Austin Abrams’ parents, both doctors, thought his becoming an actor was “a bit preposterous.” He credits his mother with helping him get there anyway, even though a career on screen took some getting used to for them.
“my mom was always mostly on my side, whereas my dad took a little more time… I wouldn’t be anywhere really, without my mom,” he said in 2019, recalling how the plan had seemed “a bit preposterous.”
Abrams, now 30 and the lead of Whalefall and Resident Evil, grew up in Sarasota, Florida. His parents, Lori and Bradley Abrams, are now retired. His mother originally signed him up for acting camp to help with his shyness when he was about 5.
By 13, he’d accumulated 17 local theater credits and landed a lead role opposite Cuba Gooding Jr. His mother described the unexpected turn in 2010: “We had no intentions of turning him into an actor… We had no idea this would turn into a career.”
He never went to college. Even with Whalefall in theaters since Oct. 16, his education remains a subject of family concern. “One of my grandmas still thinks I need to go back to school,” he said this month.
His family also has a request about the roles he takes: They’d “prefer if I died less,” Abrams said.
