Born and raised in Ketchikan, Alaska, Rudy Pankow grew up performing every chance he got. Whether it was school theatre, ballet, jazz and hip hop or sketch and stand-up, he was always pursuing some aspect of the career he didn’t yet know he wanted to pursue.  It was only after doing a local play in his senior year of high school that he knew that entertaining was the career for him.  He now stars as “JJ" in the new hit Netflix series “Outer Banks.”

Straight after high school Pankow headed to Los Angeles to go after his dream. He attended an acclaimed improv theatre class which led to a scene study class with the critically acclaimed acting coach Larry Moss. It didn’t take long before he was making his professional debut guest-starring on “Sunny Family Cult” on Crypt TV. That appearance was followed by lead roles in several short films including Not Me and the award-winning Deviant, as well as guest-star turn on the critically acclaimed Netflix series “The Politician." In addition he also starred in the music video “Thought Contagion” for the band MUSE.