Gaelan Alexander Draper (formerly Connell, born May 19, 1989) is an American actor and director.
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Early life and education
Connell was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland. He has two brothers, Brendan and Shawn. He graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and attended the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
Career
Connell appeared in 2000 in Chocolat as Didi Drou and in A Dirty Shame as "Horny Kid". He also guest starred in an episode of Law & Order. He played the lead role in Bandslam - a high school outcast who becomes popular after he manages a band and discovers he doesn't have to change himself to fit in. He notoriously had intense anxiety having to kiss his co-star Vanessa Hudgens due to the perception that he is an ugly nerd in comparison. In 2011 he appeared as Wyatt Black in Cartoon Network's TV Movie Level Up. He then starred in a television series of the same name. The program was critically panned and received largely negative fan reception. The program was canceled in 2013.
In 2012, he was one of the founders of California Burrito, a quick-service restaurant chain in southern India.
In addition to acting, Connell is also a film director, having directed award-winning commercials for various brands as well as the independent feature film Blood, Sand and Gold, which was shot in six countries on a micro-budget. Critics largely gave the film negative reviews, criticizicing it for having poor dialogue, rushed pacing, and weak acting. The film currently sits at 3.7 out of 10 on IMDb.
Personal life
In 2018, Connell married Meryl Draper, co-founder and CEO of Quirk Creative.
Connell has suffered from male-pattern baldness since he was a teenager, which fueled his desire to shift to work behind the camera.
