- Born
- Height5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
- Kristian Ventura is a classically trained actor and graduate from the University of Southern California with a B.F.A. in Acting. In a Deadline exclusive, after completing his program, Ventura sparked a signing war amongst some of the biggest agencies in the industry, competing to sign the star on the rise. Kristian's leading role as Simon Elroy in School Spirits (2023) on Netflix positioned him as one of the industry's most sought-out young actors today.
Ventura excelled in his conservatory. His theatre credits include transforming as Richard III and various plays by Tennessee Williams and Russian playwrights. Within one year of graduating, Ventura landed five roles. He recurred in Reboot (2022) (Hulu) as Connor in the series created by Steven Levitan. Kristian's scene with Nicolas Cage was cut from The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022), but he still made critics laugh with his part on The Rookie: Feds (2022). Darkening his trajectory, Ventura accepted a supporting part in the Hulu's horror Grimcutty (2022) and played a British deviant in HBO Max's science-fiction thriller Gray Matter (2023). While he had yet to prove himself as a leading actor, it was evident to Hollywood that Ventura was quickly climbing the ranks. After a competitive signing, Innovative Artists eventually inked the actor. He then had his breakout role in School Spirits (2023) on Paramount+. Ventura's intensely emotional performance as Simon Elroy had endeared the hearts of audiences worldwide, as he grieves and investigates the death of his best friend, portrayed by Peyton List.
Kristian's skill for character work makes him nearly unrecognizable in the roles he takes. Director/AFI Alum Oran Zegman says, "He is a dream for any director," and EP/Showrunner Oliver Goldstick said: "His first audition blew us away. He inspired us." Director Brian Dannelly wrote: "He's such an exciting actor. Ventura's choices are bold and thoughtful and he has that rare ability to access emotions in the moment while interacting with another actor. I mean, it's just a gift that a lot of actors don't have."
Kristian's skillset continues to advance with each role that demands it, so far: piano, guitar, foreign languages, ballet, motorcycling, skateboarding, and fight combat. His father named him 'Karl Flores III,' but Ventura never knew his father. After his dad committed suicide later in life, the actor embraced the middle name that his mother gave him, Kristian, and her family's last name, Ventura.
He is represented by Jennifer Patredis at Innovative Artists and managed by Vision Entertainment.- IMDb Mini Biography By: PR
- Gender / Gender identityMale
- Kristian was awarded by Barack Obama with the President's Volunteer Service Award for exceptional commitment and effort in international service and helping low income communities. Ventura has traveled to serve the Dominican Republic, U.K., and France.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kristian wrote two books. The first was nominated as a finalist for the American Fiction Awards. The following year, his second collection 'The Goodbye Song' won the award in the Anthologies category.
- In his freshman year of college, the University of Southern California honored Kristian with the 2018 USC Service Award for outstanding leadership in homeless shelters, food banks, and schools.
- Kristian took up classical ballet with Kathy Dunn at the Kaufman School of Dance in Los Angeles.
- Soon after graduating from USC, Kristian studied French at UCLA.
- I feel that at the root of my behavior, life is either too painful or just plain boring, that I prefer persisting through some sort of other reality outside my current environment. I'm a sucker for extremes, for the unknown, the misunderstood, the awkward, the uncomfortable, the sentimental, and the impossible - without these things, I get all lonely and feel purposeless. I'm just dead.
- No... more like sanity I think. It's as if acting keeps me sane. It's all there is for me. It is everything in one and contains all that we value as humans: surprise, love, wisdom, emotion, conflict, and excitement. In middle school, I began to rebel. I think I was suspended about 11 times due to excessive classroom disruptions because I just needed to perform. And although I've had no recent taste for disobeying school authorities, one thing remains unchanged: I live for imagination.
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