Joe Chrest

Joseph Chrest (born May 26, 1963) is an American academic and actor. He has had roles in numerous films and television shows including 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street, Oldboy, Lee Daniels' The Butler, The Perfect Date, and as Ted Wheeler in Stranger Things.^[1][2]

Joe Chrest
Joe Chrest at Stranger Things 4 New York Premiere in 2022
Born	Joseph Chrest (1963-05-26) May 26, 1963 (age 61) Saint Albans, West Virginia, U.S
Occupations	Academic actor
Years active	1993–present
Spouse	Christine Chrest ​ (m. 1997)​
Children	2

Early life and education

Chrest was born and raised in St. Albans, West Virginia, where he attended St. Albans High School.^[3][4] He earned his undergraduate degree from Marshall University.^[5][4] In the late 1980s, he earned an MFA in acting from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.^[4][6]

Career

Chrest is also an adjunct professor at the School of Theatre in Louisiana State University's College of Music & Dramatic Arts.^[7] He teaches a film acting class.^[2] Since 1992, he is a founding member of LSU's Swine Palace.^[1][8]

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	King of the Hill	Ben
	The Pelican Brief	Song and Dance Man from Bar
1995	The Underneath	Mr. Rodman
1997	Clockwatchers	Detective
	Yukie	Michael
1998	Dangerous Proposition	Mark
	Out of Sight	Andy
2000	Erin Brockovich	Tom Robinson
	Lush	Greg
	Auggie Rose	Rhineback	Uncredited
2002	Full Frontal	Sex Shop Man #1
	The Ring	Doctor
2003	Runaway Jury	Owens
2004	The Aviator	Hell's Angels Director of Photography
2005	The Skeleton Key[9]	Paramedic
2007	Ocean's Thirteen	Fender Roads' Manager
2008	The Secret Life of Bees	Mr. Forrest
	Miracle at St. Anna	MP Doyle Ellis
	Who Do You Love?	Malcolm Chisholm
2009	I Love You Phillip Morris	Steven's Dad
	Kink	Ed	Short film
	The Informant!	Visiting Client
	The Blind Side	Clemson Coach
2010	Welcome to the Rileys	Jerry
	Louis	Tom Anderson
	Red	Retirement Home Detective
	Secretariat	Sports Broadcaster
	Knucklehead	Child Services Inspector
2011	Drive Angry	F***ing Passenger
	Battle Los Angeles	1st Sgt. John Roy
	Mask Maker	Electrician
	That's What I Am	Mr. Clear
	Love, Wedding, Marriage	John
	Seeking Justice	Detective Rudeski
	Butter	Butter Fan
	Texas Killing Fields	Salter
	Jeff, Who Lives at Home	Paul
2012	21 Jump Street	David Schmidt
	Battleship	JPL Controller
	The Lucky One	Deputy Moore
	Killing Them Softly	Business Suit Agent
	On the Road	Virginia Cop
	The Campaign	Rainbowland Audience
	The Baytown Outlaws	ATF Agent
	Playing for Keeps	Referee
2013	The Last Exorcism Part II	Pastor
	G.I. Joe: Retaliation	Chief of Staff
	The Hot Flashes	Millie's Dad
	Now You See Me	Elkhorn Janitor Agent
	The Butler	White Usher
	Oldboy	Johnny / Schizophrenic Man
	Homefront	DEA Agent #1
	King of Herrings	The Professor
2014	Barefoot	Trooper
	22 Jump Street	David Schmidt
	Black or White	Dave
	American Heist	Captain Sullivan
2015	Focus	Jeweler	Uncredited
	Ant-Man	Frank
	I Saw the Light	Oscar Davis
	The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2	Mitchell
2016	Showing Roots	Fuzzy Canaday
	Cold Moon	Charles Darrish
	Free State of Jones	James Eakins
	LBJ	McGeorge Bundy	Uncredited
	Deepwater Horizon	Sims
	Like Son	Jeff Rugger
2017	Gifted	Kevin Larsen
2018	Assassination Nation	Lawrence
	The Front Runner	Ira Wyman
2019	The Dirt	David Lee
	The Perfect Date	Harvey Lieberman
	Average Guys	Tommy
	Turducken	Bob Miller	Short film
2020	The Lovebirds	Red Robe Man
2021	The Cran	Isaac
2022	Where the Crawdads Sing	Dr. Cone
2023	Ganymede	Big Lee
	Killers of the Flower Moon	Lawyer Freeling
	Quiz Lady	Mr. Walters
2024	Lisa Frankenstein	Dale
	Fly Me to the Moon	Senator Vanning

