Max Thieriot’s acting career began way before his current role in Fire Country. Did you know that the on-screen firefighter was also a child actor? Before he was a producer and writer, he starred in a slew of films and TV shows that you might recognize. Below we’ve compiled Max Thieriot’s TV shows and movie roles from over the years, from Fire Country and Bates Motel to The Pacifier. Keep reading to learn more.
Fire Country is the freshman CBS series created and executive produced by Max Thieriot. The TV drama follows the men and women firefighters at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (also known as Cal Fire) and the inmates who join the effort to reduce their prison time. Thieriot plays Bode Donovan (aka Bode Leone), a young convict who was sentenced for armed robbery. He joined the inmate firefighter program to lower his sentence, which returns him to his small hometown of Edgewater in Northern California. He has to work alongside resident firefighters, other inmates, family and former friends as they put out huge fires throughout the region. The show has already been renewed for a second season on CBS.
In an interview with TV Insider in January 2023, Thieriot spoke about why Fire Country isn’t your typical firefighter show. “I think the thing about this show is it’s a little unexpected for people. I say that because it’s really not your typical firefighting show…We really lean into these character stories, and we really invest in these relationships and exploring the journey of all of these characters throughout the season, and I think people aren’t as used to that on network television,” he said.
SEAL Team is Paramount Plus’ military drama series created by Benjamin Cavell. The show focuses on an elite unit of United States Navy SEALs called the Bravo Team that undertake the most dangerous and life-threatening missions worldwide. Thieriot played Clay Spenser, the Navy SEAL and Special Warfare Operator First Class of Bravo Team. He starred from the very first season of SEAL Team in 2017 until his last appearance in Season 6, Episode 8, “Aces and Eights.”
Clay Spenser’s time came to a tragic end in Season 6 when he died after being shot. In the devastating scene, he saved Ben (Joey Pollari) after Ben pulled a gun on himself. While Clay tried to talk Ben out of taking his own life, a security guard shot Spenser and killed him. In real life, Max Thieriot left SEAL Team to focus on Fire Country. Thieriot tried balancing both shows simultaneously, which seemed feasible as the production of SEAL Team Season 6 occurred before Fire Country Season 1, but ultimately decided that it was too much.
From 2013 until 2017, Thieriot portrayed Dylan Massett – the half-brother of Norman Bates – in the drama series Bates Motel on the A&E Network. The show is a psychological horror series that’s a contemporary prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960’s film Psycho. The first season follows the death of Norma’s husband, after which Norma purchased a motel on the Oregon coast so that she and her son, Norman, can start over. Later seasons focus on Norman as his mental illnesses progress and Norma struggles to protect her son and those around them.
In an interview with Showbiz Junkies in August 2016, Thieriot spoke about what it was like saying goodbye to the cast in the fifth and final season. “It’s weird. Honestly, it’s really sad. It’s been such a fun journey. You know, I kind of judge different parts of my life like, ‘Oh, I was filming that movie when I was doing that.’ It’s kind of funny. When you’re an actor for like 14, 15 years now, you sort of categorize things that happened in your life based on what you’re doing at that point in time. But now that this show has become such a huge part of my life and so many things have happened during it, it’s going to feel really weird. It’s going to feel like the end of an era.”
Thieriot also starred in the phycological thriller House at the End of the Street. Directed by Mark Tonderai and Jennifer Lawrence, the movie revolves around Elissa, a teenage girl who moved to a new neighborhood with her newly divorced mother Sarah. They discovered that a double homicide was committed at the house at the end of the street by a 17-year-old girl named Carrie Anne (Carrie disappeared without a trace four years prior to the murder). Thieriot plays Carrie Anne’s older brother Ryan, who starts dating Elissa and lives in the same house.
In 2006’s Astronaut Farmer, Max Thieriot portrays Shepard Farmer, the son of a NASA pilot who is forced to give up his dream of space travel to take over the family farm. His father Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) was a rancher who once trained to be an astronaut. He built a rocket in his barn with plans to pilot it to space despite the government’s plans to stop him. Thieriot was around 17 years old when he starred in the supporting role.
In 2005, Thieriot was cast in The Pacifier, the 2005 action comedy where Navy SEAL Shane Wolf (Vin Diesel) is assigned to protect Plummer’s family after he was killed in a dangerous mission. Wolf has to babysit the family’s children while their mother is away, which includes Zoe, Seth, Lulu, Peter and baby Tyler. Thieriot plays Seth Plummer, the second oldest child in the family. The Pacifier was Thieriot’s second major film role after Catch That Kid (2004). In an interview with Phase 9 Entertainment, a young Thieriot spoke about what it was like acting alongside Vin Diesel. “It was awesome. He’s a really cool guy, we were always telling jokes and playing videogames and stuff on the side when we weren’t working.”
Max Thieriot’s breakout acting role was in 2004’s Catch That Kid. In the action-comedy film, Thieriot starred alongside Kristen Stewart, Corbin Bleu, Jennifer Beals and more. The movie is a remake of the Danish film Klatretøsen (2002) and follows three kids (Maddy, Austin and Gus) who rob a bank in order to pay for an experimental surgery for Maddy’s father Tom, who fell more than 100 feet during a climb years earlier. The insurance will not pay for the operation and the cost of the treatment is $250,000. Maddy recruits her two friends, including Gus (played by Thieriot), a young mechanic, to help her steal the money. To convince her friends to join the mission, she tells each of them separately that she loves them and gives them one half of her friendship necklace.
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