Jason Klingensmith

Jason Klingensmith is an American born actor, writer and filmmaker known for his comedic roles in short films, like the Sunset Fist series in which he won Best Lead Actor in the 2017 Cleveland 48 Hour Film Project for playing the character "Rock Hardabs", and the Rivals web series, that he co-created with Jerry Lee Tucker. He also created and manages the group TKF, and has written, produced, directed, edited, and acted in several short films they've created. Though he enjoys and excels at comedic roles, he also has the range to play more dramatic characters, most notably in the 2017 film Unwavering, written and directed by Josh Menning, in which he plays a menacing terrorist. Jason first broke into acting in 2013, after a layoff from a bankrupt steel company led him to an open casting call for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Though only an extra on that film, it was that experience that ultimately led to him discovering his passion for acting, and eventually screenwriting. After working as an extra a few more times, and then on some student films, he started breaking into the Indie Film scene with larger, more demanding roles. In 2017 he was nominated for Best Ohio Supporting Actor at The International Indie Gathering for his dual role as Jesse McArthur Jr. and Sr. in the film Lux in Tenebris. It was also on that set that he discovered his passion for screenwriting. As of July 2017, he had completed four feature screenplays, two shorts, and several episodes of the Rivals web series. He has also won and been nominated for several screenwriting awards, including being a Quarterfinalist in the 2016 Screen Craft Comedy contest with his buddy comedy "One More Run: The Powerhouse Indians of Yesteryear", a story about a burnt out professional who comes out of retirement for one more run at the men's slow pitch softball championship that he choked away ten years earlier. He acted in several features that are due out in 2019, including Maggie Shayne's Embrace the Twilight, directed by the late Carlos Dunn, and Beast of Our Fathers, written and directed by Josh Menning.