Biography
Born in Los Angeles, on a Friday, at 4:54 PM, John Bedros "J.B." Abajian is an actor and songwriter, who began his acting in community theater at age twelve, continuing throughout his teens - then moving on to earning his degree in Broadcast Production, with an emphasis in directing.
At the age of five, a form of arthritis (ankylosing spondylitis) began to unfold, which now involves all major joints of the body, to a point of some deformity. He relied on crutches by the age of nineteen, and can usually hobble very short distances, unassisted. Otherwise, J.B. walks with a pair of forearm crutches (you know, the kind with those wide bracelets, below the elbow - also known as Canadian crutches, or polio crutches). For one-day shoots, or short shoot days, J.B. can, likely, provide, on-camera use of only one crutch. However, two crutches allows for safe continuity.
Over the past four decades, in addition to principal screen acting, J.B. has worked on hundreds of major studio projects in various capacities.
With extensive training, under such actors as: Lureen Tuttle, Randy J. Clifton, Apollo Dukakis, Otto Felix, and others, J.B. found his niche in portraying off-beat characters; gravitating towards film performance, utilizing an understated sense of realism, with a focus on dark comedy, while aptly proclaiming to be a "Comprehensive actor, as much as my body will allow".
As J.B. so eloquently states, "Hey, I just wanna make people happy; whatever the vehicle, 'cause God knows - there's already enough stress, pain, and challenges in everyone's life"!
I know, I may be biased, but I'd have to say that J.B. possesses an undeniable sense of humor, and comedic timing - as demonstrated in roles which won him awards, like the prestigious 'Easterseals Disability Film Challenge Best Actor Award', for starring in the buddy comedy "Visibility", as well as his win of the 'Christopher Reeve Acting Competition Scholarship', (Panel of Judges included Casting Directors: David Giella and April Webster), for which he portrayed a bungling terrorist, in an originally penned, two-person farce (ironically set in Manhattan, and performed three days prior to 9/11). That particular win for J.B. was both eerie and bittersweet, as he was notified of his victory, by mail, and by telephone, just a few hours after the attack on the World Trade Center.
J.B. really enjoys his work, and always looks forward to performing the next character, or compose the next song, to evoke another laugh or tear.
