Name	Zen Gesner
Height	5' 11½"
Naionality	American
Date of Birth	23 June 1970
Place of Birth	Van Nuys, California, USA
Famous for

"She’d been through the ups and downs. She asked me: ‘Why do you want to?’ I told her I wanted to follow in her footsteps. She knew I was hooked." Zen Gesner (on following his mother's footsteps as an actor).

Interested in music as a boy, Zen Gesner, who was directed by mother in a short film when he was 5 years old, found his passion in acting after landing a small part in his high school's production of “Hamlet.” He went on to play leading roles in the school's rendition of "Nicholas Nickleby" and "The Sound of Music."

"They were looking for a trumpet player and I played the trumpet. That’s when I was bitten by the bug. ‘Hamlet’ had it all -- swordfighting, action and high drama. By my senior year, I was performing in major roles in plays such as ‘Nicholas Nickleby’ and ‘The Sound of Music.’" Zen Gesner.

Gesner subsequently honed his craft at South Coast Repertory Theatre in Orange County, California, and at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), London, England, where he performed in such plays as “Richard III,” “The Cherry Orchard” and “Anything Goes,” as well as studied everything from poetry to archery to fire-blowing. He especially excelled in fencing and during his second year, earning an advanced certificate from The Society of British Fight Directors.

"I have always been fascinated with historical fighting. Swordplay is very much like dance. Distinctive forms of fighting and weapon types have evolved that are unique to different regions of the world. It’s something that has always appealed to me." Zen Gesner.

Graduating from LAMDA, Gesner was offered a position as assistant to the Fight Director of the Royal Opera House, London. He eventually returned to the United States to further his acting career and sored his first acting job in Alex Erkiletian's 26-minute short film called "Victim." He soon landed his feature film debut in the hit comedy starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, “Dumb & Dumber” (1994), which was directed by future brother-in-laws Peter and Bobby Farrelly.

After marrying Cynthia Farrelly Gesner, sister of the writer-directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly, in 1995, they moved to Hollywood and Gesner continued taking auditions for television and movie roles while working part-time in a construction to make ends meet. He made his Los Angeles debut opposite his mother Nan Martin in a radio play production of "Leocadia" and was spotted as a guest in a 1995 episode of the drama series "Compromising Situations." He also co-starred as a nerd-turns-a man in writer/director Philip J. Jones' fantasy/comedy movie "Wish Me Luck" (1995), starring Avalon Anders, and played a surfer in Chis Isaak music video, "Somebody's Crying" (1995).

"When they called me back to screen test for 'Sinbad,' I was the first one up. I was shaking in my boots. The executive producers, told me to ‘think big.’ I read it robusto -- very big and grand. I love the old style of acting and I was thinking of Douglas Fairbanks. I went in guns-a-blazing. I took my jacket off and just let it rip." Zen Gesner.

In 1996, Gesner snagged his most popular role to date, as the titular sailor in the syndicated TV series "The Adventures of Sinbad," a re-telling of the adventures of the famous character from The Arabian Nights. He would stayed in the show until 1998.

About his role as Sinbad, Gesner said, "From the moment I got the part, I was determined to give everything I had inside of me to make him incredible. When I realized I was playing this legendary, almost mythical, character, I put a lot of pressure on myself to live up to the expectations and vision of what I had always had of this guy. Turned out, I had the time of my life shooting this show. As hard as the work was, it was like being a kid again. Jumping off buildings, flipping through the air, sword fighting...sometimes I couldn’t believe I was getting paid for this."

During that time, Gesner continued working in films. He could be seen in Louis Mourneau's independent action/drama/thriller film that revolves around a group of convicts on a mission in Vietnam to rescue the daughter of a rich man, "Soldier Boyz" (1996), and in the Farrelly brothers' gross-out and slapstick comedy movie "Kingpin" (1996), playing the brother of Randy Quaid's character.

He also played a small role as a customer in Michael Schroeder's independent drama/thriller film "The Glass Cage" (1996), with Richard Tyson, Horacio Anthony, and Charlotte Lewis, and reunited with Avalon Anders for Philip J. Jones' independent comedy film "Gettin' Up" (1997). Additionally, Gesner played bad boy and rapist Braden Lavery (1997-1998) in the popular ABC soap opera "All My Children."

After "The Adventures of Sinbad" and "All My Children," Gesner played a bit part as a pier bartender in the Farrelly brothers' combination of romantic comedy and gross-out film, "There's Something About Mary" (1998), starring Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, and Matt Dillon. He also guest starred in an October 1998 episode of NBC's internationally successful sitcom, "Friends."

Entering the new millennium, Gesner was taped again by his brother-in-laws Peter and Bobby Farrelly, this time for their comedy film starring Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger, "Me, Myself & Irene" (2000), in which he played EPA agent Peterson. In the following year, he appeared in Rene Villar Rios' drama "Social Misfits," Michael Oblowitz's vampire movie "The Breed" (with Adrian Paul, Bokeem Woodbine, and Bai Ling), and the Farrelly brothers' part animated, part live action film "Osmosis Jones" (starring Bill Murray and Chris Rock). He also played a role in his brother-in-laws' romantic comedy film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black and Jason Alexander, "Shallow Hal."

2002 saw Gesner in Alex Erkiletian's western/horror movie "Legend of the Phantom Rider" and Mort Nathan's box office flop comedy starring Cuba Gooding Jr., "Boat Trip." he then starred as a hard-drinking police chief named John Haleran who sets out to unravel a mysterious murder case, in Ralph Clemente's period drama film "Florida City" (2003), and appeared in Kyle Newman's straight-to-video horror "The Hollow" (2004).

In 2005, Gesner was directed by his brother-in-laws again, this time in their baseball comedy movie based on Nick Hornby's novel, "Fever Pitch," starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon, and was taped by Barry W. Blaustein in his sports comedy movie "The Ringer," starring Johnny Knoxville and Katherine Heigl.

After being cast in Joseph Rassulo's drama film "Bull Run" (2006), Gesner appeared in Daniel Bernhardt's 18-minute short action/comedy film "Fetch" (2007). Most recently, in 2008, he could be seen as Ned in writer/director Christopher L. Miller's drama film called "Rex." He is now appearing in the Man Laws commercials for Miller Lite.