Dean Geyer

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Dean Geyer
Dean Geyer at an event organised by Young Storytellers Foundation at a school in Culver City, 21 October 2012
Dean Geyer at an event organised by Young Storytellers Foundation at a school in Culver City, 21 October 2012
Background information
Birth nameDean Stanley Geyer
Born (1986-03-20) 20 March 1986 (age 38)
Johannesburg, South Africa
OriginAustralia
GenresPop rock
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, actor
Instrument(s)Vocals and guitar
Years active2003-present
LabelsSony BMG (2006–2008)
Spouse(s)Jillian Murray (m. 2017)

Dean Stanley Geyer (born 20 March 1986) is a South African Australian singer-songwriter, actor and martial artist who finished third in the 2006 season of the talent show television series Australian Idol, and has had a notable role in the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Ty Harper. He joined the cast of the US show Glee in the 4th season as NYADA Junior Brody Weston and appeared in Terra Nova as Mark Reynolds.

Early life[edit]

Geyer was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, as the oldest of three children. He has two younger sisters, Jess Geyer (now Jess Burns) and Tatum Geyer (now Tatum Prins), who share his interest in martial arts.[1] Geyer's interest in music started early in his childhood. He learned to play the guitar, and wrote his first song entitled "Change" which was based on his move from South Africa to Australia. During his schooling life in Melbourne, Australia, he attended Melbourne High School – a selective-entry, all boys' school in South Yarra, Victoria. At his Australian Idol audition, he played a self-composed song called "Nice to Meet You".

In 2004, Geyer formed a band called "Third Edge" and recorded his original music at Studio 52. Studio 52 then permitted Geyer and his band to perform at the Kool Skools awards night, but they only received a nomination.[2]

Dean is a strong Christian and has been very open about this calling in his life especially during his Australian Idol days.[3]

Career[edit]

Geyer auditioned for the fourth series of Australian Idol in his Australian hometown of Melbourne. After singing Marc Cohn's "Walking In Memphis", Geyer played a self-composed piece called "Nice to Meet You". This song was praised by the three judges, who unanimously voted to send him through to the Top 100.

Geyer survived the culling rounds in Sydney, where the Top 100 are reduced to the Top 24. He sang "I Don't Wanna Be" by Gavin DeGraw for his elimination performance, and later performed the U2 smash hit "Beautiful Day" with Chris Murphy. They became close friends and impressed the judges with their voices and their camaraderie. Geyer was the first contestant who was accepted by Idol into the top 100. On 28 May, Geyer was the second contestant voted into the top 12.

Geyer's performance of Ryan Cabrera's "On the Way Down" on 15 October received a "touchdown" from judge Mark Holden. His Disco performance in the Final 8 of "Turn the Beat Around" included a front handspring by Geyer off the side of the stage and a backflip at the end of his performance. In the weeks leading up to the final of Australian Idol 2006, Geyer was selected by both Mark Holden and former Idol judge Ian Dickson as their favourites for winning the competition.

On 12 November, Geyer received a second Touchdown from Mark Holden after his performance of Edwin McCain's "I'll Be". Although Geyer was one of the most popular characters in the behind-the-scenes interviews on Idol Backstage, he was eliminated from the show on 13 November after receiving the lowest number of votes from home viewers losing out to runner-up Jessica Mauboy and eventual winner, Damien Leith.

2006–09: Rush and Neighbours[edit]

Within weeks of the Australian Idol fourth-season finale Geyer signed a multiple album recording-contract with SonyBMG Australia.[4] Geyer worked with Grammy Award nominated Music Producer Greg Wells and co-wrote eight of the thirteen tracks on his debut album. In March 2007 Geyer performed at the Celebrity Grand Prix in Melbourne in which the singles was unreleased at the time. In April that same year Geyer released his debut single If You Don't Mean It which peaked on the ARIA Charts at No. 10.[5] The album, recorded in early February, was released on 26 May 2007[6] On 26 May 2007 Geyer released his long-anticipated debut album Rush which debuted and peaked at No. 7 on the ARIA Charts and received mixed reviews from critics. Despite a successful first week the album quickly dropped out of the charts due to little promotion and no planned second single. Geyer was to support Young Divas on their nationwide Australian tour but dropped out to instead promote Rush in several in-store appearances and signings. Later that year Geyer supported ARIA Award-Winning Duo The Veronicas on their Hook Me Up Australian Tour. In March 2008 Geyer portrayed the role of then fiancée Lisa Origliasso in the duo's music video This Love. That same year SonyBMG dropped Geyer due to the under-performance of Rush.

