# Kyle Gallner

Kyle Steven Gallner (born October 22, 1986) is an American actor. He began acting in 2000, earning recognition for playing Bart Allen in the superhero series Smallville (2004–2009), Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas in the mystery drama series Veronica Mars (2005–2006), and Reed Garrett in the police drama series CSI: NY (2006–2010).
Gallner was established as a scream king in the 2010s, starring in the horror films The Haunting in Connecticut, Jennifer's Body (both 2009), the Nightmare on Elm Street remake (2010), Red State (2011), Scream (2022), and the Smile franchise (2022–2024). His other films include Dear White People, American Sniper (both 2014), Dinner In America (2020), The Passenger, and Strange Darling (both 2023).

## Early life

Gallner was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, to Larry and Mary Jane Gallner. He has three siblings: one older sister, one younger brother, and a younger sister. Gallner attended West Chester East High School. He started his career by following his sister along to one of her auditions. His father's family is Russian-Jewish immigrants At age four, Gallner underwent open-heart surgery.

## Career

He proceeded to guest star on popular shows such as Judging Amy and Close to Home. Gallner joined the cast of Veronica Mars as Cassidy Casablancas toward the end of the show's first season, in May 2005, before becoming a season regular during the show's second season. After playing Bart Allen in the Smallville episode "Run", Gallner reprised the role on the January 18, 2007, episode "Justice" and the season eight finale. He also guest starred on Cold Case as a teenaged gunman in the episode "Rampage", and appeared in the independent film Sublime. In 2007, he guest starred in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit titled "Impulsive" as a high school student who accuses his teacher (played by Melissa Joan Hart) of statutory rape. He also guest starred in an episode of Bones as Jeremy Farrell, the suspected murderer of a child beauty-pageant contestant. He also played the lead role in the horror film The Haunting in Connecticut, playing a cancer patient who is tormented by evil spirits.
He appeared in the independent film Cherry, filmed on the campuses of Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University, along with several locations in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan. He plays Aaron, an Ivy-League freshman who falls for an older woman while becoming the object of affection for the woman's young daughter. Gallner played Quentin in the 2010 reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street; his character is the love interest of main character Nancy. Gallner played the brother of Aaron Paul's character in the 2012 film Smashed. Gallner played Zach in one episode in the fourth season of AMC's The Walking Dead. It was initially reported that he would be a recurring character, but his character was killed off instead. In 2013, Gallner co-founded the independent production company Minutehand Pictures along with Oliver Thompson and Bay Dariz. The trio produced the feature film Welcome to Happiness, in which Gallner portrays Woody Ward, a children's book author with a secret door in his closet. In 2014, Gallner played the role of Kurt, the antagonist to lead character Sam, in the independent film Dear White People. That same year, he acted in Clint Eastwood's war film American Sniper.
Gallner had roles in several independent films throughout the 2010s and 2020s. He starred in the critically acclaimed comedy Dinner in America, which premiered at Sundance in 2020 and earned him praise for his performance. The film struggled to find an initial audience but developed a cult following in 2024 after it gained popularity on TikTok. In 2022, he starred as Vince Schneider in the fifth Scream film, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. He also had a significant role in horror film Smile, for which he reprised his part for a sequel in 2024. In 2023, he led the thrillers Mother, May I?, The Passenger, and Strange Darling. For his participation in the horror genre, he has been labeled a scream king. In the upcoming film Carolina Caroline, he will be reunited with Dinner in America director Adam Carter Rehmeier.

## Personal life

Gallner married Tara Ferguson on December 12, 2015. They have two sons.

