Portis Hershey
Birthday:
11 September 1979, Seoul, South Korea
Birth Name:
Cecil Gooch
Height:
178 cm
Portis Hershey was born on September 11, 1979 in Seoul, South Korea. His father is African American and his mother is Korean. Being an army brat, Portis bounced between Seoul, Monterrey, Berlin and Barstow the first ten years of his life.From grammar school until his sophomore year in high school, Portis consistently received low grades in his clas...
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Portis Hershey was born on September 11, 1979 in Seoul, South Korea. His father is African American and his mother is Korean. Being an army brat, Portis bounced between Seoul, Monterrey, Berlin and Barstow the first ten years of his life.From grammar school until his sophomore year in high school, Portis consistently received low grades in his classes while earning high scores in standardized tests. Then in his junior year he decided to take Honors Physics and Honors Chemistry. He says the same teacher taught both of those classes and during the first month of school, the teacher spent the first five minutes of class telling Portis to quit or else he'd kick him out. Portis stuck with it and eventually ended earning a degree in Chemistry at Cornell College. In the science teacher's defense Portis says that he's one of his two favorite teachers he's had.Though Chemistry was on his mind, it was not in his heart. On June 7, 1999 Portis decided to focus his energy into entertainment. Being that he was in Iowa, there were not many entertainment avenues for him-until a year later. While waiting for some friends at Old Navy, a talent agent, the same one that discovered Ashton Kutcher, approached him. Portis participated in Fresh Faces of Iowa in the fall of 2000. However, nothing really panned out after that.Portis graduated from college in May of 2002. Two days after receiving his degree, he was in Los Angeles where he found a job selling Cutco cutlery. He commuted between Barstow and LA until he saved up enough money to stay in Los Angeles.In the beginning of 2003 he did some background work for Sande Alessi. During this time, one of his fellow extras referred him to Dragon Talent Agency. Hershey signed with Dragon on April Fools Day, April 1, 2003.One of his first bookings was a JS (Johnson Sisters) music video, Icecream (2003). Through this video, he had an opportunity to work with director, Dave Meyers and casting director, Anissa Williams. In the video, Portis was getting his hair braided by actress, 'Eboni Renee Jackson' . Two years later (February 2005), Portis reunited with Meyers and Williams for a Sony Playstation Portable commercial. Incidentally, Portis was getting his hair braided in the commercial as well.In addition to the PSP commercial, February 2005 was a busy month for Portis. He also did a German Burger King commercial that spoofed the TV show Pimp My Ride. Though it was not shown in the US, it circulated via the internet on websites such as www.pimpmyburger.com and www.collegehumor.com. Traveling full circle, Portis found himself working with Sande Alessi Casting again, this time playing a pirate for Gore Verbinski's _Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)_ .As of March 2005, Portis is studying under acting coach, Troy Rowland and is still working as a pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. Show less «
On chess: "I hate debating with people that won't admit when they're wrong, or are irrational. With chess, it's your argument versus theirs,...Show more »
On chess: "I hate debating with people that won't admit when they're wrong, or are irrational. With chess, it's your argument versus theirs, and the most rational viewpoint always wins." Show less «
I like science and math for reason why most people hate them. You can't fake it. Either you know it or you don't. I've always had a thirst f...Show more »
I like science and math for reason why most people hate them. You can't fake it. Either you know it or you don't. I've always had a thirst for understanding concepts and systems. I know I might sound like a dork saying this, but I'm still amazed when I solve a problem different ways and come up with the same answer. Show less «
You look at life and you have to say it's inevitable. It happens a gadrillion times every second on this planet, literally. Yet, if you real...Show more »
You look at life and you have to say it's inevitable. It happens a gadrillion times every second on this planet, literally. Yet, if you really look at it, the odds of any of us, even, being born was near impossible. And that's the way I look at life: my dream is so impossible of becoming a conscious reality; it is inevitably going to happen. Show less «
I'm learning to rely more on my emotions. I've been like Mr. Spock my whole life as far as rational goes. No matter how smart you are, you'l...Show more »
I'm learning to rely more on my emotions. I've been like Mr. Spock my whole life as far as rational goes. No matter how smart you are, you'll never understand people without your heart. It's taken me 25 years to finally learn this. Show less «
Sometimes I lie down and close my eyes and pretend that the Earth in all its enormousness is keeping me from flying off into space, instead ...Show more »
Sometimes I lie down and close my eyes and pretend that the Earth in all its enormousness is keeping me from flying off into space, instead of the other way around. Show less «
The fear of death causes us to lose out in life. I feel we suffer through miniature versions of this everyday of our lives. When we realize ...Show more »
The fear of death causes us to lose out in life. I feel we suffer through miniature versions of this everyday of our lives. When we realize failure is not death, then we will succeed in life. Show less «