American actor Tyler Blackburn rose to fame for his portrayal of Caleb Rivers in the hit teen drama, Pretty Little Liars. Hailing from California, he first appeared on television in 2004 as a minor character in the Nickelodeon sitcom, Unfabulous (2005). From there, he appeared in the films, The Doers of Coming Deeds (2006), Next of Kin (2008), before landing his first recurring role on TV in the long-running soap opera, Days of Our Lives (2010).
Born on October 12, 1986 in California, Tyler Blackburn was raised in the city of Burbank with his four siblings; he is of Chinese, English, Czech, Welsh, and Swedish descent. As it happened, he had caught the acting bug after taking a few drama classes in high school. Deciding that was what he wanted to do in life, he later enrolled himself in acting lessons once a week in Hollywood. From there, he eventually met an agent who encouraged him to audition for his first role.
In 2005, Blackburn made his television debut in the teen sitcom, Unfabulous which aired on Nickelodeon. Continuing to audition for various roles, the aspiring actor later made his movie debut in the short film, The Doers of Coming Deeds (2006) alongside Jason Gerhardt, and Steve Holm. Following that, he appeared in the motion picture, Next of Kin (2008) before making a brief appearance in the CBS police procedural, Cold Case (2009).
A year later, he received a small break after landing a recurring role in the popular daytime soap opera, Days of Our Lives (2010). Regarding his time on the show, Blackburn explained that the most difficult part was “only [getting] one take per scene.” Playing alongside dozens of other actors, he portrayed the part of a computer hacker named Ian McAllister. His first noteworthy role on television, it had garnered him some degree of attention in the show biz.
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How Tyler Blackburn Became Famous
Then in 2011, he shot to fame after being cast as one of the main characters in the crime thriller, Pretty Little Liars. Based on a book series by Sara Shepard, it centered around four friends who must band together against an anonymous individual who threatens to reveal their greatest secrets. His breakthrough role, Blackburn played the part of Caleb Rivers- a professional hacker who is also the boyfriend of Hanna Marin, one of said friends. Other members of the main cast include Troian Bellisario, Holly Marie Combs, Ashley Benson, Ian Harding, and Lucy Hail, among others.
Premiered on June 8, 2010 in Freeform, Pretty Little Liars proved to be relatively popular, with an average viewership of 2.87 million during the first season. As expected from a hit series, it ran for several subsequent seasons; after a 160-episode run, the mystery drama came to an end in June 2017. Altogether, Blackburn had appeared as Caleb Rivers in 101 episodes, over the span of six years (2011-2017).
Easily his best remembered performance on television, his portrayal of Caleb Rivers earned him three Teen Choice Awards for the category of Choice TV Chemistry (shared with Ashley Benson) and Choice Summer TV Star.
Tyler Blackburn’s Other TV and Film Roles
In 2013, Blackburn started to reprise his role as Caleb River in the teen drama, Ravenswood, a spin-off of Pretty Little Liars. Created by Joseph Dougherty, I. Marlene King, and Oliver Goldstick, the story revolved around five strangers who are connected by an alleged curse. Aside from the actor, the series’ cast also consisted of Nicole Gale Anderson, Brett Dier, Steven Cabral, and Britne Oldford.
Released on October 22, 2013 on ABC Family, the pilot episode drew in 2.12 million viewers. Though not as popular as its parent series, Ravenswood still managed to maintain a steady viewership of one million throughout its run. His second time playing a lead character on TV, it remains to be his most recent appearance on television.
As far as film appearances go, the California native has played a few supporting roles here and there on screen. For instance, he has partaken in the movies The Tudor Tutor (2010), Peach Plum Pear (2011), Hiding (2012), and You & Me (2013).
Most recently last year, Blackburn co-starred in the drama film, Love is All You Need?, directed by K. Rocco Shields. Released via iTunes on November 24, 2016 after premiering at the Cinquest Film Festival earlier that year, it saw him playing the role of Ryan, a journalist who finds himself becoming romantically involved with a female quarterback (played by Briana Evigan).
Tyler Blackburn’s Other Acting Roles
In 2011, around the same time as Pretty Little Liars, he starred as Peter in the web-series, Wendy. A fantasy drama, it revolved around a young woman named Wendy (played by Meaghan Martin) who starts dreaming of a boy following the disappearance of her two younger brothers. For his portrayal as Peter, Blackburn later received a Jury Award nomination for Best Actor in a Drama Series at the LA Web Festival.
Awards Received by Tyler Blackburn
As mentioned earlier, his performance in Pretty Little Liars had garnered him a handful of industry awards. In 2014, he received his first Teen Choice Award win for Choice Summer TV Star. From there, he eventually received two additional Teen Choice Awards (among three nominations) for Choice Summer TV Star and Choice TV Chemistry, the last of which he shared with his co-star Ashley Benson.
Tyler Blackburn’s Snapchat Name – thetblackburn
Luckily for us fans, Tyler Blackburn is on Snapchat! If you’d like to follow him on the app, you can do so by clicking here.
Tyler Blackburn’s Other Social Media Accounts
Tyler Blackburn’s Facebook Account
If you’d like to follow the Pretty Little Liars star on Facebook, go on over and give his official page a like at @OfficialTylerBlackburn.
Tyler Blackburn’s Twitter Account
Want to stay atop of what’s going on with the actor? Why not follow Tyler Blackburn on Twitter? You can find him on the site at @tylerblackburn.
Tyler Blackburn’s Instagram Account
You can add the TV star on Instagram at @tylerjblackburn, where he’s already got over 6.5 million followers!
Tyler Blackburn’s Youtube Account
For now, it does not look like Tyler Blackburn is active on Youtube. We’ll keep you updated.