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Law & Order	Lt. Charles Bates	Episode: "Conduct Unbecoming"
	House of Secrets	Batist	Television film
1994	Family Matters	Officer Carmichael	Episode: "Good Cop, Bad Cop"
	Columbo	Mercer	Episode: "Undercover"
	Cries from the Heart	Brandon Richards	Television film
1995	Sweet Justice	Dylan	Episode: "Bloodlines"
	Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long	Carl Weiss	Television film
	Fallen Angels	Dino	Episode: "The Professional Man"
1996	The Lottery	Deputy Jeff Simmons	Television film
	Nash Bridges	Kevin McMillan	Episode: "The Brothers McMillan"
	Millennium	Raymond Dees	Episode: "5-2-2-6-6-6"
	Desert Breeze	Jack	Television film
1997	Promised Land	Gary McNeely	Episode: "Downsized"
1998	Chicago Hope	Judas	Episode: "Tantric Turkey"
1999	Snoops	Joel Hilburn	Episode: "Singer in the Band"
	Hefner: Unauthorized	Ed Gunn	Television film
2000	Touched by an Angel	Joe	Episode: "Finger of God"
2001	Level 9	Derek Santos	Episode: "Wetware"
2004	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Al Maguire	Episode: "Getting Off"
	Deadwood	Persimmon Phil	Episode: "Deep Water"
	Star Trek: Enterprise	Bar Patron	Episode: "Home"
	3: The Dale Earnhardt Story	Jake Elder	Television film
	Nikki and Nora	Charlie
2005	Medium	Henry Yellen	Episode: "Coded"
	Faith of My Fathers	Craner	Television film
	Surface	Rich's Friend	Episode: "Episode 5"
2006	Thief	Art Luster	Episode: "Everything That Rises Must Converge"
2007	K-Ville	Det. Ray McPherson	Episode: "Ride Along"
2008	Front of the Class	Jim Ovbey	Television film
2010	House of Bones	Benjamin
	One Tree Hill	Investor	Episode: "We All Fall Down"
2011	Hound Dogs	Trainer	Television film
2012	Breakout Kings	Detective Estes	2 episodes
	Treme	James Townsend
2013	Occult	Agent Colquitt	Television film
2014	Nashville	Ed Marshall	Episode: "I'll Keep Climbing"
	True Detective	Detective Demma	5 episodes
2016–present	Stranger Things	Ted Wheeler	20 episodes
2016	Killing Reagan	Jerry Parr	Television film
2017	Sun Records	Vernon Presley	7 episodes
2018	Mr. Mercedes	Detective	2 episodes
	The Purge	Ross Bailes	3 episodes
2019	Looking for Alaska	Walter Halter[8]	4 episodes
2020	When the Street Lights Go On	Mr. Chambers	Pre-production

Theatre

Month/Year	Venue	Title	Role	Notes
October 1986	LSU Theatre	The Rimers of Eldritch	Lanford Wilson[10]
May 1987	LSU Theatre	The Rose Tattoo		"In a large and energetic cast, Joe Chrest and Amanda P. White bring credibility to their small (unaccented) roles."[11]
April 1988	LSU Theatre	Fool for Love	Martin[12]	The cast also performed at the Kennedy Center as part of the American College Theater Festival.[13][14]
December 1988	LSU Theatre	The Wild Duck	Gregers Werle[15]
August 2001	Theatre West Virginia (Charleston, WV)	The Sound of Music	Captain von Trapp	He was also director of the play.[16]

