Born in Huntington Beach, California, Jesse's directorial debut was The Bannen Way, a web-series/feature, that quickly became Sony's most successful online venture to date. The project, which he also wrote and executive produced, was nominated for 2 Webby Awards, and won 4 Streamy Awards, including Best Director and Best Series.Prior to his film ventures, Jesse Warren Strutzel (as he was formerly known), excelled as a track star at UCLA, where he majored in theatre and film studies. An 8-time All-American, he set the 800 meter school record as well as the American Distance Medley Record in '99, and won NCAA nationals in 2000. Though he missed making the Olympic team by a second, Jesse has competed professionally under a Nike contract in over a dozen countries, from Beijing, China, to the Dominican Republic, and all throughout Europe. In 2004, he hung up his spikes to focus on his artistic passions.Married to actress, Autumn Reeser, the pair lives in Los Feliz, Ca, with their newborn son and two dogs.
