Taking His Career to Warp Speed
by Stephanie Elgin
He seems like your typical soccer playing, track running 16-year-old who likes to hang out with his friends and go to the movies. But Santa Clarita resident, Cody Klop has a list of television and film credits to add to his credentials, making him far above your average teen.
Cody was only six when he began acting. “I was taking a karate class in a studio and a talent scout looked through the window and noticed me,” states Cody. “He asked my mom if we could try it out. After a little research, we headed to Studio City to meet our future agent Osbrink, and that’s pretty much when it all began.”
Cody’s first gig was a commercial for the popular toy animal, Pound Puppies. “The funny thing was I was six-years-old. All I had to do was play around with a Pound Puppy. How easy was that?” states Cody.
As an actor, Cody has since appeared on television shows such as The King of Queens, playing Frederick, Zoey 101, and a few episodes of Mad TV, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Showtime’s drama series, Weeds.
Cody has also supplied numerous voice-overs for films like Peter Pan, The Polar Express, Kicking and Screaming, Final Destination 3, You Me and Dupree, Blades of Glory and Good Luck Chuck to name a few.
One of Cody’s career highlights came when he appeared as a Vulcan bully in the 2009 film Star Trek. “The set was incredible!” stated an overjoyed Cody. “I went to audition and it was crazy. There were a bunch of kids, and I had no idea I was going to get the part, but I did. I was on top of the moon!” After being fitted for the perfect Vulcan ears, Cody spent some time on the set with the actors. “All the people were really nice. The director, J.J. Abrams, was amazingly awesome. They even invited me to their winter party after we filmed!”
Recently, Cody was lucky to be taken by his new manager, Susan Curtis, who helped him land his latest gig as Greg Pikitis in an episode of NBC television series Parks and Recreation. “Everyone in the cast was so nice. I especially liked Chris Pratt, who plays Andy Dwyer on the show. He’s a really good actor and he’s down to earth. I admire that,” states Cody. Last month, Cody finished filming on the HBO series, Big Love. “I played the unruly son of Don, and I had a blast!”
So how does this 16 year-old manage all this fun of his career while attending West Ranch High School? “Well,” states Cody, “I already finished my G.E.D. but I’m still going to school to keep up the work. I find it easy to hit the books on my own, and in the future I plan to go to college and major in acting and directing and minor in business.”
In the meantime, when he’s not acting or hitting the books, Cody spends his time playing soccer for the junior varsity team at West Ranch and breaking records on his track team. Whether it’s soccer or track, acting is still first and foremost a huge part of this budding star. “It takes a lot of determination, time and effort. You can’t just expect to be famous. You have to take classes and learn, just like any other job. I’ve been acting for 10 years and I’m still learning.”
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