In November 2007, Jonathon Moran from The Daily Telegraph reported Geyer had joined the cast of long-running soap opera Neighbours.[7] Geyer portrayed the role of Ty Harper an aspiring musician who had dropped out of law-school and moved to Erinsborough. Geyer worked with Neighbours drama coach Mike Bishop for four months to help prepare himself for the role and he took vocal lessons to work with his South African accent. On 27 March 2008, Geyer made his on-screen debut to mixed reviews from critics. Geyer notably performed a duet with co-star Caitlin Stasey titled "Unforgettable", which peaked at No. 40 on the ARIA Downloads Chart. In November 2008 after eight-months on Neighbours Geyer announced he was leaving the series to revamp his music career.[8] The following month Geyer filmed his final scenes which aired in April 2009.[9]

2010–present: International career[edit]

In October 2010, it was announced Geyer would make his film debut in Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown the sequel to the 2008 film Never Back Down.[10] Geyer portrays the role of Mike Stokes a former high school wrestler who competes in MMA. Filming began in September 2010 in Louisiana on a budget of $3 million. The film was shot over the course of four weeks with the rehearsals commencing over two weeks.[11] In April 2011, the film premiered the ActionFest film festival. The film was released Straight-to-DVD in September that same year to mixed reviews from critics.[12] In July 2011, Geyer made his American television debut on the VH1 Drama television series Single Ladies. In 2012, Geyer maintained a major-recurring role on the Fox Network Steven Spielberg produced science fiction drama television series Terra Nova.

In July 2012, Geyer was announced to have been cast in a recurring role in the fourth season of the Fox musical comedy drama television series Glee.[13] Geyer portrayed the role of Brody Weston an upperclassman who becomes involved with the series protagonist Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) who both attend NYADA. Geyer made his first appearance on Glee in the series premiere episode "The New Rachel" which aired on 13 September 2012 to over 7.41 million viewers.[14]

In 2015, Geyer played Daniel in the Georgian film, Landmine Goes Click, opposite Sterling Knight and Spencer Locke.[15] He will also star in the films, Rehearsal, with Bruce Greenwood, Don't Wake Mommy and The Sand, all of which were released in 2015.[15] Geyer was also in production for the TV crime-drama, Shades of Blue, starring Jennifer Lopez. He appeared in 3 episodes.[15]

In 2020, Geyer began releasing new music again, for the first time in over a decade.[16]

In 2023, Geyer was cast in the Zoey 101 reboot, Zoey 102.[17] The film released on July 27, 2023 on Paramount+.[18][19]

Personal life[edit]

In 2007, Geyer began a relationship with Lisa Origliasso of Australian duo The Veronicas whom he met at the 2007 ARIA Awards. In April 2008, Origliasso publicly announced that she and Geyer were engaged. However, the engagement was later called off due to work commitments.[20]

In 2010, he began dating American actress Jillian Murray. They announced their engagement on 18 December 2016.[21] They were married on 14 September 2017.[22]

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

Year Album details Peak chart positions
AUS
[23]
2007 Rush
  • Released: 26 May 2007
  • Label: Sony BMG (88888022197)
7

Singles[edit]

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
AUS
[23]
2007 "If You Don't Mean It" 10 Rush
2008 "Unforgettable" (with Caitlin Stasey)[24] [A] non-album single
2020 "The Pretender"[26] to be confirmed
"Living Skeleton"[27]
"Runaway"[28]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Unforgettable" did not enter the ARIA Top 100 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 40 on the Australian Digital Singles Chart.[25]

Filmography[edit]

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2011 Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown Mike Stokes Film debut
2015 Landmine Goes Click Daniel
2015 The Sand Jonah
2015 Don't Wake Mommy Brad
2016 Rehearsal Blaise Remington
2017 Once Upon A Date Josh Dunbrook TV movie
2020 A Ring for Christmas Gabe Hudson
2023 Zoey 102 Todd [29]
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2006 Australian Idol Contestant (Himself) Season 4; 3rd place
2007 Saturday Disney Himself Episodes: "Environmental Superheroes", "Keep Australia Beautiful"
2008–2009 Neighbours Ty Harper Main cast; 120 episodes
2011 Single Ladies Gabe Episode: "Everything Ain't What It Seems"
2011 Terra Nova Mark Reynolds Recurring; 12 episodes
2012–2013 Glee Brody Weston Recurring role (season 4); 14 episodes
2015 Casual James Episodes: "Friends", "Animals", "..."
2016 Shades of Blue Nick Davis Episode: "Pilot"
2016 I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Contestant (Himself) Season 2, placed 9th/12
2021 Christmas in the Pines Mark Television film