References

1. Sigur, Matt (21 November 2016). "Baton Rouge actor in 'Stranger Things' teases his role in Season Two: 'Anything is possible.'"". Baton Rouge Advocate. The Advocate. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
2. Bergeron, Judy (13 December 2017). "Baton Rouge actor part of 'Stranger Things' ensemble nominated for SAG Award". The Baton Rouge Advocate. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2023. Chrest, who plays Ted Wheeler on the series, grew up in West Virginia, but in the late 1980s came to LSU to get his master's degree in acting. The longtime character actor teaches a film acting class at LSU.
3. Lilly, Alexia (18 April 2017). "Marshall alum, actor finds 'Stranger Things' to explore". The Parthenon. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
4. Orosz, Monica (10 June 2012). "W.Va. native Joe Chrest embraces supporting role". Newsbank. Charleston Daily Mail (WV). Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
5. Ferrell Smith, Charlotte (14 June 2001). "What's the most fun job Joe Chrest has ever had?". newsbank. Charleston Daily Mail (WV). Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2023. Chrest, 38, earned his undergraduate degree from Marshall University and his master's from Louisiana State University.
6. Sigur, Matthew (22 November 2016). "'Stranger Things' happened to BR actor *** Joe Chrest racks up roles while teaching at LSU". The Baton Rouge Advocate. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2023. Though Chrest grew up in West Virginia, he landed in Baton Rouge on a whim. In the late 1980s, he came to LSU to get his master's degree in acting. "I was on my way to New York," Chrest said, laughing. "I didn't intend to go to grad school. I had to look on the map to see where Baton Rouge was. I thought I would go audition and get a tune up for the stuff I wanted to do. Because I didn't care about it, it was one of the best auditions I ever gave. I got the full ride down here, and I was like, 'I'll go try it out.' It turned out to be one of the best things I ever did." Chrest now teaches a film acting class at LSU. And, 20 years into his career, his résumé as a character actor continues to grow.
7. Auglair, Hailey (8 November 2017). "LSU professor balances acting career and teaching". Reveille. LSUReveille.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
8. Bergeron, Judy (15 October 2019). "Hulu's 'Looking for Alaska' finds Louisiana; series will debut on Friday". The Baton Rouge Advocate. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2023. Walter is portrayed by former Baton Rouge actor Joe Chrest ("Stranger Things"), who lived in the area while earning his master of fine arts degree from LSU, where he helped found Swine Palace Theatre. Shooting the series last spring brought Chrest close to his old stomping grounds, as filming locations included Hammond, Amite, Loranger, Covington and Mandeville, as well as Birmingham, Alabama.
9. Bergeron, Judy (28 October 2022). "Bring on the screams, shudders with these 5 Louisiana-shot thriller movies". The Baton Rouge Advocate. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2023. Starring Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, Joy Bryant and Peter Sarsgaard. Louisiana cast includes actor Joe Chrest and the Rebirth Brass Band.
10. Foil, David (27 October 1986). ""Rimers of Eldritch" a meaningful production". Newsbank. Baton Rouge Advocate. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2023. The audience's close proximity to the action even enhances the performances of Kathryn Green, as the satisfied small-town girl Lena Truit, and Joe Chrest as the deceptively laid-back Josh, her boyfriend.
11. Foil, David (2 May 1987). ""Rose Tattoo" doesn't sing as dialogue suggests". Newsbank. Baton Rouge Advocate. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
12. Foil, David (30 April 1988). "Shepard's "Fool for Love" achieves seething tension". Newsbank. Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved 18 April 2023. "As Martin, the unfortunate fellow who has a date with May, Joe Chrest is superb."
13. Ferrell Smith, Charlotte (14 June 2001). "What's the most fun job Joe Chrest has ever had?". newsbank. Charleston Daily Mail (WV). Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2023. A few of his stage credits include "Fool for Love" at the Kennedy Center and a Gordon Davison production of "Guns."
14. (1989, January 25). The Baton Rouge Advocate, p. 32. Available from NewsBank: America's News – Historical and Current: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AMNEWS&docref=image/v2%3A138F0D9908AC8D5F%40EANX-14AD694211F43DCB%402447552-14ACDAECABCBBB86%4031-14ACDAECABCBBB86%40 Archived 2024-01-16 at the Wayback Machine.
15. Goldsmith, Sue (3 December 1988). ""The Wild Duck" cast captivates audience. *** Hateable villain leads Ibsen drama". Newsbank. Baton Rouge Advocate. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2023. If ever there were a villain the audience loved to hate, it is Joe Chrest's portrayal of Gregers in the LSU Theatre production that opened Thursday and ends Dec. 9. By the time he made his stage entries in the second act, audience members were whispering such comments as, "Oh, God, shoot him before he can do any more harm!" Gregers takes idealism to idiotic extremes as he sets out to meddle in other people's lives (he is trying to help, not being deliberately malicious).
16. Ferrell Smith, Charlotte (14 June 2001). "What's the most fun job Joe Chrest has ever had?". newsbank. Charleston Daily Mail (WV). Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2023. Chrest, who now lives in Los Angeles, will spend his summer working with Theatre West Virginia. Aside from his director duties, he also will perform in "The Sound of Music" as Captain Von Trapp.

External links

• Joe Chrest at IMDb
• Stranger Things at LSU: Interview with Professor Joe Chrest, 26 October 2017.