Gabriel Olds
About
Biography
Biography
An appealing, baby-faced brown-haired actor who has shown his range with seemingly effortless portrayals of both gracious and complacent characters, Gabriel Olds racked up credits on stage, television and film, and gracefully resurfaced from such washouts as 1993's "Calendar Girl" (his film debut) and The WB's 2000 midseason series "D.C." (his first stint as a series regular). Olds began his professional career at age fifteen and quickly landed a starring role in "14 Going on 30" (ABC, 1988), a two-part "Disney Sunday Movie" presentation about a teen who speed ages and is mistaken for his school's new principal. In 1992, he took another teen-aimed role, starring in "Sexual Considerations," a topical "CBS Schoolbreak Special." A sinister role on an especially memorable episode of "Law & Order" (NBC) flexed Olds' acting muscles, playing an academic achiever who practices parental abuse and ultimately murders his father.
Olds went from the New York-filmed series to a shot on Broadway, making his debut in the drama "Any Given Day." Already enrolled at Yale, the actor took time off for the opportunity to work on stage. Less auspicious was his film debut, the misfire Jason Priestley vehicle "Calendar Girl." A nostalgic take on the teen road trip, the film proved neither funny nor touching, and was a disappointment for the audience as well as all those involved. Back at Yale, Olds took on the ambitious senior project of starring in and directing the rarely produced Shakespeare drama "Richard II," and received positive notices from attendees for his efforts. More TV work followed for the young actor in 1996, when he had a supporting role in John Frankenheimer's Civil War prison camp-set miniseries "Andersonville" (TNT) and guest starred on the series "Party of Five" (Fox) and "Sisters" (NBC). He took on independent feature work, with starring roles in the small-town tale "35 Miles From Normal" and the disturbing morality drama "The Animal Room" (both released 1997).
From 1997-1998, Olds returned to the stage, co-starring in Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge" at the Roundabout Theater. Olds played Rodolpho, an opera singing illegal immigrant with designs on Brittany Murphy's Catherine that her Uncle Eddie (Anthony LaPaglia) finds suspicious. Some reviewers thought his characterization was a bit over the top, but the actor was largely well-received and happy with his work. After a starring role in the Sci-Fi Channel's "A Town Has Turned to Dust" (1998), a TV presentation of Rod Serling's "Playhouse 90" psychodrama, he took a supporting role opposite Billy Crudup in the track and field-themed Steve Prefontaine biopic "Without Limits" (also 1998). In 2000, "Law & Order" producer Dick Wolf came calling with another opportunity for Olds, whom he saw as the star of his young political drama series "D.C." The actor was tapped to play Mason Scott, a privileged idealist with political aspirations and a flaky twin sister (Jacinda Barrett) and pragmatic roommate (Mark-Paul Gosselaar). Unfortunately, the series was cancelled after only three episodes. Down but not out, the still up and coming Olds could count on a featured role as a soap opera actor in the promising gay-themed independent drama "Urbania" (2000) to get his career back on track.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1987
Began acting professionally at age 15 (date approximate)
1988
Starred as a teenage boy who speed ages and is mistaken for the new principal of his school in the two-part "Disney Sunday Movie" presentation "14 Going on 30" (ABC), billed as Gabey Olds
1992
Starred in the high school-set sexual harrassment drama "Sexual Considerations", a "CBS Schoolbreak Special" presentation
1993
Had an early episodic TV guest role on "Law & Order" (NBC), playing a teen who excels at school but terrorizes his family at home
1993
Made Broadway debut in the drama "Any Given Day"
1993
Feature film debut, co-starring in the bomb "Calendar Girl"
1995
Lent voice talents to the "CBS Schoolbreak Special" documentary "Children Remember the Holocaust"
1995
Directed and starred in a production of "Richard II" as his senior project at Yale
1996
Acted in the John Frankenheimer-directed TNT original Civil War miniseries "Andersonville"
1996
Guest starred on the drama series "Party of Five" (Fox) and "Sisters" (NBC)
1997
Featured in the modern morality tale "The Animal Room"
1997
Had a featured supporting role as an opera singing illegal immigrant in Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge" at New York's Roundabout Theater
1997
Starred in the small town-set independent "35 Miles From Normal"
1998
Co-starred in the Sci-Fi Channel presentation "A Town Has Turned to Dust", a psychodrama based on a Rod Serling "Playhouse 90" script
1998
Had a supporting role in "Without Limits", a biopic of track star Steve Prefontaine
2000
Played a by-the-book young political climber in the short-lived series "D.C." (The WB)
2000
Featured as a gay actor in the ensemble of the independent drama "Urbania", based on Daniel Rietz's play "Urban Folk Tales"; screened at Sundance and Gen Art
2001
Portrayed Kenneth Kimes in the CBS TV movie "Like Mother, Like Son"
