Oliver Hudson Biography

Oliver Rutledge Hudson was born on September 7, 1976 in Los Angeles, USA. His mother, Goldie Jeanne Hawn, is an Academy Award winning actress, while his father, William Louis Hudson Jr., is a singer, who co-founded and sang in the music band, The Hudson Brothers. William also had a brief acting career.

Born elder of his parents’ two children, he has a younger sister, actress Kate Garry Hudson, born in 1979.  Eighteen months after her birth, their parents were separated and eventually got divorced in 1982. Thereafter, they had very little interaction with their biological father.

The children were raised in Colorado by their mother and her longtime partner, actor Kurt Russell, who quickly became father to them. Remembering their relationship, Oliver later said, ”Blood relatives often have nothing to do with family… you can love someone like your father, even if he's not your biological father.”

From his mothers union with Russell, he has a half-brother, actor and former hockey player, Wyatt Hawn Russell, born in 1986. From William’s marriage to actress Cindy Williams, he has two half-siblings: Emily and Zachary and from another of his relationships a half-sister called Lalania.

He had his schooling at Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences in Santa Monica. Later, he entered University of Southern California, from where he graduated with a B.A degree in Theatre and Art.

Despite being raised by two celebrities, Oliver had a normal childhood, going on road trips with his family, enjoying every moment of it. He also loved to play hockey and showed great potential in it.

Just like any other child, he too had his share of pranks. Once in his high school, he was taken into custody for accidentally shooting a group of adults with fully-loaded paintball guns.  While Russell got him away, he made Oliver shoot up his car with a paintball gun as punishment.

Possibly in 1996, Oliver Hudson began his career as a production assistant for Executive Decision, an action film starred by his father, Kurt Russell. Later he served in the same capacity in two other films, Father’s Day and Conspiracy Theory, both of which were released in 1997.

While he worked by day, his nights were spent in making short films. Later, he also began to attend acting classes, where he was spotted by a talent scout. Soon, he started appearing for auditions.

In 1999, he debuted as an actor with a small role in Kill the Man, a comedy film released on January 24. In the following April, he had his second film, The Out-of-Towners, released, appearing in it as Alan Clark while his real-life mother starred in the film as Nancy Clark.

His third film, The Smokers, was released in March 2000, which was followed in August by Rocket's Red Glare. Continuing to perform in supporting roles, he appeared as Ziegler in Going Geek in 2001 and as Josh in New Best Friend in 2002.

In March 2002, he debuted on television, starring as Jace Darnell in eleven episodes of My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star. Based on The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star, the sitcom had to be taken off the air after five episodes because of bad reviews.

Undaunted by the failure, he continued to act, appearing in the recurring role of Eddie Doling in sixteen episodes of Dawson's Creek in its sixth season (2002-2003), playing the love interest of Joey Potter, one of the main characters of the series. Also in 2003, he had his seventh film, As Virgins Fall, released.

In 2004, he appeared in the star role of David Carver Jr. in all the thirteen episodes of the WB Television drama series The Mountain. It too failed to kick-start his career.

In 2006, he had two feature films released, starring as John in The Breed and as Kyle Autry in Black Christmas. Also in the same year, he appeared in a supporting role in the television film 10.5: Apocalypse.

After Black Christmas, Hudson concentrated mostly on television, releasing only four feature films until 2018. They were: Strange Wilderness (2008), Grown Ups 2 (2013), Walk of Shame (2014), and The Christmas Chronicles (2018). Later in 2021, he appeared in a voice role in an adult animated superhero film called Injustice.

In February 2007, he had another television movie, Carolina Moon, released, appearing in it in the star role of Cade Lavelle. Around the same time, he embarked on his most important work, appearing as Adam Rhodes in the CBS comedy series Rules of Engagement, which ran for seven straight seasons.

Premiering on February 6, 2007, Rules of Engagement ended on May 20, 2013. Then again from September 25, 2013, he started appearing in the recurring role of Jeff Fordham, a sleazy and ruthless record executive, in the second season of the ABC soap opera, Nashville.

In 2014, his character in Nashville season three was promoted to regular role. But when in 2015 he took a series-regular role in the Fox’s black comedy series Scream Queens, his character in Nashville was switched back to recurring status, eventually being killed off sometime in October 2015.

He worked in Scream Queens for two seasons (2015-2016), appearing in the main role of Weston "Wes" Gardner in season one and in recurring role in season two. Thereafter, he underwent a lean period before being chosen to play Martin, the main character, in twenty-six episodes of the ABC sitcom, Splitting Up Together (2018-2019).

Since January 2022, he has been starring as Garrett Miller, an FBI agent, in the crime drama television series The Cleaning Lady. Currently, he is also working on The Three of Us, playing Will (main role) in it.

Oliver Hudson is possibly best known for his work in Rules of Engagement, appearing in 100 episodes through its seven seasons.  In this sitcom, he plays Adam Rhodes, a sensitive and well-meaning, but extremely naïve person, who eventually marries his love interest in the series final.

In 2001, Oliver Hudson earned a Teen Choice Award for his role in the comedy film, Going Geek.

On June 9, 2006, Hudson married actress Erinn Bartlett in a ceremony officiated by Buddhist monks. The couple has three children: two sons, Wilder Brooks (2007 born) and Bodhi Hawn (2010 born) and a daughter, Rio Laura (2013 born).