Brian Van Holt was born July 6, 1969 in Waukegan, Illinois and was raised in Huntington Beach, California. Van Holt previously did modeling before becoming a professional actor. He was first discovered in front of a GAP store by producer Stephen Douglas of Redhead Encyclopedia fame, and was invited to participate in a sportswear modeling contest that Douglas was promoting. Van Holt ended up winning the contest and beat over 200 participants. He was subsequently signed to the Jack Rose Agency and made his way to Hollywood. Over the next seven years, he was seen on print ads and commercials around the country.
Brian Van Holt is often cast as a tough military man or law enforcement agent. He made his major film debut in the romantic comedy, Whipped, opposite Amanda Peet, and gained further recognition in the role of Task Force Ranger Sgt. Jeff Struecker in Ridley Scott’s highly successful Black Hawk Down. On television, Van Holt was a government agent on the sci-fi series, Threshold, opposite Carla Gugino. He made his television debut in 1996, appearing in A Very Brady Sequel. This was followed by roles in LA Johns, Beverly Hills 90210, Spin City and Homicide: Life on the Street. In 1998, he was seen on Martial Law, LateLine, and the hit series Sex and the City. Before he rose to fame in Whipped, he played Eamon McBride in Love & Money. He was also cast as Chad in the pilot episode of The $treet.
Van Holt’s film career has been marked by martial-themed, A-list films which began with Black Hawk Down in 2001. This was followed by Windtalkers, Confidence, Basic, and S.W.A.T. In 2005, he got a role in Man of the House, and appeared in the horror flick House of Wax. After a role in the sci-fi series Threshold, he got the part of Butchie Yost in the HBO drama John from Cincinnati. His character is that of a skilled surfer but drug-dependent son of surfing legend Mitch Yost and his wife, Cissy. Since then, Van Holt was cast in episodes of Sons of Anarchy, The Ex List and Entourage.
(Photo courtesy of HBO)