Cord Montross

For being born in Manhattan, Kansas, Cord Montross knew very little of the plains life as he grew up. His older sister was a local beauty queen, going to every local pageant she could. It was at one of these pageants that Mrs. Montross was pulled aside and told that her son would make a perfect little model. The woman hadn't ever really thought about her son in that way because she was, in all ways, a pageant mother, but the promise that her son would do well in the modeling world sparked something inside of her. It took a lot of convincing, but she managed to convince her husband that there were opportunities for their two children in Hollywood. That summer, she was set up in an apartment with her children while her husband stayed back in Kansas to make a life for them should they not find work.

Within three months, Cord had been cast in three commercials. Showing promise in the industry, his mother decided that they should stay longer than the summer and the lease on their little apartment was extended. Of course, Cord doesn't remember much of this time in his life. Mostly what he remembers of this time is sitting in chairs and looking to his mother to reassurance that he was getting his minimal amount of lines correct. It wasn't until Cord was nearly seven years old that he got his first real role. He'd auditioned for the role of the youngest Conner son on the television show "Roseanne", but he lost the part to another little boy. When they got the call saying they were going for their second choice after complaints with their first, Cord's life changed completely.

"Roseanne" lasted nine years of Cord's young life and led to a role in his first film. When the show ended, he was 15 and suddenly an out-of-work actor. His mother urged him to take more roles, driving him to audition upon audition, but not one audition resulted in a job. He was dropped from his agency and he was beginning to lose hope in his ability as an actor. When he was seventeen, he was alerted to the creation of a new television show set to debut that fall called "Freaks and Geeks". Remembering the way that he grew to be part of a large television family on "Roseanne", he decided to audition for the part of Daniel Desario even though his parents insisted it would kill his career to do another television show. It was an argument that led to emancipation papers to be drawn up so Cord could have a career he built on his own.

"Freaks and Geeks" was canceled after just eighteen episodes had been filmed. For the most part, Cord was pretty convinced that he'd been emancipated too early for nothing and his career was over. Later, it was an honor to be contacted by a director, let alone one that wanted to cast him in a film based on The Virgin Suicides-- a book he'd read during one of his lowest points. The part of Trip Fontaine opened his eyes to the possibility of actually finding a place in the acting world. This point was proven when he was cast as Igby Slocumb in Igby Goes Down. The two-year-long break he took after making Igby Goes Down was self-imposed so he could try his hand at college.

Cord attended New York University for two years on an accelerated program which had him going to class through his summers. In 2004, he left NYU for his first starring role and it was a move he has not yet begun to regret. The Notebook won him many an award and worked as his true breakout performance. It also led to being cast as Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain which earned him his first Oscar nomination. Over the years, Cord has come to be known for choosing dramatic roles and roles that interest him on an intellectual level.