Justin Bruening (born September 24, 1979) is an American actor and former fashion model. He was discovered at a McDonald's in Escondido, California, and within a week, he was shooting photos with Bruce Weber. In 2003, his acting career began when he was cast in the role of Jamie Martin on the daytime drama All My Children, earning him a Soap Opera Digest Award in 2005 for the portrayal. In 2007, Bruening was cast as Mike Traceur, the son of character Michael Knight, a new take on the original Knight Rider series. In 2011, he was cast as Tyler Berrett, a recurring role on the series Ringer starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and in 2013, he joined Ravenswood. He also played paramedic Matthew Taylor on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy in 2013 and 2018. Between 2020 and 2026, he was a part of the main cast of the series Sweet Magnolias.

Early life Bruening was born on September 24, 1979, in St. Helena, Nebraska. Raised in the small town (a then-population of 85), he graduated from high school with only nine classmates.

Career Following graduation, Bruening moved to San Diego, California. It was there that he was discovered by Sue Nessel, a talent scout for Scott Copeland International, at McDonald's in Escondido just north of San Diego. Soon afterwards, Copeland got him his first modeling job for Abercrombie & Fitch.

Following his first commercial job, Bruening was encouraged to study acting by Copeland and was noticed by All My Children casting director Judy Wilson. Bruening originally auditioned for the role of JR Chandler on All My Children, but was eventually cast in the role of James "Jamie" Martin in July 2003. For a brief time, in 2004 and 2005, Bruening also portrayed Jamie Martin on One Life to Live during a crossover storyline. During his role of Jamie, Bruening was featured as Daytime's Hottest Star in Teen People, Us Weekly, Star and J-14 magazines.

In addition to his work on soap operas, he has had a guest appearance on Hope & Faith and a small part in the film Fat Girls. He was up for the role of Superman in Superman Returns, but the part was won by Brandon Routh instead. He also appeared in the Britney Spears music video "Boys". On October 21, 2007, he appeared on CBS's Cold Case, in the episode "Thick As Thieves".

In February 2008, Bruening starred in a new rendition of the original Knight Rider series, portraying the original Knight Rider's son, Mike Traceur, for a two-hour film on NBC. David Hasselhoff had a guest role, reprising his role as Michael Knight. The film and subsequent TV series also featured KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand), a 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR, with Val Kilmer as the voice of the highly advanced robotic automobile. NBC decided after successful ratings for the film to continue the story as a series, and commissioned an official series for its debut for the 2008–2009 television season.

In 2011, Bruening began a recurring role on the CW mystery series, Ringer. In 2012, he began a recurring role on the ABC Family drama, Switched at Birth. In 2013, he had a recurring role on the ABC drama, Grey's Anatomy as Paramedic Matt. He then featured in the limited season run of the Pretty Little Liars''' spin-off Ravenswood in 2013. In 2018, he was cast as 'Nash' the co-star of the Hallmark Channel film Last Vermont Christmas. In 2020, he was cast as a series regular in the Netflix show Sweet Magnolias.

Personal life Bruening proposed to former All My Children co-star Alexa Havins on the set of the soap opera. They were married on June 5, 2005. The two were friends first before becoming romantically involved. After Bruening left All My Children'', Havins exited shortly after and the couple moved to Los Angeles. They have four children: Lexington Grace, born in 2010, Zane in 2013, and Zoe in December 2015.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes2006Fat GirlsBobbyDebut film2008 Knight RiderMike TraceurTelevision film2010ClassWhitt SheffieldTelevision film2012Blue Eyed ButcherJeff WrightTelevision film2013The Thanksgiving HouseEverett MatherTelevision film2017The Monster ProjectDevonFilm2018He's Out There Shawn Film2018Indivisible Darren Turner Based on a true story2018Last Vermont Christmas NashTelevision film (Hallmark)2020 Swept Up By Christmas Reed Television film (Hallmark)2022 Reindeer Games Homecoming Chase Weston Television film (Lifetime)2022 Vanished: Searching for My Sister Warren Television film (Lifetime)

Television Year Title Role Notes2003–2007, 2011 All My ChildrenJames Edward "Jamie" Martin Series regular (September 8, 2003–August 22, 2007), guest star (September 21–23, 2011); 163 episodes2004–2005 One Life to LiveJamie MartinRecurring role (October 20, 2004–February 21, 2005); 8 episodes2004 Hope & FaithJakeEpisodes: "Hold the Phone" & "Do I Look Frat In This?" 2006 3 lbsPersonal trainer Episode: "The Cutting Edge"2007 Cold CaseSpencer MasonEpisode: "Thick as Thieves" 2007 CSI: MiamiCraig AbbottEpisode: "My Nanny"2008–2009 Knight RiderMike TraceurLead role2011Wonder WomanSteve Trevor"Pilot" (Never aired) 2011CastleRod Tredwyck Episode: "The Dead Pool"2011 State of GeorgiaBradEpisode: "Flavor of the Week" 2011 CSI: NYHank FrazierEpisode: "Air Apparent" 2011–2012 Ringer Tyler Barrett9 episodes 2012–2013 Switched at BirthChef Jeff Reycraft9 episodes 2013, 2018 Grey's AnatomyParamedic Matthew Taylor 16 episodes 2013 Hawaii Five-0Lt. Commander William "Billy" Harrington5 episodes 2013–2014 RavenswoodBenjamin Price4 episodes 2014 Royal PainsChase Episode: "A Bigger Boat" 2015 CSI: CyberEvan Wescott Episode: "The Evil Twin" 2015 The MessengersLeo Travers 3 episodes 2015 Blood & OilRichard Ford Episode: "Pilot" 2016–2017 Good BehaviorKyle Dash 5 episodes 2020–2026 Sweet MagnoliasCal Maddox Main role 2020 Lucifer DJ Karnal (Jed) Episode: "BlueBallz"2024NCIS (TV series)Lieutenant Bryce PrescottEpisode: "The Trouble with Hal"

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2005 Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Male Newcomer All My Children

References

External links

Justin Bruening at Rotten Tomatoes Justin Bruening at TV Guide