Tracing Loren Dean’s Early Life, Career Achievements, and Impersonator Woes

Loren Dean is one prolific American actor who has made notable appearances in a plethora of productions. The Nevada-born actor has majorly appeared in supporting roles in movies, though we have seen him in a few leading roles. Dean’s acting career took off in 1987 after he relocated from California to New York City. Since then, the movie actor has not looked back as he continues to grace the screen in more movies and TV series.

He was once involved in an impersonation saga after fraudster Loren Dean Breckenridge III decided to assume the actor’s identity several times. However, the issue was later resolved when Breckenridge was apprehended by the authorities in Orange County, California.

Loren Dean is an American national raised in a broken home

Born on the 31st of July 1969 in Las Vegas, Nevada, American movie actor Loren Dean Jovicic had a difficult childhood as his parents’ marriage hit the rocks when he was still very young. The actor’s father who is simply identified as Borislav was a businessman in the fashion industry while his mom worked in the marriage and family counseling field. After his parents’ divorce, Dean grew up under the watch of his mom who took him with her to Los Angeles California.

Though his mom was granted custody, the youngster visited his dad from time to time. According to Dean, it was during those visits that he discovered his love for the performing arts by frequently going to the movies with his dad. Loren mastered the act of playing the piano at the tender age of six. At a point in his budding years, the emerging actor’s life became so difficult that he had to abscond from home at the age of 16. This was in 1986. Despite the challenges he faced as a teenager, Dean completed his high school education in California at Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica.

His early brush with the entertainment industry

Loren Dean left California for New York City in pursuit of an acting career. After he had spent a couple of years in the city, the rising star was introduced to an agent by a friend and this opened several doors for him. Subsequently, he began recording stage appearances in a good number of productions in the city of New York. His Off-Broadway debut was recorded at the Circle Repertory Company on the set of Amulets Against the Dragon Forces and in 1989, Dean’s efforts in the play earned him a Theatre World Award.

Dean is also proficient as a playwright and a favorite of John Patrick Shanley (an Academy Award-winning screenwriter), having made appearances in several of his productions. The Nevada-born actor was part of Beggars in the House of Plenty and 4 Dogs and a Bone, all Shanley’s production credits.

His movie debut was accomplished in 1988

Having done some remarkable works on stage productions, Dean moved his career to the screen in due time. It was in 1987 that Loren Dean scored his debut movie role, depicting the character of Matt Dunbar in Plain Clothes. Following that, his big break did not take long to come, the actor came to prominence in 1989 following his role in Say Something, where he was cast as Joe – a bad ex-boyfriend. The movie had John Cusack in the starring role.

The actor’s third movie came a couple of years later on the set of a 1991 crime drama entitled Billy Bathgate; here, Dean played the title character, sharing the screen with movie stars like Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman, and Bruce Willis. In 1998, he received praises for his efforts in Starstruck where his portrayal of Kyle Carey – a cocaine-addicted, one-time movie star was described as “nailing it with precision” The next year saw him as part of the cast of Mumford, performing the role of an odd small-town psychologist; this was equally lauded.

Much of Dean’s acting career has been in supporting roles and the best of the projects he has been on are How to Make an American Quilt in 1995, Apollo 13 the same year, Gattaca in 1997, Enemy of the State, the next year, and Space Cowboys in 2000. Loren Dean has made appearances in a good number of independent films like The War Bride and The Poker Club. He has also been part of a few well-received TV miniseries like The Bronx Is Burning. He played a role in the television series Bones, and in 2010, was featured in the crime drama Terriers in a recurring role. In 2011, the made-for-television film Who is Simon Miller cast him in a starring role.

Apart from playing active roles in front of the camera, Loren Dean also got busy behind the scene, giving his support to moviemakers. In 1999, The Nevada native was a juror for the annual Shorts International Film Festival (the third).

Loren Dean’s movies and TV shows

Movies

• Plain Clothes as Matt Dunbar – 1987
• Say Anything as Joe – 1989
• Billy Bathgate as the title character – 1991
• 1492: Conquest of Paradise as Older Fernando – 1992
• The American Clock as Young Lee Baumler – 1993
• The Passion of Darkly Noon as Jude – 1995
• Apollo 13 as John Aaron – EECOM Arthur – 1995
• How to Make an American Quilt as Preston – 1995
• Mrs. Winterbourne as Steve DeCunzo – 1996
• Rosewood as James Taylor – 1997
• The End of Violence as ‘Doc’ Dean Brock – 1997
• Gattaca as Anton – 1997
• Starstruck as Kyle Carey – 1998
• Enemy of the State as Hicks – 1998
• Mumford as Mumford – 1999
• Space Cowboys as Ethan Glance – 2000
• The War Bride as Joe – 2001
• The Poker Club as Curtis Wilcox – 2008
• Reservations as Marc – 2008
• Middletown as Adam Tanner – 2008
• Conviction as Rick – 2010
• Who is Simon Miller? as Simon Miller – 2011
• The Mule as Agent Brown – 2018
• Ad Astra as Donald Stanford – 2019

TV series

• JFK: Reckless Youth as Joe Kennedy Jr. – 1993
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Roger Baker – 2004
• Numbers as Paul Stevens – 2005
• Without a Trace as Judge Chris Manning – 2007
• Bones as Russ Brennan – 2006 to 2008
• The Bronx Is Burning as Fran Healy – 2007
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Peter Rowe – 2008
• Terriers as Jason Adler – 2010
• Grey’s Anatomy as David – 2018

Read Also: Peter Gerety: These Facts Will Tell You More About The Veteran Actor

Loren Dean was involved in repeated incidents of impersonation

Loren Dean Breckenridge III is a suspected con artist who appears to make a living from impersonating people and the movie actor just happened to be one of his victims. His case with Dean was not just a one-off thing but was done repeatedly. It was apparently made easy by the fact that both men share the same first and second names which the con artist took advantage of.

Breckenridge later fell into the net of the Sheriff’s Department in Orange County, California, where he was slammed with many charges, including impersonation of Dean, swindling drug rehab centers across the US, and stealing the sum of $75,000 in Marin County, California. Breckenridge later went in for another impersonation case; this time, it was Phil Buerstatte who works as a drummer for White Zombie.