## Filmography
### Film

Key :
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Wet Hot American Summer | Bobby's buddy | |
| 2003 | Finding Home | Young Dave | |
| 2003 | Red Betsy | Charlie | |
| 2005 | Red Eye | Headphone Kid's brother | |
| 2006 | Danika | Kurt Merrick | |
| 2007 | Sublime | Ned | |
| 2008 | Gardens of the Night | Ratboy | |
| 2008 | Red | Harold | |
| 2008 | Trunk | Will | |
| 2009 | The Haunting in Connecticut | Matt Campbell | |
| 2009 | Jennifer's Body | Colin Gray | |
| 2010 | Beautiful Boy | Sam Carroll | |
| 2010 | Cherry | Aaron | |
| 2010 | A Nightmare on Elm Street | Quentin Smith | |
| 2011 | Cougars, Inc. | Sam Lowell | |
| 2011 | Little Birds | Jesse McNamara | |
| 2011 | Losers Take All | Brian | |
| 2011 | Magic Valley | TJ Waggs | |
| 2011 | Red State | Jarod | |
| 2012 | Smashed | Owen Hannah | |
| 2013 | Beautiful Creatures | Larkin | |
| 2013 | CBGB | Lou Reed | |
| 2013 | The Scissoring Part 2 | Aaron Walker | |
| 2014 | American Sniper | Winston | |
| 2014 | Dear White People | Kurt | |
| 2014 | Just Before I Go | Zeke | |
| 2015 | Band of Robbers | Huck Finn | |
| 2015 | Welcome to Happiness | Woody | |
| 2016 | The Cleanse | Eric | |
| 2016 | The Finest Hours | Andrew Fitzgerald | |
| 2017 | Zen Dog | Reed / Mud | |
| 2018 | Alien Code | Alex Jacobs | |
| 2019 | The Cleansing Hour | Drew | |
| 2020 | Dinner in America | Simon | |
| 2020 | Ghosts of War | Tappert | |
| 2020 | The Catch | Bobby McManus | |
| 2022 | Scream | Vince Schneider | |
| 2022 | What Comes Around | Eric | |
| 2022 | Smile | Joel | |
| 2023 | Mother, May I? | Emmett | |
| 2023 | The Passenger | Benson | |
| 2023 | Strange Darling | The Demon | |
| 2024 | Smile 2 | Joel | |
| TBA | Carolina Caroline † | TBA | Filming |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Third Watch | Raleigh | Episode: "Young Men and Fire..." |
| 2002 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Marc Lesinski | Episode: "Juvenile" |
| 2003 | Touched by an Angel | Josh | Episode: "Virtual Reality" |
| 2004; 2007; 2009 | Smallville | Bart Allen / Impulse | Episodes: "Run", "Justice" and "Doomsday" |
| 2004 | The District | Brian Johnson | Episode: "Something Borrowed and Something Bruised" |
| 2005 | Jack & Bobby | BJ Bongaro | Episode: "Time Out of Live" and "Querida Grace" |
| 2005 | Judging Amy | Zachary Pettit | Episode: "The Long Run" |
| 2005 | Skater Boys | Sean Davis | Episode: "Sundown" |
| 2005–2006 | Veronica Mars | Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas | Main role (season 2); recurring role (season 1) |
| 2006 | Bones | Jeremy Farrell | Episode: "The Girl with the Curl" |
| 2006 | Close to Home | Jacob Towers | Episode: "The Good Doctor" |
| 2006 | Cold Case | Cameron Coulter | Episode: "Rampage" |
| 2006 | Four Kings | Spencer | Episode: "Upper West Side Story" |
| 2006–2007 | Big Love | Jason Embry | Recurring role (seasons 1–2) |
| 2006–2010 | CSI: NY | Reed Garrett | Recurring role (seasons 3–6) |
| 2007 | The Closer | Eric Wallace | Episode: "Homewrecker" |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Shane Mills | Episode: "Impulsive" |
| 2007 | Medium | Young Stephen | Episode: "The Boy Next Door" |
| 2008 | Life | Zak Sutter | Episode: "Black Friday" |
| 2008 | The Shield | Lloyd Denton | Recurring role (season 7) |
| 2010 | Past Life | Xander | Episode: "Saint Sarah" |
| 2012 | Criminal Minds | James Heathridge | Episode: "Heathridge Manor" |
| 2012 | Jan | Robbie | Main role |
| 2013 | The Walking Dead | Zach | Episode: "30 Days Without an Accident" |
| 2014 | Play It Again, Dick | Himself | Main role |
| 2016–2017 | Outsiders | Hasil Farrell | Main role |
| 2020 | Interrogation | Eric Fisher | Main role |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2011 | Fright Meter Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Red State | Nominated |
| 2016 | Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema | Best Actor – Feature | Welcome to Happiness | Nominated |
| 2016 | Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema | Excellence in Producing | Welcome to Happiness | Won |
| 2016 | Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema | Producer's Choice Award | Welcome to Happiness | Won |
| 2021 | Dublin International Film Festival | Jury Prize | Dinner in America | Won |
| 2025 | Saturn Awards | Best Actor | Strange Darling | Nominated |