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Ross Fleming Butler (born 17 May 1990) is a Singaporean-born American actor. He is best known for his role as Zach Dempsey in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why and as Brett Willis on K.C. Undercover. He was also cast as Reggie Mantle in the Netflix/The CW show Riverdale, but left the role after one season due to filming commitments to 13 Reasons Why. In 2019, he joined the DC Extended Universe as Superhero Eugene Choi in the film Shazam!, and reprised the role in Shazam! Fury of the Gods in 2023.

Early life

Butler was born in Singapore to a Chinese-Malaysian mother and an English-Dutch father. He lived in Jakarta, Indonesia before moving to the United States when he was four and was raised by his mother in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb outside Washington, D.C.

He studied chemical and biomolecular engineering at Ohio State University. He dropped out after a year and later moved back to Virginia, where he took courses at a community college. He then moved to Los Angeles at the age of 20.

Career

Butler took his first acting class at age 21. He got his start with roles in student films and low budget projects. He landed his breakthrough recurring role on the Disney Channel series K.C. Undercover. He had roles in the Disney Channel films Teen Beach 2 and Perfect High.

In 2017, he was cast as Reggie Mantle in Riverdale. He was later cast as Zach Dempsey in 13 Reasons Why, and left Riverdale due to his commitment to 13 Reasons Why. He would reprise Mantle in Riverdale's 100th episode "The Jughead Paradox" in a scene alongside his successor Charles Melton's portrayal.

In 2019, he played adult Eugene Choi in the superhero film Shazam!. He also played Trevor, Peter Kavinsky's best friend, in To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, released in 2020 by Netflix.

In 2020, it was announced that Butler would star alongside Kiernan Shipka in the Quibi series Swimming with Sharks. The project remained unreleased after the demise of Quibi's platform, but was released by Roku in the spring of 2022. Butler also starred in Claudia Tan's Perfect Addiction alongside Kiana Madeira and Matthew Notzka, which was released internationally on Amazon Prime on March 24, 2023, and received a limited theatrical release in the USA.

Butler then appeared in the film adaption of Abigail Hing Wen's Love in Taipei (previously titled "Loveboat Taipei") opposite Ashley Liao. The film had its debut on Paramount+ in the summer of 2023. Upcoming projects include Butler appearing in the romantic comedy Worth the Wait, with Lana Condor, the thriller Zipline, and the fantasy comedy Shiver.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music video

