Jim Halloran

Most recognizable for his "Bear Hug" spot where he performed his own stunts co-starring with an 8 foot, 400 lb. brown bear. Jim's spot was featured on the BBC's "Commercial Breakdown" as one of the world's funniest commercials. As a child he moved from Coeur d' Alene, Idaho to Wisconsin and then Minnesota with his family. He got into acting at age 8 when he went to his first audition for a stage adaptation of "The Hobbit" and landed a lead role. He attended college at the University of Minnesota and majored in Acting, Advertising, and Theater Studies. While still in college, he landed professional jobs with many Twin Cities theater companies and began working steadily. He became a commercial success working for McDonalds, Ford, and feature films like Sweet Land. After college, Jim moved to New York and landed a lead at his first audition in an Off-Broadway revival of "Bent" and the famous 13th Street Repertory.