Biography

Name: Justin Lee Bartha
Profession: Actor
Date of Birth: July 21, 1978


Justin Lee Bartha (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor, known for his co-starring role as Riley Poole in the National Treasure films.

He was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His father, Stephen, is a real estate developer, while his mother, Betty, is a school teacher. His family moved to West Bloomfield, Michigan when Bartha was nine years old. While at high school, he muddled his way into acting after breaking his wrist trying out for the school's tennis team. After scoring a role in the local production of A Midsummer Night's Dream he formed a children's theatre group of 15 where he performed for children in hospitals and at elementary school. After he graduated from West Bloomfield High School in 1996, he set his sights on New York, eventually training at New York University's Meisner Extension.

He began his movie career behind the camera as a production assistant on the film Analyze This. His acting debut came a year later in a short film called Tag in 1999.

He wrote and directed a short film, Highs and Lows, which was shown at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2003. Additionally, for MTV he wrote, produced and starred in an MTV pilot called the The Dustin and Justin Show.He has stated that he would like to continue working behind the camera in the future. Alongside this, he played a major role in the critically bashed Gigli and Carnival Sun, before his co-starring role in National Treasure (2004) as Riley Poole.

In 2006, Bartha had a supporting role in Failure to Launch and starred in the television sitcom Teachers which premiered on March 28th, 2006 on NBC, and was cancelled May 15, 2006 due to low ratings.

In November 2007, Bartha was cast in an indie comic-drama, High Rollers. His character lures a young Hasidic Jew into becoming an Ecstasy dealer. Filming is scheduled to begin in New York in the spring of 2008.