Josh Wiggins

JOSH WIGGINS

Date of Birth: November 2, 1998

Josh Wiggins can credit "spoof videos" on YouTube for launching his career.

According to a 2014 Interview feature, Josh, a native of Houston, Texas, got together with his friends and killed time by creating Law and Order spoof videos for fun. The group began posting them to YouTube while they were in the fourth grade and didn't have the faintest idea of where they might lead. But by chance, they landed on writer-director Kat Chandler's screen. Kat was struck by Josh's on-camera charisma and thought he was fitting for a role he was looking to cast. Kat had Josh flown to Los Angeles for an audition, and as fate would have it, Josh won the part.

The film is called Retribution (originally titled Hellion). It's a dramatic thriller with Aaron Paul and Juliette Lewis, and it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2014. Josh earned stellar reviews for his performance as troublemaker Jake Wilson in the film, with critics comparing him to a young Leonardo DiCaprio.

In 2014, Josh opened up to Teen Vogue about acquiring the part of Jake. He said, "I didn't think I was going to get it. It came down to me and this kid who had a ton of experience. Plus, he was dressed up for the role and I was in athletic shorts and a t-shirt, having no idea what I was doing!"

In the same interview, he spoke about working alongside Aaron Paul, whom he initially found intimidating. He said, "Aaron has a way of making you feel really comfortable around him, really fast. We got pretty close on set... Aaron told me to keep a level head and don't let anything get to you."

Following the success of Retribution, Josh won parts in two 2015 films. He played a starring role as Justin Wincott, the youngest son of a family that acquires his late-brother’s ex-military dog in the family adventure film Max, co- starring Thomas Haden Church and Lauren Graham as his parents and Robbie Amell as his brother, as well as the action thriller Lost in the Sun, starring opposite Josh Duhamel.

Josh stayed busy in 2016. He took on a lead role as Jonas Ford in the Canadian-filmed Mean Dreams, which profiles two runaway teen lovers and co-stars Colm Feore, Bill Paxton and Sophie Nélisse; he starred opposite Matt Bomer and Bill Pullman in the adventure drama Walking Out, which follows his character David's trip to Montana and the epic grizzly bear encounter that ensues while he's hunting there; and he shares the screen with Julie Delpy in the dramedy The Whole New Everything.

In 2017, Josh is expected to reunite with Julie for The Bachelors, which will also feature Oscar winner J.K. Simmons.

Aside from the YouTube videos that he can thank for kick-starting his career, Josh gives credit to his supportive family. He told IndieWire in 2014 that before his Retribution audition, he was extremely nervous, but that their encouragement helped him cope with the pressure. He added that his brothers "were a big part in helping with the YouTube videos" and that "if they hadn't helped me, I wouldn't be doing this at all." He said he owed the experience to his family and his brothers.

Filmography:

The Bachelors (2017)
The Whole New Everything (2016)
Walking Out (2016)
Mean Dreams (2016)
Lost in the Sun (2015)
Max (2015)
Retribution (2014)