Brian Austin Green (born July 15, 1973), sometimes credited as Brian A. Green, is an American actor. He is known for his role as David Silver on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210, a character he portrayed from 1990 to 2000, and his role as Derek Reese in the hit television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Early life
Green was born in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, the son of Joyce and George Green, who was 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, California, and attended North Hollywood High School, after attending the Hamilton High School Academy of Music.
Career
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 rap music and DJing, as did Green himself.
Prior to his role on Beverly Hills, 90210, Green had a recurring role for the three seasons (1987-1989) on the hit CBS prime time soap opera Knots Landing, playing the role of Brian Cunningham, the son of Abby Cunningham Ewing (Donna Mills). He reprised his role in the 1997 TV mini-series, Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac.
In 1996, Green dropped “Austin” from his professional name and attempted to begin a career as a legitimate rapper. Austin was only used due to the fact that, when Green registered with the Screen Actor’s Guild, there was already a Brian Green registered. Having no middle name, Green and his mother, Joyce, created Austin. He had no attachment to this name, thus it was dropped. He released a hip-hop album entitled One Stop Carnival. The record was a failure both critically and commercially, with one critic referring to Green as “the poor man’s Vanilla Ice.”
Green has appeared briefly in the multiple award-winning Showtime drama series Resurrection Blvd. as Luke Bonner, a police officer attending law school in 2001-2002. He appeared on the 2005 ABC sitcom Freddie, starring Freddie Prinze Jr. before the program’s cancellation in May 2006.
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. The short premiered at the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors convention on June 2, 2006, and may possibly be reworked as a full-length feature film depending on demand and financing.
Brian guest starred in the recurring role of Derek Reese, the uncle of John Connor in the first season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. In April 2008, FOX announced that he would return as a series regular in the shows upcoming second season.
Green has also expressed interest in portraying the Riddler if the villain is used in the sequel to The Dark Knight.
Personal life
He dated Tiffani Amber Thiessen in the early and mid 1990s. After their breakup, he met actress Vanessa Marcil, also on the set of Beverly Hills, 90210. Their son, Kassius Lijah, was born March 30, 2002. Green began a relationship with actress Megan Fox in 2004, and they became engaged in November 2006.
