Jeremy Allen White.Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
- Jeremy Allen White is known for roles in "Shameless," "The Bear," and "The Iron Claw."
- The actor was unveiled as the star of Calvin Klein's spring 2024 global ad campaign.
Jeremy Allen White can add "Calvin Klein underwear model" to his impressive résumé.
White, 32, is perhaps best known for his roles on TV. The New York native rose to prominence playing Phillip "Lip" Gallagher on the 11-season Showtime dramedy "Shameless." He then found success on another Chicago-set TV show, FX's "The Bear." His critically acclaimed performance as chef Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto has earned the actor an Emmy nomination, a Golden Globe trophy, and a SAG Award.
White also portrayed late wrestler Kerry Von Erich in "The Iron Claw," Sean Durkin's biopic about the legendary family of wrestlers. Most recently, he stripped down to his underwear again as the star of Calvin Klein's Spring 2024 global campaign.
Here are five things you probably didn't know about the in-demand actor.
White studied jazz, tap, and ballet when he was a kid.
Jeremy Allen White at the 28th annual Critics Choice Awards in January 2023. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
White told Interview magazine that his not-so-secret talent is dancing.
"It's not really hidden, but I love to dance," he said. "I trained as a dancer when I was young — jazz, ballet, tap. Going out dancing with friends is my favorite thing to do. I break out all my old moves."
"If I could dance forever, that would be great," he said.
White also told Fault magazine that he became an actor through dancing. The actor said that his parents steered him in the direction of physical activities, like dance and sports, because of his restlessness.
"I danced for several years, I had a lot of energy and not a lot of focus as a kid," he said.
"I really liked dancing, I liked the performance of it," White added. "I found that I was able to focus while performing which is something that I found difficult to do especially as a child, even still to this day."
His celebrity crush is Natalie Portman.
Natalie Portman at the premiere of "May December" in November 2023. Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
"Forever it's been Natalie Portman," White told InStyle in a 2022 interview.
Sam Rockwell is one of his favorite actors.
Sam Rockwell in January 2020. Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Rockwell is known for roles in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," "Vice," and "Fosse/Verdon." He also played the villain named Justin Hammer in "Iron Man 2."
"I love Sam Rockwell, like, so much," White told Vulture in 2013. "I think he's one of the best actors acting right now, and I think he's incredibly underrated. And even though he's doing great roles and doing perfectly fine, I still think he should be given more sought-after roles. I just think he's the best."
White helped create Carmy's tattoos and developed backstories for the designs.
Jeremy Allen White on season two of "The Bear." FX
On "The Bear," Carmy has several tattoos along his arms and hands that are the result of a collaborative effort between White and his friend, Ben Shields, a tattoo artist.
In interviews with publications like Vulture and InStyle, White said that determining Carmy's tattoos with Shields helped him better understand his character.
Every tattoo seen on Carmy is intentional and symbolizes an aspect of his backstory. For example, the "773" tattoo on his left bicep is a nod to Chicago's area code. The design of a knife going through a hand is "a nice reminder of just how close Carmy is to ruining his life," White told InStyle.
The actor told GQ that he likes to think the two angels on his right arm are nods to Carmy's siblings, his late brother Michael and his sister Natalie.
Dakota Johnson is the godmother of his kids.
Dakota Johnson in November 2023. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
White shares two kids, daughters Ezer and Dolores, with ex-wife Addison Timlin. They got married during a courthouse wedding in October 2019, and Johnson was among the guests in attendance. She appears to be good friends with Timlin, who's also an actor, but it's unclear how they met.
Timlin gave Johnson a shout-out on Instagram in October 2021 in celebration of the "Fifty Shades of Grey" actor's birthday.
"Happy birthday to my bright and shiny and to Ezer and Dolly's godmother," Timlin captioned a black-and-white photo of Johnson holding one of her kids. "Here you are looking the most godmotherly of them all. We love you so much, thanks for being born and raising kids with me it's the best."