Chord Overstreet American Actor Known for Glee

Early life

Chord Overstreet was born on 17 February 1989 in Nashville, Tennessee. His father is the country singer-songwriter Paul Overstreet, and his older brother Nash plays guitar in the pop rock band Hot Chelle Rae. He was raised on a farm outside the city and was homeschooled. His parents encouraged his interest in music, and he started on the mandolin before moving on to drums, flute, piano and guitar. As a teenager he also modeled for advertising campaigns for Hollister, Famous Footwear and Gap. He later studied at the New York Film Academy.

Career

Overstreet began pursuing performing after finishing high school in 2007. His early screen work included the web series Private, an episode of iCarly, and an unaired pilot for No Ordinary Family. His first film part was in the 2009 thriller The Hole, and in 2011 he appeared in A Warrior's Heart alongside Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz.

His best-known role is Sam Evans, a transfer student and athlete on the Fox series Glee, which he played from 2009 until the show ended in 2015. He won the part after auditioning with songs by the Commodores and Gavin DeGraw, and he sang "Billionaire", originally by Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars, in his first episode. The recording was released as a single and reached number 28 in the United States. In 2011 his contract was not extended to a regular series role for the third season, which prompted a social media campaign by fans. He was offered a limited run of episodes, which he declined in order to concentrate on music. He returned as a recurring character partway through season three and became a regular again for season four.

Alongside acting, he developed a solo music career. In December 2015 he signed with Safehouse Records, a label founded by Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas and Phil McIntyre, and he was the first artist on its roster. He opened for Lovato and Jonas on selected dates of their 2016 Future Now Tour. His debut solo single, "Homeland", came out on 26 August 2016. That December he released a cover of "All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan", a song written by his father, and in February 2017 he put out "Hold On", which the Recording Industry Association of America certified double platinum in August 2021. His first EP, "Tree House Tapes", followed in May 2017. That summer he performed "Hold On" on NBC's Today and on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

He later played guest roles in series including The Bold Type, Royalties and Pickle and Peanut. In 2020 he starred in the comedy film The Swing of Things, released on Hulu, and in 2021 he joined the cast of Acapulco, an Apple TV+ comedy set in 1984. He also appeared in the 2015 film 4th Man Out. In 2022 he played opposite Lindsay Lohan in the romantic comedy Falling for Christmas.

Personal life

Overstreet comes from a musical family, and his father and brother both work in the music industry. Instrumental work remains part of his own output, with guitar and mandolin among the instruments listed for him.