Pete Ploszek

Pete Ploszek (born January 20, 1987) is an American actor best known for his roles as Leonardo in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films. He will star as teacher Garrett Douglas on the series Teen Wolf.

Ploszek was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, the son of Karen, a special education teacher, and Mike Ploszek, a vice president at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington. He has three brothers and a sister. Ploszek grew up across New Jersey, Maine, and Ohio before his family returned to the suburbs of St. Charles, Illinois in 1998. As a football player at St. Charles East High School, Ploszek earned all-area, all-conference, and all-state honors as a senior running back/wide receiver. In 2009, he graduated from Princeton University, where he was a four-year member of the Princeton Tigers football team. He graduated with a MFA in Acting from the USC School of Dramatic Arts in 2012.

In 2013, Ploszek was cast as Leonardo in the reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. However, prior to the film's release, his voice work was dubbed over by actor Johnny Knoxville. Ploszek voiced Leonardo in the sequel to the 2016 film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

In 2016, he published his first book, Get Fast and Crush the Combine, described as "a no frills guide for aspiring high school athletes" who want to run faster than everyone else. It's designed to help those who dream of playing college football to beat the combine by teaching them how to "drop times, build core strength, and increase hops from your own backyard."[1]

Film

Television