Cardiff Gerhardt

John Cardiff Gerhardt didn't start a film career until he was 18, attending Westminster College. The absence of sports after high school propelled his curiosity to discover what he could do with his life. He took an acting class with McCarty Talent Agency in Salt Lake City, Utah with teacher, Emily Pearson just before his 19th birthday. She noticed his talent quickly and recommended him to McCarty for immediate audition submission. Cardiff had a very high callback and success rate. After one year, he secured his first SAG production: The MistleTones by ABC Family, starring Tia Mowery and Tori Spelling. When on set, he complimented Tia on her performance, not realizing who she was until other actors brought her up in conversation. By his second year, Cardiff secured his second SAG role as a recurring character on Utah's only major TV show production, Granite Flats. It wasn't until season 3 that he met Christopher Lloyd and complimented him on his performance saying, "you look like the guy from Back to the Future". Cardiff built up his resume with other feature and short films as well as commercials. He took weekly classes at Actors Anonymous with teacher Jim Stevens who honed Cardiff's skills and presence for the longest duration of any teacher so far. After 4 years pursuing acting, Cardiff finally landed a semi-lead role in the feature film, Thirst. During that summer of shooting, he was also in talks with representation in New York City who had gained interest in him after meeting him, then (a month later) seeing his first ever demo reel. Acting agency, Innovative Artists worked with Cardiff, sending auditions for him to self tape. One in particular caught a spark: Red Band Society. It placed Cardiff on hold for the role had the one chosen prior fell through, and catalyzed the efforts to move Cardiff to New York. During the Fall break of his final semester, Cardiff flew out with his mother (Michele Corigliano) to meet everyone in person for the first time. Michele's skepticism and nervousness were alleviated after those meetings. She realized it was "the real deal". Cardiff flew back to finish college and moved out to New York in January where he spent the next few months auditioning for pilot season and meeting all new casting directors. At end of May, Cardiff flew back to Utah where he attended his commencement ceremony and embarked on a 2 week road trip across the western United States until his younger brother's (Crewe Gerhardt) commencement ceremony at Oregon University. During his road trip, Cardiff was confirmed for his first lead role in the series, We All Fall Down. It filmed in Provo, Utah. To prepare, Cardiff packed up camping gear and spent three days prior to filming, and two weeks total living in the wilderness of Provo Canyon in order to prepare for the role. During filming, Cardiff performed all of his own stunts and even rationed food and water for the apocalyptic zombie series. He believes be performs best when he's as method as can possibly be. The opening scene, when the camera was too close to see, Cardiff took the knife in hand and pressed it firmly into his legs and stomach that left bruises to maintain intensity. While thrashing around on a mound of rocks, he fell many times which dealt deep cuts into his arms and hands, drawing blood. Cardiff finds bliss in losing himself within the roles he plays. He values the passion in his work over all else. In July of 2015, Cardiff moved back to New York City where he is continuing the pursuit of his acting career.