Sean Patrick Flanery

Easygoing, all-American and athletic, Sean Patrick Flanery was a natural choice to star in "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (ABC, 1992-93), a role he would reprise over the course of his busy career in a string of made-for-TV and direct-to-video sequels. Despite the controversy surrounding director Victor Salva, Flanery notched his biggest dramatic showcase as a supernaturally gifted, ultra-sensitive albino in "Powder" (1995). Famous to a particular generation, Flanery booked roles in "Suicide Kings" (1997), "Simply Irresistible" (1999) and "The Boondock Saints" (1999) as well as on "Stephen King's Dead Zone" (USA Network, 2002-07), but frequently appeared in lower-profile genre projects, including the horror schlock "KAW" (Sci Fi Channel, 2008) and "Mongolian Death Worm" (Syfy, 2010). He notched a flashy supporting turn as a duplicitous self-help author undone by his lies in "Saw 3-D" (2010) and joined the cast of "The Young and the Restless" (CBS, 1973- ). Although never quite achieving mainstream stardom, Flanery built an impressively lengthy career and a devoted group of fans who enjoyed his eclectic professional range.

Born Oct. 11, 1965 in Lake Charles, LA, Sean Patrick Flanery grew up in Houston, TX. A crush on a girl in college led him to start taking theater classes, and although the romance was short-lived, his passion for acting was ignited. Flanery moved to Los Angeles and began cutting his professional teeth in commercials and small roles in made-for-TV movies and little-seen films like "A Tiger's Tale" (1987). With boyish good looks and an enthusiastic, all-American presence, Flanery hit the Hollywood jackpot when George Lucas plucked him from obscurity to cast him as the TV version of one of cinema's most beloved characters. As the titular star of "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (ABC, 1992-93), Flanery stepped into the famous footsteps of Harrison Ford and River Phoenix - the first actor to get a crack at playing the young Indy - and pulled the role off with a breezy charisma. Gorgeously shot but a bit too slow-moving and creaky, the series proved too expensive and was canceled after a season. But the character proved popular enough, however, that he reprised the role in a string of made-for-TV and direct-to-video installments, including "Hollywood Follies" (The Family Channel, 1994), "Treasure of the Peacock's Eye" (The Family Channel, 1995), "Attack of the Hawkmen" (The Family Channel, 1995), "Travels with Father" (The Family Channel, 1996), "Tales of Innocence" (1999), "Daredevils of the Desert" (1999), "Masks of Evil" (2000), "Love's Sweet Song" (2007), "Demons of Deception" (2007) and "Winds of Change" (2008).

Although mostly associated with his Indiana Jones role throughout his career, Flanery branched out, playing a youthful King Arthur in "Guinevere" (Lifetime, 1994) and outlaw Zack Murphy in the Western "Frank & Jesse" (HBO, 1995). He earned a straightforward drama credit in the Truman Capote adaptation "The Grass Harp" (1995) and continued in this vein with the high-profile drama "Powder" (1995), starring as a teen raised in the isolation of a cellar due to his abnormally high IQ, supernatural powers and chalk-white skin. Freed from confinement by psychologist Mary Steenburgen, Flanery's Jeremy "Powder" Reed attempts to join normal society, but finds his efforts exceedingly difficult despite the sympathy of an adult friend (Jeff Goldblum). While many viewers found the Disney-produced film thought-provoking drama quite moving, others considered it too didactic and self-important. Meanwhile, its reception was further damaged by its choice of director, Victor Salva who in 1988 had been convicted of molesting Nathan Forrest Winters, a then-12-year-old child actor. When "Powder" was released, Winters came forward again to call for a boycott of the film. Despite the controversy surrounding the film, Flanery's performance was praised, and he was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance.

Despite his auspicious career start, Flanery found it difficult to maintain his upward professional momentum, and began appearing in lower-profile fare. Among these projects, some of the more recognizable films included the Christopher Walken dramedy "Suicide Kings" (1997) and the romances "Girl" (1998) with Dominique Swain and "Zack and Reba" (1998) with Brittany Murphy. He played the male romantic lead in the Sarah Michelle Gellar big-screen bomb "Simply Irresistible" (1999) and was the rational McManus brother in the crime thriller "The Boondock Saints" (1999), before landing the colorful lead role of casino troubleshooter Elvis Ford in "The Strip" (UPN, 1999-2000). Although Flanery worked steadily on the side as young Indiana Jones, these projects made few mainstream waves, and he settled into a lower-wattage stardom with small roles in lesser-seen films like the Sylvester Stallone action flick "D-Tox" (2002), the Lou Diamond Phillips thriller "Lone Hero" (2002) and the lukewarm ensemble comedy "Kiss the Bride" (2002). Languishing in B-movie oblivion, he appeared in a slew of genre projects, including the horror flick "Demon Hunter" (2005), the killer-raven oddity "KAW" (Sci Fi Channel, 2007) and the comic book fantasy "Veritas, Prince of Truth" (2007).

His profile received a significant boost, however, when he recurred on "Stephen King's Dead Zone" (USA Network, 2002-07) as Greg Stillson, a politician whose rise to power will bring about a nuclear apocalypse, according to visions by psychic Johnny Smith (Anthony Michael Hall). Continuing his prolific streak of B-movies, Flanery starred in the drama "Crystal River" (2009) and the comedy "The Whole Truth" (2009), while also reprising his role as Connor McManus for the sequel "The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day" (2009). He starred in the schlocky "Mongolian Death Worm" (Syfy, 2010), but landed a showy supporting role in the blockbuster "Saw 3-D" (2010) as Bobby Dagen, a self-help guru who must pay the price for lying about surviving serial killer Jigsaw's traps. After appearing in the music video for "Howlin' for You" by The Black Keys, Flanery joined the cast of "The Young and the Restless" (CBS, 1973- ), while on the cable side of the small screen, Flanery was cast to appear in the eighth season of the long-running serial killer drama, "Dexter" (Showtime, 2006-13), where he was slated to play an ex-cop-turned-private investigator. The season was set to begin airing in June 2013.

By Jonathan Riggs