Daren Kagasoff

Daren was born on September 16 1987 in Encino, California to a designer and a diamond dealer. He grew up a regular kid, making friends, getting into trouble, and seemingly, not

destined for stardom. He wasn’t into the performing arts, preferring to spend his time playing baseball all through high school. His first job was not a glamorous one either. He worked for his father. While his dad went out on sales and distribution calls to California hotels, Daren answered phones and ran errands. Once he graduated, Daren made his way to San Francisco State University and attempted to major in business management. Apparently, being a business man just did not agree with Daren though, and he left, calling his parents up to let them know that he wanted to try acting.

Secret Life Season 1 Photo Shoot

It seems like such a spur of the moment thing, but there was just something about being an actor and taking on someone else’s skin that appealed to Daren, someone who was not entirely sure just where he fit into the world. He made straight for Los Angeles, hoping to break into the business. Auditioning for a few local projects, Daren quickly landed himself in the Whitmore-Lindley Theater Center’s production of “Suburbia” based on the 1996 film. He played an alcoholic slacker who struggled to find the meaning to his life in a slow suburban setting. The show did not earn any favor with the local critics, and Daren headed home to his parents to school himself a little bit more.

Daren at the 2008 Variety Power of Youth Event

After an eight month acting class, and attempting “normal” jobs, Daren returned to Los Angeles, planning to audition for just about anything he could get his hands on so that he could go from a struggling actor to a working actor. As luck would have it, after only four or five unsuccessful auditions, he found himself reading a script for a new television series that centered on a high school girl becoming pregnant after a brief encounter with the school band’s bad boy drummer. Daren was immediately drawn to the script, and in particular, he was fascinated by the character Ricky. Unfortunately, studio executives didn’t want to take a chance on someone who was so green, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager seemed like it was just a dream project he would have to live without.

Daren with the Secret Life cast at the 2008 Wall-e premier

Luckily for Daren, he pulled a few tricks from the book of bad boy Ricky when he auditioned. First of all, he lied. Ricky, as a member of his high school marching band, is supposed to know how to play the drums. Rather than admit defeat when asked if he was so musically inclined, Daren decided to let the casting directors know that, yes, he could in fact play the drums if needed. The truth was he had never even attempted the instrument. He also managed to really sell the bad boy with a good heart

The Secret Life cast at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards

aspect to the one person who really mattered: the woman in charge of the show. Just like Ricky knows how to play the young women around him to his advantage, Daren managed to get Brenda Hampton on his side. Brenda, the creator of The Secret Life…, as well as family favorite Seventh Heaven, really pushed for Daren to get the role. She was so excited about having Daren portray Ricky that she even showed up at his house personally and delivered him a dozen roses to let him know he got the part.

Daren with costar Shailene Woodley at a 2009 Press Junket

Lest you think there is a bad boy lurking somewhere in Daren’s personality, he is quick to point out that he and Ricky are not that much alike in real life. For one thing, Daren does not think of himself as anywhere near as forward as his character. He is a self professed shy guy who frequently finds himself tongue tied. When the second season of the series debuted on ABC Family this year, he maintained in interviews that he had never even had the nerve to ask a girl for her number. Knowing how his popularity has been on the rise, he probably will never need to now.

Daren and Shailene at an ABC Family Event

While he does not adopt the same bad boy persona that his character Ricky does, Daren admits that he tried on the tough guy part for a while before his acting days. When he appeared on the MTV program It’s On With Alexa Chung this year, he recounted one Halloween experience that made him rethink the image he was trying to portray. He went to pick up a friend, and a car of guys pulled up next to him, throwing eggs at his own car. Rather than be the bigger person and ignore them, Daren chased them down, gearing up for a fight, only to discover that there were eight guys as part of the egg throwing group, while he was on his own. He ended up with 24 stitches on his face and without a car. Daren went on to say that it was an experience he needed though, and that he learned from it.

The Secret Life Season 2 Photo Shoot

So far, The Secret Life of the American Teenager remains his only successful, and steady, acting job. With the fans of the show eating it up, it is likely he’ll be able to remain in the role for a long time to come, which means he will be forced to watch himself on the screen every week with his parents. You see, while Daren does not watch a whole lot of television anymore, and as much as he hates to see his own performance, when he landed the role of the drum playing bad boy on a regularly

Daren at the 2009 Teen Vogue Young Hollywood Party

scheduled program, his mother made him promise to come home and watch it every time a new episode airs. He might cringe each time he sees himself walk in front of the camera, but his family is obviously proud that he went out and made his dream, what might have seemed like a fleeting whim, come true.

What’s next for one of Hollywood’s newest leading men? Who knows? With the success of The Secret Life anything could be coming his way. Daren’s only advice to people who might be thinking of following his path: go with your heart. In his experience, it won't steer you wrong.

Daren with his 2009 Teen Choice Award

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