Dean Geyer

Dean Stanley Geyer (born 20 March 1986) is a South African Australian singer-songwriter and actor 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

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

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 amount of votes from home viewers losing out to runner-up Jessica Mauboy and eventual winner, Damien Leith.

2006–09: Rush and Neighbours

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 #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 #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. Initially 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 fiancee 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 #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

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 to be released in 2015.^[15] Geyer is also in production for the TV crime-drama, Shades of Blue, starring Jennifer Lopez. He will appear in 3 episodes.^[15]

Personal life

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.^[16]

Discography

Albums

Singles

Filmography

Awards

Countdown

Musical influences

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

References

External links

• Dean Geyer at the Internet Movie Database
• DeanGeyer.com – original site