Wilson Cleveland

American actor, producer and writer

  • Actor
  • producer
  • writer
Years active2006–presentWebsitewilsoncleveland.com

Wilson Cleveland (born July 4, 1974) is an American actor, producer and writer. He is known as the creator, producer and co-star of Leap Year and The Temp Life.

Career

In 2006, Cleveland created and starred as the character Nick Chiapetta in The Temp Life, a comedy web series[1] which debuted on YouTube on November 29, 2006 and ended January 24, 2011 after 5 seasons. In 2012, The Temp Life won the Webby Award for Best Comedy Series.[2]

In 2011, Cleveland executive produced an 8 episode web series called Bestsellers.[3] Cleveland created,[4] executive produced and starred in[5] Suite 7, a seven-episode branded web series sponsored by the Better Sleep Council and distributed by Lifetime.[6]

Cleveland is the co-creator, executive producer and co-star of Leap Year,[7] a comedy-drama series about five former co-workers starting a tech company in Silicon Valley, that aired for two seasons on Hulu from 2011 to 2012.[8] It was revealed during the second season that Cleveland's character, Derek Morrison is gay. Cleveland, himself openly gay, explained in a June 28, 2013 NewMediaRockstars interview, "I wanted Derek’s sexuality to be a subtle layer to the character" and "not make it some big plot twist or its own storyline."[9] In 2013, Leap Year won the Webby Award for Best Branded Entertainment (Scripted),[10] the Streamy Award for Best Branded Series[11] and the IAWTV Award for Best Dramatic Series.[12]

Other works

Cleveland produces content through Unboxd Media, which he founded.[13] In 2010, Cleveland produced The Webventures of Justin and Alden, a five-episode comedy web series sponsored by Trident and produced in association with the 2010 Streamy Awards.[14] In 2014, Cleveland starred in the season five premiere of BlackBoxTV.[15] Also in 2014, Cleveland starred opposite Hartley Sawyer in the short films Kept Man and Spin.[16] Cleveland and Sawyer shared a 2015 Webby Award for Best Drama for Kept Man[17] while SPiN was named Best Drama by the Webbys in 2016.[18] Also in 2016 Cleveland created and starred in Intricate Vengeance.[19] Cleveland has also appeared in 3 episodes of Annoying Orange, has been a guest host for DNews,[20] and is the creator and executive producer of Courageous Leaders.

References

  1. ^ Kaufman, Rachel (25 August 2010). "The Branding Campaign That Became an Honest-to-Goodness Phenomenon". AdWeek. Retrieved 25 August 2010 – via Eldridge Industries, LLC.
  2. ^ "2012 Webby Award Winners". Webby Awards. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  3. ^ Hustvedt, Marc (17 January 2011). "SFN Group Targets Working Women with 'Bestsellers'". Tubefilter.
  4. ^ Shields, Mike (17 January 2012). "Hulu's Originals Problem". Digiday. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  5. ^ Miller, Liz Shannon (28 November 2010). "90210 Reunion Just One of Suite 7's Stories". GigaOm. Retrieved 28 November 2010 – via Knowingly, Inc.
  6. ^ Szalai, Georg (28 November 2010). "Milo Ventimiglia, Shannen Doherty Cast in Branded Web Series to Promote Proper Sleep". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 November 2010 – via Eldridge Industries, LLC.
  7. ^ Sellers, John (8 August 2011). "'Leap Year': Branded Sitcom From 'Break a Leg' Creators Is Worth a Look". Reuters. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  8. ^ Nededog, Jethro (29 February 2012). "Leap Year Web Series Renewed for Season 2, Sets Summer Premiere". The Hollywood Reporter. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  9. ^ Manarino, Matthew (28 June 2013). "Wilson Cleveland: Leap Year Co-Creator, Actor And The Hardest Working Man In Digital Video". NewMediaRockstars. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  10. ^ "2013 Webby Award Winners". Webby Awards. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  11. ^ "3rd Annual Winners & Nominees". Streamy Awards. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Winners from the 2013 IAWTV Awards". International Academy of Web Television. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  13. ^ Castillo, Michelle (1 April 2014). "Meet Watch Awards Talent Judge Wilson Cleveland". Adweek. Beringer Capital. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  14. ^ Miller, Liz Shannon (1 June 2010). "How The Webventures of Justin & Alden Survived the Streamy Awards". GigaOm. Retrieved 27 May 2018 – via Knowingly, Inc.
  15. ^ Castillo, Michelle (1 April 2014). "Meet Watch Awards Talent Judge Wilson Cleveland". Adweek. Beringer Capital. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  16. ^ Ehrman-Dupre, Joseph (9 December 2014). "The Art of the Short Film: Kept Man". IndieWire. Indiewire.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  17. ^ "2015 Webby Award Winners". Webby Awards. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  18. ^ "2016 Webby Award Winners". Webby Awards. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  19. ^ Spangler, Todd (5 April 2016). "New Form Digital Launches Third Wave of Original Scripted Pilots". Variety. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  20. ^ Dominguez, Trace (13 October 2014). "Can You Actually be Scared to Death?". DNews. Retrieved 12 May 2018.

External links

Wilson Cleveland at Wikipedia's sister projects
  • Media from Commons
  • Data from Wikidata
  • Official website
  • Wilson Cleveland at IMDb