Biography
Jason Klingensmith is an American born actor, writer and filmmaker known for his comedic roles in short films, like the Sunset Fist series in which he won Best Lead Actor in the 2017 Cleveland 48 Hour Film Project for playing the character "Rock Hardabs", and the RIVALS web series, which he co-created with Jerry Lee Tucker. He also created and manages the group TKF Films, and has written, produced, directed, edited, and/or acted in several short films they've created, several of which have won awards and played in larger independent film festivals, including Human Resources, Seasonal Creep, Twenty Dollar Limit, No Such Thing, and V.R.O.O.M.
Though he enjoys and excels at comedic roles, he also has the range to play more dramatic characters, most notably in the 2017 film Unwavering, written and directed by Josh Menning, in which he plays a menacing terrorist.
Jason first broke into acting in 2013, after a layoff from a bankrupt steel company led him to an open casting call for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Though only an incredibly well dressed extra on that film, it was that experience that ultimately led to him discovering his passion for acting, and eventually screenwriting.
After working as an extra a few more times, and then acting in some student films, he started breaking into the Indie Film scene with larger, more demanding roles. In 2017 he was nominated for Best Ohio Supporting Actor at The International Indie Gathering for his dual role as Jesse McArthur Jr. and Sr. in the film Lux in Tenebris. It was also on that set that he discovered his passion for screenwriting.
He has also won and been nominated for several screenwriting awards, including being a Quarterfinalist in the 2016 Screen Craft Comedy contest with his buddy comedy "One More Run: The Powerhouse Indians of Yesteryear", a story about a burnt out professional who comes out of retirement for one more run at the men's slow pitch softball championship that he choked away ten years earlier.
