Sean Berdy

Sean Berdy is an actor who has risen to fame for his portrayal of Emmett in ABC Family's Peabody Award-winning drama, "Switched at Birth". Sean's brilliant depiction of Emmett, cast as a "Deaf James Dean", has earned him legions of fans as well as a nomination for TV Breakout Star by the Teen Choice Awards.Sean was born on June 3rd, 1993, in Boca Raton, FL, to parents Terrie and Scott Berdy and was destined to be a performer. At a young age Berdy began putting on impromptu comedic shows alongside his brother, Tyler, to the utter delight of family and friends. Sean loved seeing the joy he brought to others while performing and quickly became very passionate about entertaining. Young Berdy soon became fascinated with magic, honed his skills in the art, and won the top award for young magicians at the World Deaf Magicians Festival held in St. Petersburg, Russia.Never believing his Deafness was a roadblock to pursuing his dreams, Sean next set his sights on acting. He received his first big break when a casting call went out for a young deaf actor for "The Sandlot 2," the comedic sequel to "The Sandlot." Sean won the role of the lovably mischievous Sammy "Fingers" Samuelson and his formal acting career was launched. He went on to play roles in films including "The Bondage," "The Deaf Family" and "The Legend of the Mountain Man". In addition to films, Berdy has also been featured in numerous public service commercials.In between filming movie engagements, Sean attended the Indiana School for the Deaf (ISD) where, as a sophomore, he competed alongside a classmate for the title of Mr. and Miss Deaf Teen America. Sean and his partner won the competition against contestants from deaf schools nationwide. Their new roles enabled them to travel around the country making public appearances for one year to proudly raise deaf awareness.While attending ISD, Berdy also performed with Vibrations, the school's highly acclaimed performing arts touring troupe. Sean's inspired dance rendition of Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel," performed entirely in American Sign Language (ASL), proved to be a tremendous hit at live Vibrations appearances across the country and the video of the performance continues to be a popular view on YouTube.Sean completed his high school education remotely from California after his dream breakout role precipitously arrived in 2011 with ABC Family's new series, "Switched at Birth." The series was to chronicle the story of two teen girls, Bay and Daphne, who find out they were accidentally switched at birth by hospital staff. Berdy was a perfect fit to play the multifaceted role of Emmett Bledsoe, who producers described as a "Deaf James Dean" type. Fan favorite Emmett rides a motorcycle, plays the drums in a rock band, and is a photographer. He is also Daphne's best friend, a love interest to Bay, and the son of Melody Bledsoe, portrayed by Marlee Matlin."Switched at Birth" has been widely credited with increasing awareness of deaf culture and for garnering huge growth in the number of people learning ASL across the country. Berdy received the DeafNation Inspiration Award for Entertainment in 2012 for the positive impact his authentic portrayal of Emmett Bledsoe has had on the Deaf community.When not on the set filming the TV series, Sean has kept busy on various projects including creating music videos performed in ASL, delivering motivational keynote speeches, performing live at Disney, and working on Twentieth Century-Fox's animated movie, "Ice Age: Continental Drift," where he provided an industry first on-camera ASL performance that displays in a picture-in-picture window when the movie is played on DVD.Future personal projects for Sean include making additional ASL music videos and the development of "The Sean Berdy Show", a one-man show featuring a mix of Sean's stand-up comedy, life stories, skits, and other entertaining performances. Show less «