Tasty Crushie Tuesday: Matt Lanter

Matthew Mackendree "Matt" Lanter (born April 1, 1983) is an American actor, former reality TV personality and model, perhaps best known for his roles in Commander in Chief, 90210, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Disaster Movie, Sorority Row and Vampires Suck.

(Tons of photos after jump)

Early life and career

Lanter was born in Massillon, Stark County, Ohio, the son of Joseph "Joe" Lanter and Jana Burson. He moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1991 at age 8. Lanter graduated from Collins Hill High School in 2001. He played baseball, football, basketball, gymnastics and golf and was a batboy for the Atlanta Braves. He attended University of Georgia, majoring in sports business, but an interest in the film and television industry created a strong desire to pursue acting instead.

In 2004, Lanter was a contestant on Bravo's reality show Manhunt: The Search for America's Most Gorgeous Male Model. He did not win the competition.

Acting career

Within a few weeks of moving to Los Angeles, California, Lanter successfully auditioned for the role of Nick on the Supernatural Teen-Drama Fox series Point Pleasant. He had a major recurring role throughout the series first and only season. He has since then appeared in television shows such as Grey's Anatomy, 8 Simple Rules, Big Love and Heroes.

In April 2005, he signed on to become a series regular portraying the role of Horace Calloway on ABC's political drama series Commander in Chief, starring Geena Davis and Donald Sutherland. The series premiered on September 27, 2005, and was cancelled on June 14, 2006.

In December 2006, he was announced to play the role of Anakin Skywalker for Warner Bros CGI Animated Science Fiction/Action film Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The film, which was released on August 15, 2008, received generally negative reviews from critics. The film had box office success earning worldwide $69,182,844. He was announced to reprise the role of Anakin in a spin-off animated television series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which premiered on October 3, 2008, on the Cartoon Network. He has also reprised his role in various video games based on the franchise. The series Fourth Season premiered in September, 2011.

In 2008, he took on the lead role as Zach Conroy in The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream, with Francia Raisa.

In February 2008, he was announced to portray the central character Will, in Lionsgate's Parody/Comedy film Disaster Movie. The film is written and directed by directing and screenwriting duo Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer who have previously worked on other Parody films such as Meet The Spartans and Epic Movie. The film spoofs recent disaster films such as Cloverfield. He stars with Kim Kardashian, Vanessa Minnillo and Carmen Electra. The film, which was released on August 29, 2008, was a critical bomb. The film grossed over $34 million worldwide and received extremely negative reviews from critics, as well as six nominations at the 29th Golden Raspberry Awards.

In October 2008, he was announced to star in Summit Entertainment's remake of the cult 1983 slasher film The House on Sorority Row. The film stars Briana Evigan, Audrina Patridge, and Rumer Willis. Sorority Row was released on September 11, 2009, and received negative reviews.

In 2009, he began a major recurring role on The CW's 90210 portraying the role of Liam Court. In September 2009, he was announced as a series regular for the second series. The series is a modern day remake of the '90s Teen Drama series Beverly Hills, 90210. In March 2010, he signed on for another parody project with Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, 20th Century Fox's Vampires Suck. He played Edward Sullen, a spoof of Edward Cullen from The Twilight Saga. The film was released on August 18, 2010.

In May 2009, it was announced he had signed on for the role of Jason Webber in Screen Gems' horror film The Roommate. Starring with Minka Kelly and Leighton Meester, filming took place in 2009. The film originally was scheduled for an October 2010 release but was pushed forward to September 17, 2010. However, Screen Gems pushed it to February 4, 2011. He has also signed on to voice the role of Sled in Tinker Bell: A Winter Story which will be released straight-to-DVD in 2011.

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