Background
Kartheiser was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Janet Marie (née Gruyé), who ran a nursery, and James Ralph Kartheiser, who sold construction equipment.
Kartheiser was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Janet Marie (née Gruyé), who ran a nursery, and James Ralph Kartheiser, who sold construction equipment.
University of California, Los Los Angeles
He is of German, and to an extent Polish, Finnish, Swedish and Luxembourgian ancestry. Some of Kartheiser’s first acting experiences were on stage of Children"s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, including roles in Pippi Longstocking, Our Town, Doctor Seuss’ The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. He made his screen debut with a bit role in the 1993 film Untamed Heart.
Kartheiser found himself cast in mostly family fare, including The Indian in the Cupboard (1995) and a starring role in the film Alaska (1996).
The film led to Kartheiser getting the lead role in Masterminds the following year. He next portrayed Bobby, a drug-addicted, homeless street urchin in Larry Clark"s Another Day in Paradise.
He had two explicit sex scenes with Natasha Gregson, one of which was cut from the film in order to avoid an North Carolina-17 rating. The film earned the young actor significant accolades, and he went on to appear in Strike! (later retitled All I Wanna Do) and Crime and Punishment in Suburbia.
Screened at the 2000 Sundance Festival, Crime and Punishment in Suburbia was a moody, updated take on Dostoyevsky"s Crime and Punishment, set in a modern high school.
Kartheiser co-starred on the supernatural drama series Angel in 2002, playing Connor, the son of the titular character, Angel. Appearing in a total of 28 episodes. Returning to film work, Kartheiser starred in the well-received coming-of-age drama Dandelion, which was shown at the 2004 Sundance Festival.
Kartheiser played the role of ambitious young ad man Pete Campbell in the Administrative Management College television series Mad Men (2007-2015).
Kartheiser filmed his role as Fielding in the British Broadcasting Corporation"s two-part adaptation of Martin Amis" novel Money in the winter of 2009. The adaptation began airing on British Broadcasting Corporation Two on May 23, 2010.
Kartheiser"s short film, Fruit of Labor, made its Orange County debut at the Newport Beach Festival in April 2013. In the summer of 2013, he returned to his theatrical roots in Minneapolis to portray Mr.
Darcy in an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice at the Guthrie Theater.