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"It's not the size of the dreamer, it's the size of the dream." It's the motto that Josh lived by while making his dreams come true.
Josh, 3' 2", was diagnosed at an early age with a rare disease that prevented his body from maturing-Achondroplasia. It's a genetic condition, a form of congenital dwarfism, that restricts cartilage growth and physical development.
Josh has turned his size into an asset. His features give him the opportunity to play both adult and child roles and be believable as both. When Josh was 12, without his parents knowledge, he distributed business cards that he had created which said, "Joshua Ryan Evans--kid". He gave these cards to local performers, directors, and producers. A Hollywood agent recognized Josh's enthusiasm and perseverance and signed him to a contract.
In USA Today, May 19, 2000, Josh was quoted as saying, "My size is an asset to me. People write roles for me. If I was just another blond-haired, brown-eyed, 18 year old actor, I'd be left unrecognized. People remember me."
On Acting:
"I always knew I wanted to be a character in the movies," Josh explains, " When I was growing up, I had to have a lot of surgery, and I spent a lot of time recovering at home and in the hospital. Watching movies took me away from my own problems and gave me a total escape." Josh remembers seeing the "Star Wars" films for the first time and being transported. "I was doing the light sabers and I was on the Death Star. I knew that if I could do that for just one person, that if I could help one person escape the way the movies helped me, that would be a great way to spend my life."
Career:
Josh started out doing commercials. His first part in a commercial was for Dreyer's/Edy's Ice Cream as a "Dancing Baby". Director Bob Giraldi, a veteran of music videos only needed Josh to do a moonwalk, but redesigned the commercial after watching Josh demonstrate his dancing abilities in rehearsal. The commercial won a Chloe award, and Josh found himself guest-starring on an episode of "Family Matters" and cast in numerous commercials.
In 1996, Josh guest starred on the Fox show "7th Heaven". He also had a guest star role in the series "Poltergeist: The Legacy".
Josh went on to play a child prodigy lawyer Oren Koolie, on the Fox hit "Ally McBeal". "Oren" butted heads with "Ally" in the show's first season. Josh then appeared in a second episode in the second season. "Oren's" last line to "Ally" was "Until we meet again."
Josh then landed a role in the Columbia Pictures feature "Baby Geniuses" (1999). He was the stunt double whose body was shown during the baby dancing scenes where he did all the dancing and they then put the actual actor who played the baby's head on the body!
Josh starred in the acclaimed A&E miniseries "P.T. Barnum", playing Tom Thumb in 1999.
Josh starred in "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas" (2000) as the "Grinch" when he was young. Josh got the part after meeting with director Ron Howard, who was eager to find a unique role for Josh. Josh has also done voice-overs doing several voices on the Nickelodeon series "Rugrats" and "Hey Arnold".
Josh has starred on the NBC soap opera "Passions" since the show debuted in 1999. Josh plays "Timmy", a doll come to life in the strange town of Harmony, who belongs to a witch named Tabitha (played by Juliet Mills). "Timmy seems older than a little boy, he has intelligence beyond his years, but he's still naive to the world around him. He can be scared and afraid like a little boy, and drinks lots of "martimmys". He's like a Walter Mitty character, he has really hilarious fantasies", relates Josh of his character. "Timmy" has been mentioned on "Buffy" and "West Wing" and Michael Logan of TV Guide calls Josh's Timmy a "pop cultural icon in the making".
Josh's bio was taken from his Official Site |