Awards[edit]

Year Result Award Category Nominated work
2004 Won TREV Awards (Tertiary Recreation Entertainment Victoria) Best Acoustic Act James Dean (Dean Geyer's Band)
2009 Won Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards Fave Hottie
2009 Nominated Logie Awards of 2009 Most Popular New Male Talent Neighbours

Countdown[edit]

Year Countdown Position
2006 TV Guide Australia's "Hottest Guys on Television" No. 2
2006 POPrepublic.tvm "Male Hottie of 2006" No. 2

Musical influences[edit]

He has stated that his two music idols are Bon Jovi and Marc Cohn.[1]

Bibliography[edit]

Contributor[edit]

  • Geyer, Dean (2007). "Contributor". Laugh Even Louder!. By Camp Quality. Gosford, New South Wales: Scholastic Australia Pty Limited. ISBN 978-1-74169-022-4.[30]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Dean Geyer biography". LetsSingIt. 16 November 2006. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
  2. ^ MHS "Good Times" Vid on YouTube
  3. ^ "The Big Ask: Glee's Dean Geyer".
  4. ^ "Sony snaps up Dean and Jess".
  5. ^ Sony BMG News "If You Don't Mean It" Archived 2 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 9 April 2007
  6. ^ – Australia – CD Releases Archived 2 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ^ Moran, Jonathon (4 November 2007). "Dean Geyer to join Neighbours". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 December 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
  8. ^ "Sexy plots a struggle for Christian Geyer". Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  9. ^ "Neighbours – Channel 5".
  10. ^ "'Neighbours' star in 'Never Back Down 2'". Digital Spy. 25 October 2010.
  11. ^ LStovall123 [@LStovall123] (28 August 2011). "Since I keep being asked.. #NBD1, budget $20 million, 7wks to shoot, 5wks rehearsal #neverbackdown2 $3million, 4wks to shoot 2wks rehearsal" (Tweet) – via Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown". Rotten Tomatoes.
  13. ^ Ausiello, Michael (23 July 2012). "Glee Scoop: Meet the 'Freshman' Class (Including Love Interest For Rachel, Puck's Younger Bro)". TV Line. US. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  14. ^ "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Glee' Adjusted Down, No 18-49 Adjustment for 'The X-Factor'". 14 September 2012. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017.
  15. ^ a b c "Dean Geyer". IMDb.
  16. ^ "Full Interview on my IGTV !!". Instagram. 22 July 2020. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Jamie Lynn Spears Shares Big Update About Zoey 102: Release Date, Cast and More". www.eonline.com.
  18. ^ "Jamie Lynn Spears reprises her iconic role in Zoey 102 first-look photos". ew.com. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  19. ^ Swift, Andy (20 June 2023). "Zoey 102 Trailer Reunites Jamie Lynn Spears With Her Nickelodeon Classmates, 15 Years Later". TVLine. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  20. ^ "Dean Geyer tells of lesson on relationships after brief engagement to Lisa Origliasso from The Veronica's". news.com.au. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  21. ^ Bakillia, Blake (18 December 2016). "Glee's Dean Geyer Is Engaged to Code Black Actress Jillian Murray — See Her Ring". People. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  22. ^ Chiu, Melody (14 September 2017). "Glee's Dean Geyer and Code Black Star Jillian Murray Are Married — All the Details!". People. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  23. ^ a b "Dean Geyer chart peaks". Australian-charts. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  24. ^ "Unforgettable – single". Apple Music. August 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  25. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 113.
  26. ^ "The Pretender – single". Apple Music. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  27. ^ "Living Skeleton – single". Apple Music. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  28. ^ "Runaway – single". Apple Music. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  29. ^ "'Zoey 102' Review: Grown Up, Washed Up". www.nytimes.com.
  30. ^ Camp Quality (2007). Laugh Even Louder!. Gosford, New South Wales: Scholastic Australia Pty Limited. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-74169-022-4.

External links[edit]