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Dan Janjigian

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Dan Janjigian
Personal information
Born (1972-04-30) April 30, 1972 (age 52)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
EducationCalifornia Polytechnic State University
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight198 lb (90 kg)
Sport
CountryArmenia
SportBobsleigh
EventTwo-man bobsleigh

Daniel Armen Janjigian (Armenian: Դանիէլ Ջանջիգյան; born April 30, 1972) is an Armenian-American former bobsledder, former actor, and political candidate. He competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics, representing Armenia. He earned 33rd place in the two-man bobsleigh event with Yorgo Alexandrou.[1][2] As an actor, he portrayed Chris-R in the 2003 cult film The Room. He ran as a candidate for Texas's 31st congressional district in the 2020 elections.

Biography

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Early life

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Janjigian was born on April 30, 1972, in Chicago, Illinois. His ancestors, ethnic Armenians from Samsun and Trabzon in modern-day Turkey, survived the Armenian genocide and subsequently emigrated to the United States.[3][4] He was raised in Saratoga, California, his parents running an Armenian restaurant in nearby Sunnyvale. He graduated from Saratoga High School in 1991,[5] later graduating with a degree in business administration from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo in 1996. After graduating, he worked at Microsoft for a number of years.[4]

2002 Winter Olympics

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Janjigian developed an interest for bobsledding after meeting Greek Olympic bobsledder John-Andrew Kambanis at a mutual friend's wedding and attending the Olympic Bobsledding School in Calgary.[6][7] He, along with Yorgo Alexandrou, competed in the two-man bobsleigh event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, for Armenia. Originally, Janjigian's brakeman was going to be Ara Bezdjian, but he had to be replaced due to a back injury. He then recruited a weightlifting champion from Armenia, but his visa application was cancelled in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.[7] Despite both being American citizens and Alexandrou being of Greek descent rather than of Armenian descent, they were granted Armenian residency in order to be eligible to participate.[7][8]

They notably practiced on the streets of San Jose, California, on a bobsled fitted with wheels, which commentators noted was reminiscent of the famous Jamaican bobsledding team at the 1988 Winter Olympics. This was due to the lack of a proper venue that was available for them to train in as well as financial constraints.[7][9] They finished in 5th place in the qualifying rounds, only qualifying in their last run.[7] Despite garnering media attention nationally, Janjigian and Alexandrou finished 33rd in the actual event. Janjigian retired from bobsledding in 2007 after crashing and dislocating his shoulder.[10]

Acting career

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After the Olympics, Janjigian moved to Los Angeles and began a career in acting.[10] His most notable work is that of portraying the violent drug dealer Chris-R in the 2003 cult film The Room. His debut acting role, Janjigian was the roommate of the actor originally cast to play Mark, a man only identified as Dan (or Don, as director Tommy Wiseau mistakenly referred to him).[10][11] He was suggested despite the suggestion by Wiseau to cast Scott Holmes, who had already portrayed the character Mike within the film, to play Chris-R with a disguise so as to distinguish him from his original character.[11][12]

His other works include the Seth Landau film Take Out, as well as a mockumentary about the whereabouts of actors from The Room 15 years after the film's release, The Room Actors: Where Are They Now?, directed by Robyn Paris, who played Michelle in The Room.[13] He also appeared in a 2013 episode of Wheel of Fortune, coming in third in that episode.[10][14] In the 2017 movie adaptation of The Disaster Artist, a book by fellow actor Greg Sestero about the making of The Room, Janjigian is portrayed by Zac Efron.[15]

Political career

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In September 2019, Janjigian filed to run as a Democrat for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2020 election. He was campaigning to be the Democratic nominee against Republican incumbent John Carter to represent the 31st district, based in the Austin metro area.[16] His campaign material often referenced both his career as a bobsledder and as an actor.[10] Janjigian was eliminated in the primaries, coming in last. Janjigian endorsed computer engineer Donna Imam over physician Christine Eady Mann in the primary runoff. Two of his other primary opponents, singer-songwriter Eric Hanke and Round Rock councilwoman Tammy Young, also endorsed Imam, who would go on to win the runoff and lose in the general election to Carter.[17]

Personal life

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As of February 2020, Janjigian is a sales and management consultant and lives in Leander, Texas with his daughter, having moved to the Austin area in 2005.[4][10] He speaks fluent Armenian and holds dual citizenship in Armenia and the United States.[18] He authored sections of the 2015 Jack Canfield book The Soul of Success Volume 2.[19]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role
2003 The Room Chris-R
Irangeles Jock
2005 Take Out Construction Worker
2016 Room Full of Spoons Himself

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2013 Wheel of Fortune Himself Game show
2018 The Room Actors: Where Are They Now? Himself Web mini-series

References

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  1. ^ "Dan JANJIGIAN - Olympic Bobsleigh | Armenia". International Olympic Committee. 2016-06-22. Archived from the original on 2018-01-08. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  2. ^ "Dan Janjigian Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  3. ^ Dan Janjigian (8 October 2015). "Nevart Karagozian". YouTube. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Arkun, Aram (2020-02-27). "Janjigian Runs in Texas Congressional Primary". The Armenian Mirror-Spectator. Archived from the original on 2020-11-14. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  5. ^ "Old Friends - Class of 1991 - Saratoga High School". Archived from the original on 8 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  6. ^ Curran, Stephen (11 January 2002). "Grad to compete in Salt Lake". Mustang Daily News. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e "On streets of San Jose, Armenians prepare". ESPN. Associated Press. 26 January 2002. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  8. ^ Caple, Jim (19 February 2002). "Americans compete under different flags in bobsled". ESPN. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  9. ^ Judy Muller (18 February 2010). "2002 Armenian Bobsled Team on ABC World News with Peter Jennings". ABC World News with Peter Jennings (uploaded via YouTube by Dan Janjigian). Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  10. ^ a b c d e f McDougall, AJ (July 26, 2023). "20 Years After 'The Room': The Actor Who Survived the Best Worst Movie Ever Made". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Sestero, Greg (18 June 2015). The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made. Bissell, Tom, 1974-. London. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-7515-6187-6. OCLC 911809524.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. ^ Potter, Emmy. "What the cast of The Room looks like today". Looper. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  13. ^ Van Luling, Todd (30 September 2016). "'The Room' Actors Just Reunited For A New Project". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  14. ^ Dan Janjigian (4 June 2013). "WOF Danjan". Dan Janjigian (via YouTube). Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  15. ^ Boone, John (March 12, 2018). "How Zac Efron Went Method for 'The Disaster Artist': 'I Look Really Different' (Exclusive)". ET. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  16. ^ "Form 1 for A Whole Lot of Texans Supporting DanJan". docquery.fec.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-09-05. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
  17. ^ Bell, Jeff (November 3, 2020). "John Carter wins reelection in Texas's 31st Congressional District". KVUE. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  18. ^ Dan Janjigian (18 February 2010). "2002 Olympic Armenian Bobsled Team with Mike Sugarman on CBS". Dan Janjigian (via YouTube). Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  19. ^ Jack Canfield (via Amazon) (2015). The Soul of Success Volume 2: Jack Canfield, Nick Nanton. CelebrityPress. ISBN 978-0996197847.
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