Jonathan Togo On Joining The Big Leagues

A month after his only audition, Jonathan Togo was "pleasantly surprised" to hear he had beaten out hundreds of actors for the role of Ryan Wolfe.

The 27-year-old actor didn't have high expectations when auditioned for the coveted role. "I've been on so many auditions I sometimes forget which ones I do," he told the Rockland Mariner. "I was hoping to get it but not counting on it."

Togo sees his role as Ryan Wolfe in a different light from his previous television credits, which include a starring role on UPN's short lived Special Unit 2 and guest starring roles on Judging Amy, Law and Order, Ed, and The Jury. "It was like playing for the minors and being traded to the majors," said the actor, who, at the time of his audition, was preparing to do an independent film called Bristol Boys, a project he dropped for Miami. Prior to that, he spent two years making ends meet by taking on temp jobs and doing the occasional commercial. "It was very hard, but I've been fortunate."

Fortune, however, is not what Togo's former teachers back in Rockland, Massachusetts, consider a key element to his success. At the age of 13, the actor joined the Nickerson Theatre, where he played an older version of Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol. Zoe Bradford, director of the theatre, fondly recalls, "He was our most dependable and excellent kid at the time. You don't get kids like Jonathan every day."

Robert Kniffen, Togo's former music teacher at Rockland High School, still considers him one of the most talented students he has ever worked with and also remembers him for his humbleness on and off the stage. "He's a rare case, kind of a once in a lifetime student."

"I'm still learning now. You're always learning," said Togo, who has been acting since the age of 6 and has never thought of giving up or slowing down. "You stick with it if there's nothing else you can possibly do. I never thought it wasn't worth it."

To read the full interview, which includes quotes from Togo's mother, head over to the the full article at the Rockland Mariner.

Discuss this news item at Talk CSI!
 Add CSI Files RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a Desperate Housewives fan? Then visit GetDesperate.com!