Michael Evans Behling (born March 5, 1996) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Jordan Baker on All American.[1][2][3][4]
Early life
Behling was born in Columbus,Ohio and adopted by Mike and Carol Behling, but grew up in Columbus, Indiana.[1][5][6][7][8] He is biracial and was adopted by a white family.[1][9][10][11] In a March 2020 YouTube video, he stated that his father is of Nigerian descent and his mother is of German descent and that his last name is German.[12] He has three siblings, Matt, Adam, and Andrea.[7] Behling's family owned ten acres of land, several dogs and cats and a chicken coop.[1][9] Sports were a big part of his life growing up, and Behling played baseball, soccer, and volleyball.[13][14]
He first thought about being an actor when he was a freshman in high school and was inspired by Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight.[15][6][9][16] Behling attended Columbus North High School, where he played football for two years and ran track.[1][17][15] He was on the honor roll and graduated in 2015.[7] Behling continued to run track in college, competing in the 400-meter hurdles.[15] He stopped competing in track after breaking his foot twice, which required two surgeries.[15][11] He attended Indiana State University for two years as a pre-med student before dropping out to pursue modeling and acting.[1][7][13][18][11][9] Prior to beginning his acting career, he worked as an assistant director at the Donner Aquatic Center in Columbus, Indiana.[7]
Career
While in college, Behling began modeling, and eventually his team convinced him to audition for acting roles.[16] He did several advertising campaigns with Adidas and White Castle.[11] Behling began his career in television in 2017 with a role as "Handsome Dude" on Empire.[1][7][19] In March 2018, he was cast as Jordan Baker on All American,[20] and filming for the pilot began two weeks later.[7][21] Behling moved to Los Angeles in January 2018 when filming began, and after his finances ran low he began sleeping on a friend's floor.[1][7] He has said that he identifies with his character because they are both biracial and looking for the place where they fit in.[22] His role as Jordan Baker is his breakout role.[19] He is currently represented by HRI Talent and Management 101.[21]
Behling has a clothing line, DesignedAt5AM, which he started with three friends from high school (Nicholas Stevens, Drew Thompson, and Floyd Athaide).[9][16][23] The clothing line was inspired by his desire to start his day early to accomplish his goals and by his high school friends' early morning swim practices.[15]
Personal life
Behling lives in Los Angeles.[6][7] He actively advocates for animal rights and mental health awareness.[8]
