in between his features. In 2011, Moran was cast in one of the lead roles in Regret, a psychological thriller shot in Portugal. In 2012, Kent wrote and starred in his directorial debut, The Challenger, where he stars opposite Michael Clarke Duncan, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Justin Hartley. The Challenger was Duncan's final on-screen role. It won several awards at top film festivals across the country and secured a direct deal with Regal Cinemas for a US Theatrical Release. The Challenger comes in out in US theaters on September 11, 2015. As an actor, Kent also had a cameo roles in the movie Contest in 2013 and the popular web series Keith Broke His Leg in 2015. He co-produced the festival favorite My Name Is David and released an EP of original songs entitled Better Left Said in 2014. Kent continues to act while developing projects under the Wishing Well Pictures label.
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Across the Universe | Football player | Principal |
| 2010 | Without Jill | Short film Writer, producer, and director | |
| 2010 | Down on the Ground | Adam | Short film Producer, director, writer and actor |
| 2010 | Catch | Short film Executive producer | |
| 2010 | Listen to Your Heart | Danny | Actor, writer, producer, composer, and second unit director Nominated – Best Actor, New York City International Film Festival |
| 2012 | Regret | Patrick | |
| 2013 | Contest | Unknown | Actor |
| 2015 | The Challenger | Jaden 'The Bronx Boy' Miller | Actor, writer, director, producer and composer |
| 2015 | My Name is David | Co-producer | |
| 2018 | The Cloverfield Paradox | Unknown | |
| 2019 | Madonna and the Breakfast Club | Co-producer |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Sopranos | Party Goer, Extra | Episode: "Johnny Cakes" |
| 2007 | As the World Turns | Dorm Guy, Extra | Episode #1.12948 |
| 2007 | The Bold and the Beautiful | Room Service Waiter, Extra | Episode 1.5185 |
| 2015 | Keith Broke His Leg | Unknown | |
| 2021 | Redemption in Cherry Springs | Dominic |
Awards
edit| Year | Group | Award | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Action on Film International Film Festival | Screenwriting (Alan J. Bailey Award) | Winner | Listen to Your Heart |
| 2010 | Action on Film International Film Festival | Best Picture | Winner | |
| 2010 | Action on Film International Film Festival | Best Produced Screenplay | Nominated | |
| 2010 | Daytona Beach Film Festival | Audience Award | Winner | |
| 2010 | Fort Lauderdale Film Festival | Audience Award | Winner | |
| 2010 | Los Angeles International Film Festival of Hollywood | Best Narrative Feature (Merit Award) | Winner | |
| 2010 | New York City International Film Festival | People's Choice | Winner | |
| 2010 | North Country Film Festival | Audience Award | Winner | |
| 2010 | Offshoot Film Festival | Best Overall Film | Winner | |
| 2010 | Rhode Island International Film Festival | Audience Award – Best Feature | Winner | |
| 2010 | Salem Film Festival | Best Drama | Winner | |
| 2010 | Temecula Valley International Film Festival | Audience Award | Winner | |
| 2010 | Withoutabox Written Word Award | Best New Writer | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Amelia Island Film Festival | Audience Award | Winner | |
| 2011 | Fallbrook Film Festival | Audience Award | Winner | |
| 2011 | Lake Arrowhead Film Festival | Music and Magic of Movies Award | Winner | |
| 2015 | Gasparilla International Film Festival | Audience Award | Winner | The Challenger |
| 2015 | Nashville Film Festival | Audience Award Winner | 2nd Place | |
| 2015 | Nashville Film Festival | Audience Award Winner, New Directors Competition | Winner | |
| 2015 | Palm Beach Film Festival | Audience Award | Winner |
References
edit- ^ Philbrick, Jami. "IAR Exclusive: Kent Moran Discusses 'Listen to Your Heart'". Retrieved May 4, 2011.
- ^ O'Shea, Tim. "Screenwriter/Musician/Actor Kent Moran Talks About "Listen to Your Heart"". Retrieved May 4, 2011.