Jim Parrack is an American actor whose career to date has seen him star on the big and small screens and on Broadway. Fans of horror series will know him as Hoyt Fortenberry from the Primetime Emmy-winning show True Blood. Fans of procedural series will know him as firefighter Judd Ryder in Fox’s 9-1-1: Lonestar. Superhero movie buffs will recognise him as The Joker’s sidekick Johnny Frost from Suicide Squad, whilst fans of the Fast and Furious franchise will recognise him as Kenny Linder from 2021’s $700-million-grossing F9. Finally, theatregoers will know him as Slim in the 2014 Broadway revival of the all-time classic Of Mice and Men. He shared an ensemble Satellite Award for his work on True Blood but won several solo prizes for his acting in the 2016 short film Red.

Parrack was born in Allen, Texas, in February 1981. When he was 20, he relocated to Los Angeles to train as an actor, and in 2006, he made his screen debut in an episode of Monk. Two years of further one-off roles followed, but in 2008, he got his big break when he was cast as Hoyt in True Blood. A HBO vampire series that would run for seven seasons, with Parrack co-starring in all but one of them.

Unusually, but refreshingly, for an actor of his status, Parrack appears to shun social media, letting his acting do the talking. His current role in 9-1-1: Lonestar, sees him play a traumatised firefighter in his homestate. The show has already been a huge success, with its fourth season beginning in early 2023.