References

1. Chandra, Jessica (April 24, 2017). "How 13 Reasons Why Star Ross Butler Avoids Getting Cast in Stereotypical Asian Roles". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
2. Butler, Ross (May 17, 2011). "@hollymadison Wow I'm flattered! I'm coming to Vegas for my 21st birthday and im super stoked. You going to be in town?" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2016 – via Twitter.
3. Butler, Ross (May 2, 2012). "@Juleah_Green come out for my birthday party on may 17th!, I'll send you the info on Facebook" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 9, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2016 – via Twitter.
4. ^ McGinnis, Dan (April 22, 2015). "Staying Focused with Ross Butler". The Hollywood Billboard. Archived from the original on August 16, 2015.
5. ^ Ausiello, Michael (April 25, 2017). "Riverdale Set to Recast a Major Character Ahead of Season 2". TVLine. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
6. Khosla, Proma (April 22, 2017). "This '13 Reasons Why' star could be the Asian leading man Hollywood needs". Mashable. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
7. Haddad, Hanan; Varinata, Michelle (2019-01-08). "BAZAAR Spotlight: Meet Rising Singapore-Born Superstar, Ross Butler". Harper's Bazaar Singapore. Archived from the original on 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
8. ^ "Interview With Ross Butler, An Actor to Watch". Mochimag.com. August 29, 2015. Archived from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
9. ^ Jagota, Vrinda (2018-05-18). "Ross Butler Is Redefining the Asian American Dream". PAPER. Archived from the original on 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
10. ^ Hong, Tae (2018-01-12). "Cover Story: A Lesson in Confidence from '13 Reasons Why' Actor Ross Butler". Character Media. Archived from the original on 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
11. Sutton, Samantha (2017-05-15). "Ross Butler Makes a Good Point about That Note from 13 Reasons Why". Coveteur. Archived from the original on 2021-11-03. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
12. ^ Clerine, Alain. "Breaking Stereotypes". CIVILIAN MAGAZINE. Archived from the original on 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
13. Lee, Traci G. (April 26, 2017). "Ross Butler is Hollywood's leading man waiting in the wings". NBC News. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
14. Andreeva, Nellie (June 8, 2016). "'13 Reasons Why' Netflix Series: Dylan Minnette & Katherine Langford Lead Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
15. Lawrence, Derek (May 12, 2017). "Riverdale casts its new Reggie". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 16, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
16. Highfill, Samantha (December 14, 2021). "'Riverdale' recap: Jughead makes a major sacrifice for Rivervale". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
17. ^ Highfill, Samantha. "Exclusive: 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before' sequel adds '13 Reasons Why' actor Ross Butler". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021.
18. Nesvig, Kara (March 1, 2020). "Kiernan Shipka and Ross Butler Are Teaming Up For a New Series". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on May 16, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
19. Meghan, Meghan (February 1, 2022). "Swimming with Sharks Starring Kiernan Shipka to Make Roku Channel Debut in April". Nerds&Beyond. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
20. Donnelly, Matt (6 April 2022). "How Roku's Long-Delayed 'Swimming With Sharks' Reboot Takes Aim at Monstrous Hollywood Bosses". Variety. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
21. Wiseman, Andreas (2021-06-28). "Kiana Madeira, Ross Butler & Matthew Noszka To Star In Romance-Action Movie 'Perfect Addiction'; Endeavor Content Launches Sales". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
22. Krystaf, Lauren (2023-03-21). "'Perfect Addiction': Release Date, Cast, Trailer, and Everything You Need to Know". Collider. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
23. Grobar, Matt (November 11, 2021). "'Loveboat, Taipei': Ashley Liao & Ross Butler To Topline YA Romance From Ace Entertainment". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
24. Grobar, Matt (5 June 2023). "Ace Entertainment's YA Romance 'Love In Taipei' Based On Abigail Hing Wen Bestseller Sets Summer Premiere On Paramount+". Deadline. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
25. Grobar, Matt (June 15, 2023). "Lana Condor, Andrew Koji, Ross Butler, Sung Kang, Elodie Yung & Others Set For Tom Shu-Yu Lin's Indie Rom-Com 'Worth The Wait'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
26. Buenahora, Andres (October 30, 2024). "Shark Thriller 'Zipline' Casts Ioan Gruffudd, Ross Butler and Holland Roden (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
27. Grobar, Matt (November 25, 2024). "Sofia Wylie, Alexander Ludwig, Alicia Witt & Greg Kinnear Among Seven Additions To YA Pic 'Shiver'". Deadline. Retrieved November 25, 2024.

Further reading

• Early interview with Teen.com
• Interview with Salon
• Interview with Flaunt
• Interview with Bello Magazine
• Interview with Glass Magazine
• Interview with Euphoria Magazine

External links

• Ross Butler at IMDb 
• Ross Butler on Twitter

• 1990 births
• Living people
• People from McLean, Virginia
• American male television actors
• American male film actors
• American male voice actors
• American people of Dutch descent
• American people of English descent
• American actors of Chinese descent
• American people of Malaysian descent
• Male actors from Los Angeles
• Male actors from Virginia
• Ohio State University College of Engineering alumni
• Singaporean emigrants to the United States
• Singaporean people of Dutch descent
• Singaporean people of English descent
• Singaporean people of Chinese descent
• Singaporean people of Malaysian descent
• 21st-century American male actors
• American capoeira practitioners
• American Jeet Kune Do practitioners
• American eskrimadors
• American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
• American male boxers
• American male kickboxers
• 21st-century American sportsmen