Jeff Nowinski

This actor and former professional athlete, was born in L.A.'s tough inner-city. He fell in love with Shakespeare and Japanese poetry as a child and seemed destined for a life in the arts, however, his precocious athletic ability soon took center stage. Raised to be a pro baseball player by his dad, and although the major league spotlight beckoned, Jeff was taken by the game of football. So it was that he won a dream scholarship at UCLA to play sports, and played football, basketball and baseball. His UCLA Football teams amazingly won three Rose Bowl championships in four years, an NCAA record. While at the university Jeff earned two degrees and thought about becoming a doctor. Upon graduating, he was scooped up by professional sports and after a cup of coffee in the NFL, Jeff was discovered by UCLA professor, Tom Orth at the age of 24 and dove into acting head first. After taking classes at his alma mater in their graduate program of Fine Arts and a summer in Europe studying theater,