After a role in “The Sweetest Thing” with Cameron Diaz and Selma Blair, Johnny Messner caught the attention of numerous industry-types with his breakthrough role as the mohawked special-ops lieutenant John Lake in “Tears of the Sun,” opposite Bruce Willis and Monica Bellucci. His work in “Tears” caught the attention of director Dwight Little, who cast him in Sony Pictures’ “Anacondas.” In the film, he starred as a conflicted American loner with a checkered past who unwittingly becomes the boat captain to a disparate group of doomed travelers in the South Pacific.
His other credits include films such as “Running Scared,” the New Line feature directed by Wayne Kramer, in which he co-starred with Paul Walker and Vera Farmiga, “The Whole Ten Yards,” David Mamet’s “Spartan” opposite Val Kilmer and William H. Macy, “Hostage,” his third collaboration with Bruce Willis, and, most recently, “Corrado” and “Wrong Turn at Tahoe.”
Messner is proud of his contribution to “One Last Thing,” which debuted at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. In the film, he plays Jason O’Malley, the football star poised to assume the role of hero to fulfill a dying young teen’s last wish. As the story unfolds, O’Malley develops a poignant relationship with the boy’s single mom, played by Cynthia Nixon.
No stranger to the small screen, Messner’s television credits include the lead role on the Fox drama “Killer Instinct,” a recurring role on “The O.C.,” and guest star appearances in shows such as “C.S.I.,” “Knight Rider” and “Law & Order.”
Messner lived in Europe for several years while his father served in the U.S. Air Force. He went to high school in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and attended college at San Diego State University, earning a degree in communications. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
