Jason Austin Wiles is an American actor, writer, and director who grew up in Lenexa, Kansas, far removed from the film industry. After high school, he worked briefly for the local Parks and Recreation department and passed on an opportunity to play college football, eventually finding his way onto film sets in Kansas City in the early 1990s. Early behind-the-scenes work on Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990) and the Stephen King adaptation Sometimes They Come Back (1991) sparked his interest in acting and led him to relocate to Los Angeles to pursue it professionally.