Though he readily admits that people have commented on his similarity to Hollywood megastar Tom Cruise from the time he was just 12 years old, actor Sean Faris still insists that his high-school life couldn't be more different from that of his character on the critically lauded prime-time comedy drama Life as We Know It. On television playing the "cool kid" that every girl wants to hook up with is easy, but in real life, Faris claims that his high-school career wasn't nearly as glamorous. Unwilling to associate himself exclusively with any one particular clique, Faris instead opted to focus his time on enjoying the company of his friends — no matter what rung of the social hierarchy they occupied. It was early work as a model instilled the Parma, OH, native with a certain amount of confidence before the cameras, but even into his early teens, Faris still had few concrete ideas about which career path best suited him. Of course it wasn't long before fate found the athletic but somewhat aimless teen cast in a local independent film at the age of 17, and Faris immediately realized that film was his true calling. By the time high-school graduation had come and gone and the obligatory wave of graduation parties had winded down, Faris had his bags already packed and made his way to Los Angeles. As the old proverb goes "timing is everything," and almost immediately after arriving in Hollywood, Faris was cast in a supporting role in director Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor. If the immediate success had gone to Faris' head just a bit, reality would soon sink in when the young hopeful was cast in such forgettable low-budget efforts as Twisted and The Brotherhood II: Young Warlocks. Following a few acting classes and some formal training, however, Faris was soon working his way back to the top with small-screen roles in MTV's Undressed and House Blend — as well as brief supporting appearances in Smallville and Boston Public — before making a return to A-list features as Alexa Vega's character's love interest in the 2004 teen comedy Sleepover. Later that same year, Faris made a splash on the small screen as one of a trio of tight-knit teens preoccupied with sex in Life As We Know It.