Daren Kagasoff

Daren Maxwell Kagasoff (KA-guh-sawf; born September 16, 1987)^[1] is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Ricky Underwood on the ABC Family teen drama series The Secret Life of the American Teenager from 2008 to 2013.

Daren Kagasoff
Kagasoff as a guest at the Twilight premiere in 2008
Born	Daren Maxwell Kagasoff (1987-09-16) September 16, 1987 (age 37) Encino, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2008–present

Early life

Kagasoff was born in Encino, California, to Elise Kagasoff (née Levy) and Barry Kagasoff,^[2] a diamond merchant. He is the middle of three children; he has an older brother, Justin,^[3] and a younger sister, Natalie. Kagasoff is Jewish.^[4]

Kagasoff graduated from Montclair Preparatory High School in 2005^[5] where he played on his school's baseball team.^[6] While attending school at San Francisco State University, Kagasoff decided to become an actor.

Career

After deciding to return to Los Angeles, Kagasoff landed the lead role in a local theater production of Suburbia, a play that the eponymous 1996 film was based upon. After studying acting, he began auditioning for television and film roles. During one of his first auditions, he impressed producer Brenda Hampton so much that she hand-picked him to star as Ricky Underwood in the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. The show ran for five seasons.^[7]

It was announced on February 24, 2013, that Kagasoff had been cast as Alex in the Fox pilot Delirium, based on the novel by Lauren Oliver.^[8][9] However, the pilot was not picked up to series.^[7]

Kagasoff co-starred as Trevor in the supernatural horror film Ouija,^[10] directed by Stiles White and co-written by Juliet Snowden and White. The film was released in October 2014.

In September 2014, Kagasoff joined the cast of the Red Band Society, a comedy-drama series on Fox for the 2014–15 American television season developed by Margaret Nagle. He had a recurring role playing Kara's love interest, Hunter Cole.^[11] The series premiered on September 17, 2014, and was canceled after one season.^[12][13]

Filmography

Television and film roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008–2013	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Ricky Underwood	Main role
2014	Ouija	Trevor	Film
2014	Blue	Daren	Web series; 2 episodes
2014	Delirium	Alex Sheathes	Unsold television pilot (FOX)
2014	Stalker	Eric Bates	Episode: Pilot
2014–2015	Red Band Society	Hunter Cole	Recurring role, 7 episodes
2015	Paradise Pictures	Wyatt Osborne	Unsold television pilot (USA)[14]
2017	S.W.A.T.	Gordon	Episode: "Imposters"
2019	The Village	Gabe Napolitano	Main role
2022	Devotion	Bill Koenig	Main role

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2009	Teen Choice Award	Choice TV Breakout Star: Male	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Nominated
2009	Teen Choice Award	Choice Summer TV Star: Male	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Won
2010	Teen Choice Award	Choice TV Actor: Drama	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Nominated
2010	Teen Choice Award	Choice Summer TV Star: Male	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Nominated
2011	Teen Choice Award	Choice TV Actor: Drama	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Nominated
2012	Teen Choice Award	Choice Summer TV Star: Male	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Nominated

References

1. "Daren Maxwell Kagasoff - California, Birth Index". FamilySearch. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
2. "Barry H Kagasoff mentioned in the record of Barry H Kagasoff and Elise Levy". FamilySearch. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
3. Matsushita, Elaine (22 March 2009). "Daren Kagasoff reveals what's really in his closet (think Imelda Marcos)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
4. "Captain Marvel's Jewish director; Joan Collins comes to 'Hawaii 5-0'". 4 March 2019.
5. Hunter, Madison (March 2009). "Kagasoff Reaches Tween Stardom With Breakout Role" (PDF). Montclair Journal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-25.
6. "Southern Section". Los Angeles Times. 10 April 2005. Retrieved 24 February 2015. Montclair Prep 6, Etiwanda 3 Grant Bowman was two for three with two RBIs and a stolen base and Daren Kagasoff (1-0) threw a four-hitter with one earned run for Montclair Prep (8-6).
7. Ng, Philiana (3 June 2013). "'Secret Life of the American Teenager': Daren Kagasoff on Series Finale (Exclusive Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
8. Hibberd, James (8 May 2013). "Fox rejects 'Delirium' pilot starring Emma Roberts". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
9. Goldberg, Lesley (25 February 2013). "Fox's 'Delirium' Finds Co-Lead in 'Secret Life of the American Teenager' Star". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
10. The Deadline Team (4 December 2013). "Daren Kagasoff Joins 'Ouija'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
11. Thompson, Avery (12 November 2014). "'Red Band Society': Daren Kagasoff Teases Hunter's Romance With Kara". Hollywood Life. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
12. Bibel, Sara. "FOX Announces Fall Premiere Dates for the 2014-2015 Season; 'Red Band Society' Launches Early, 'Sleepy Hollow' & 'Gotham' on September 22". TV by the Numbers (Press release). Archived from the original on August 15, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
13. DuBois, Lauren (12 January 2015). "'Red Band Society' Cancelled? FOX Confirms Show Will Air Final Three Episodes, Find Out Show's Surprising New Timeslot". ENSTARZ. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
14. Nellie Andreeva (December 3, 2015). "'Paradise Pictures' Pilot Not Going Forward At USA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2017-06-05.

External links

• Daren Kagasoff at IMDb
• Daren Kagasoff on Twitter