Skeet Ulrich

Bryan Ray Trout was born on January 20, 1970, in Lynchburg, Virginia. His mother, Carolyn Elaine Wax (née Rudd), owns the special events marketing agency Sports Management Group, and his father is a restaurateur. He has an elder brother, Geoff. His first stepfather was D. K. Ulrich, a NASCAR driver and team owner, whom he considers his father. In 1990, his mother remarried, to Edward Lewis Wax. Ulrich's maternal uncle is retired NASCAR driver Ricky Rudd, and his maternal grandfather was Alvin Ray Rudd Sr., the president of Al Rudd Auto Parts.

Ulrich's father kidnapped him and his brother when he was six years old, and they spent the next three years moving from Florida to New York and then to Pennsylvania. They were reunited with their mother in North Carolina, where his father disappeared from his life.

The nickname "Skeet" originated from "Skeeter", a nickname he was given by his Little League coach because of his small stature and because he was fast as a mosquito. Along with his slight frame, he had poor health as a child, including numerous bouts with pneumonia; he underwent open-heart surgery to repair a defective ventricle. Ulrich graduated from Northwest Cabarrus High School in North Carolina. After enrolling at the University of North Carolina Wilmington to study marine biology, he switched to New York University, where he studied under playwright David Mamet.In his earliest screen appearances, Ulrich was an uncredited extra in films Weekend at Bernie's (1989) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990). After joining the Atlantic Theater Company as an apprentice, Ulrich performed with the group, which got him noticed by director Stacy Cochran. She cast him in a CBS Schoolbreak Special. With her help, he also received his first notable role on screen in 1996 as the loutish boyfriend of Winona Ryder in Boys. That same year, he also appeared in Kevin Spacey's directorial debut Albino Alligator and The Craft alongside Robin Tunney and Neve Campbell. He was cast that same year to star alongside Campbell again in Wes Craven's hit slasher film Scream as Billy Loomis where, during production, he was accidentally stabbed in the area where he had open-heart surgery.

In 1997, he had a small role as an emotionally conflicted gay hustler in As Good as It Gets (along with fellow Scream actor Jamie Kennedy). He appeared in films like The Newton Boys (1998) and Chill Factor (1999). He starred as Juvenal, a young man with stigmata and healing powers in the Paul Schrader film Touch (1997), and he appeared in Ride with the Devil (1999), an American Civil War drama directed by Ang Lee. In 2000, he played computer hacker Kevin Mitnick in the film Takedown.

On television, Ulrich starred in the short-lived ABC series Miracles and appeared in TNT's multiple Emmy-nominated miniseries Into the West (2005 in the U.S., 2006 in the UK). Also in 2005, Ulrich acted with Keri Russell in the television film The Magic of Ordinary Days. He starred as Jake Green on the CBS post-apocalyptic drama Jericho, which premiered on September 20, 2006, and ended its run on March 25, 2008. The series was cancelled after its first season but was brought back due to fan outcry and support. Fans lobbied the studio, and the series was brought back for a shortened second season.

Ulrich is a recurring guest voice actor on the Adult Swim animated stop-motion sketch comedy series Robot Chicken. In sketches based on G.I. Joe, Ulrich voices the character Duke. Ulrich guest-starred in three episodes of CSI: NY as a complex and disturbed killer. From 2017 to 2021, he starred as Forsythe Pendleton Jones II, the father of Jughead Jones, in Riverdale on The CW, loosely based on the Archie comic book series.

Ulrich appeared as Brian David Mitchell in the 2017 Lifetime film I Am Elizabeth Smart, based on the 2002 abduction and captivity of Elizabeth Smart. He also played Brice in the 2017 horror movie Escape Room.

In 2022, Ulrich reprises his role as Billy Loomis in the fifth film in the series, also titled Scream. He did so again in 2023 in Scream VI. In 2024, he is set to be a presenter at the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards.