Jeremy Sumpter

Jeremy Robert Myron Sumpter (born February 5, 1989) is an American actor. His prominent roles include the title role in the 2003 live action film Peter Pan and the recurring role of J. D. McCoy in the NBC television series Friday Night Lights (2008–2010). He most recently co-starred alongside AnnaSophia Robb and Helen Hunt in Soul Surfer. --- Sumpter was born in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California to Sandy (née Johnson) and Gary Sumpter. He has a twin sister, Jessica, and two other siblings, Travis and Jennifer. His family moved to his mother's hometown, Mount Sterling, Kentucky, when he was ten months old. Sumpter's first movie role was in the 2001 film Frailty as the young Adam Mieks seen in flashbacks (played as an adult by the film's star Matthew McConaughey). Sumpter received a Saturn Award nomination for "Best Performance by a Younger Actor" for his performance. Following that, he appeared with Danny Glover in the Showtime film Just a Dream, for which he received a Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Special - Leading Young Actor". His next film was Local Boys, a family surfing drama, with Mark Harmon and Eric Christian Olsen. In July 2002, at age 13, Sumpter was selected for the role of Peter Pan, a role traditionally played on stage by women. Sumpter did nearly all of his stunts for the film himself. To prepare, he says he practiced sword fighting as much as five hours a day, as well as training in gymnastics and lifting weights. While filming in Australia, he supplemented his training with cricket and surfing. Sumpter grew several inches while in the film's production, requiring staging tricks to retain Captain Hook's height advantage over Peter in face-to-face scenes late in the process. Producer Lucy Fisher also said that, "The window he flies out of had to be enlarged twice." Sumpter won both a Saturn and Young Artist Award for the film.