Why Grant From Pretty Smart Looks So Familiar
A new sitcom has just made its way to Netflix, as "Pretty Smart," created by Jack Dolgen and Doug Mand, was released to the streaming service on October 8, 2021. "Pretty Smart" follows recent Harvard grad and aspiring novelist, Chelsea (Emily Osment), who visits her not-so-bright sister Claire (Olivia Macklin) for a weekend. However, when Chelsea gets broken up with by her boyfriend, she finds herself needing to move in with Claire and Claire's also not-so-bright roommates — Claire's amicable ex-boyfriend and personal trainer Grant (Gregg Sulkin), influencer Jayden (Michael Hsu Rosen), and spiritual healer Solana (Cinthya Carmona). Despite first being frustrated by their inferior intellects, Chelsea soon finds herself connecting with Claire and her friends.
"Pretty Smart" is full of familiar faces — anyone who watched Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana" growing up, will recognize Osment playing the lead Chelsea right away. And if you tuned in for the Fox series "Filthy Rich," starring "Sex and the City" star Kim Cattrall, then you'll likely recognize Macklin, who co-starred in the drama.
Another actor you may find familiar-looking is the actor who plays Grant. Sulkin has acted in a variety of projects — from another Disney Channel show of the same era of "Hannah Montana" to an underrated teen drama. Read on to find out where you may be recognizing Gregg Sulkin from.
Sulkin played a werewolf on Wizards of Waverly Place
Gregg Sulkin's breakout role was on the cast of the Disney Channel series, "Wizards of Waverly Place." The series, which ran from 2007 to 2012, follows the three Russo siblings, who happen to be young wizards, as they train to one day compete to see which one of them will ultimately get to keep their powers. They also face everyday teenage problems, dealing with friendships and romantic interests, often using their powers to alter situations.
Sulkin's character, Mason Greyback, is first mentioned in Season 2 during a flashforward scene but is properly introduced during Season 3. He and Alex (Selena Gomez) meet in an art class and quickly begin dating. After a tumultuous breakup, the two are finally ready to get back together — right when Mason is turned into a wolf permanently because he was bitten by a vampire. Naturally, it doesn't turn out permanent and the Russo siblings are able to turn him back into his human form eventually. After an on-and-off relationship, the two ultimately end up together.
Back in 2013, Sulkin spoke to Just Jared Jr. about playing Mason on the show. When asked what his favorite part about playing Mason had been, Sulkin replied, "Getting the opportunity to play a [completely] different character than I'll probably ever get the chance to play again. It's such a unique role. When I first went on the show, I was only meant to do one episode and here I am, two or three years later. So to me, I'm very happy with that because I made that character my own. As a team, we all collaborated to make this character from one episode into a really interesting, layered werewolf."
Sulkin's next TV role was a stint on Melissa and Joey
Directly following "Wizards of Waverly Place," Sulkin had a three-episode stint on the ABC Family sitcom, "Melissa and Joey" in 2012. The series, which ran for four seasons, the interconnected lives of the two titular characters, Melissa (Melissa Joan Hart) and Joey (Joey Lawrence). Melissa, a local politician, hires Joey, a newly broke former executive, to help look after her niece Lennox (Taylor Spreitler) and nephew Ryder (Nick Robinson).
Sulkin comes into the mix in Season 2 and plays Haskell Davis, a love interest to Lennox. He's first introduced to Lennox while dating her friend Scarlett. However, it turns out that Haskell only ended up dating Scarlett by accident when he put a note in her locker that was intended for Lennox — really, he's had a crush on Lennox the entire time and the two begin dating shortly thereafter. In the few episodes that Sulkin is in, Haskell and Lennox face dating problems, such as Haskell thinking they don't spend enough time together. Later in the season, Lennox mentions that she and Haskell broke up.
It's definitely a short-lived stint, but far from Sulkin's only post-"Wizards" TV appearance.
He played Mr. Fitz's brother on Pretty Little Liars
Gregg Sulkin found his next major role on the ultra-popular teen drama series, "Pretty Little Liars," from 2012 to 2013 for a total of four episode appearances. The show follows four friends, recently estranged following the disappearance of their clique's leader, who come back together after they begin receiving mysterious messages from an anonymous person known only as "A" threatening to reveal their secrets.
Sulkin plays Wesley Fitzgerald, the brother to Ezra Fitz (Ian Harding), aka the teacher who is secretly dating one of his students (and one of the show's protagonists) Aria (Lucy Hale). Wesley's arc is mostly notable because he informs Aria of Ezra's ex Maggie, who got pregnant while they were together, although the baby turns out to not be Ezra's after all.
In 2021, Sulkin spoke with TV Equals about his role on "Pretty Little Liars." Describing what he'd loved the most about working on the popular show, he said, "One, the people–the people are very professional and super-nice. Number two is probably the fanbase– to work on a show that you know is going to get viewed by lots of people, by diehard fans, and you get to interact with them through Twitter and stuff like that. And three, working with ABC Family is a lot of fun ... So just the people and the experience and working on the Warner Bros. lot."
Sulkin took on a leading role on Faking It
While the other parts mentioned here have been either recurring or guest roles, Gregg Sulkin finally became a main cast member on MTV's "Faking It," which aired for three seasons from 2014 to 2016. The series focuses on best friends Karma (Katie Stevens) and Amy (Rita Volk), who are mistaken to be a lesbian couple — and decide to go along with it for popularity's sake. The fake relationship attracts the attention of school heartthrob Liam, who then begins a secret affair with Karma.
In an interview with Complex, Sulkin revealed what drew him to the show and to playing Liam. He said, "The show premise in general was interesting to me. I think it's quite unique. The show sends out a good message, which is to be accepting and tolerant of people no matter where you come from or no matter their size, shape, sexual orientation, or race. As for Liam, I wanted to play a character that had depth. I didn't want to just be a funny guy. I wanted to have some dramatic element as well and Liam Booker has that. I get to play this likeable popular guy who from the outside people think he's perfect, but in reality he's probably more of a lone wolf than anyone in that school."
Sulkin remained a lead cast member for the entirety of the show's run — he and Karma eventually break up and Liam ends up entering his own fake relationship later down the line.
Sulkin recently starred on Runaways
Before "Pretty Smart," Sulkin recently was part of the main cast of Hulu's Marvel series "Runaways." The show focuses on six teenagers — including Sulkin's character — who find out that their parents are supervillains and eventually become the group known as the Runaways. Sulkin plays Chase Stein, a high school lacrosse player who has a knack for engineering, despite often being assumed to be a dumb jock.
In 2018, Sulkin spoke with Den of Geek about his new role within the Marvel Universe. He said, "I think every child dreams of being a superhero at some point in their life, and having super powers. So for that dream to come true and to hopefully be a reality for the next few years is pretty awesome. I think when I heard that Marvel was creating this... that we were doing a Marvel show... I was pumped, you know? That was something that I definitely couldn't turn down."
He also discussed the ways in which his character was expanded from the comics, stating, "By people thinking Chase is one-dimensional, from the comics... it's great, because it allows me then to prove people wrong, and prove to people that Chase isn't just a one-dimensional character. There's a lot to him, especially in the TV show, we really expand his storyline. We really expand kind of who Chase is, and we dive into who Chase is. So it's been fun exploring that world and that character."
The series ran for three seasons, ending in 2019.