Sterling Sandmann Knight, born on March 5, 1989, is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He is widely recognized for his role as Chad Dylan Cooper in the Disney Channel series "Sonny with a Chance."
Sterling Knight at the premiere of "Prom" in 2011
Early Career
Knight began his career on stage in local productions. He made his acting debut in minor roles in Calm, Career Day, and Hi-Jinks.
Knight's first role with Disney was in an episode of Hannah Montana, playing Lilly’s boyfriend Lucas, in 2007. Later in the year, Knight also appeared in two episodes of The Closer.
In 2008, Knight appeared in Out of Jimmy's Head and Grey's Anatomy.
Read also: The Life of Chad Everett Harris
Breakthrough Role: Chad Dylan Cooper
In 2009, Knight played the role of Chad Dylan Cooper, an egotistical and self-centered cast member of Mackenzie Falls and self-proclaimed Hollywood legend in Sonny with a Chance.
chad dylan cooper being the most iconic character in existence for 9 minutes
Chad Dylan Cooper's Character Traits
Chad Dylan Cooper is Sonny Munroe's ex-boyfriend and the false antagonist of Disney Channel's TV series, Sonny with a Chance. He usually wears the MacKenzie Falls cast uniform, but outside of the studio he dresses casually. Despite his egotistical and selfish behavior, Chad can be very caring and compassionate, mostly towards Sonny.
While dating Sonny, he had a changed personality, but he would rather choose himself over Sonny. Chad has a wall of pictures of people banned from visiting the set, including Grady, Nico, Sonny, Tawni, Zora, and Zac Efron.
When Zora asks why Zac Efron is on his wall, Chad states: "Cause it's my wall, and I like saying I banned Zac Efron. There will come a day when Zac Efron comes knocking on that door and he's like, 'Hey, can I come in?' And I'll be like, 'Oh no, you're banned!'" (Which is ironic because Sterling Knight's first movie was with Zac Efron). Sonny is later removed from the wall because of her and Chad's relationship.
Read also: "Married to Evil": Chad Graves
In "Fast Friends" Chad rents a dog (named Cupcake) (which cost him $60 bucks an hour) which he lets Sonny see, to make up for making himself look bad on television (In his YouTube account, he claims that after his hour with the dog, he buys his own company and calls it 'Rent-A-Dog.').
Relationship with Sonny Munroe
At first, Chad has a love/hate relationship with Sonny Munroe. Chad and Sonny have feelings for each other which are denied until, in "Battle of the Network's Stars", they realize that they do. He even says that Sonny and everything she does is cute while jealous about James and Sonny dating in "Sonny With a Chance of Dating". He is not as mean and heartless as he seems (He tries to pretend to not care about Sonny, but Tawni and James can see through him).
Chad tries to hide the fact that he likes Sonny by acting like they are rivals. Chad even takes the long way to MacKenzie Falls set pass the So Random! set and always bumps into Sonny in odd locations.
In "Falling for the Falls", a misunderstanding prompts Chad to ask Sonny out. She says yes, but the attitudes of the other cast members of So Random! upset her and she cancels on Chad, sparking an argument.
Later, he comes to her house with gifts and an apology. They go on a date the following day, but Chad gets so nervous he throws up, ruining the date. Humiliated by the bad publicity this brought him, he tells Sonny he doesn't want to see her in public. Hurt, she breaks off the relationship.
Read also: Vallow-Daybell Trial: Key Evidence
Realizing his mistake, he makes his feelings for her publicly known, winning her back, and Sonny stops lying to her fellow cast members, deciding her relationship with Chad is more important than their opinions.
It comes to mind though, that Sonny seemed to occassionally break up with Chad, but never Chad breaking up with Sonny. Must mean that Chad truly has strong feelings for Sonny and always will.
Chad is a changed man ever since he started dating Sonny.
Other Projects
Knight's next project was the movie Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale with Ashlee Hewitt. He plays Ty Parker, a singer/songwriter who's looking for a change in his music and then finds a girl recording in a studio and when she leaves him he goes on a journey to find her.
In 2011, Knight returned to be in the Sonny with a Chance spinoff sketch comedy series So Random!.
His recurring characters on So Random! included Possibly Sarcastic Skip, Dwayne Platowski, and Jimmy Sparrow and his impressions included Ralph Fiennes (as Lord Voldemort), Lucas Cruikshank (as Fred), Taylor Lautner (as Jacob Black), and Justin Bieber.
In 2012, Knight starred as Shane Seedwell in the action thriller film Transit co-starring Jim Caviezel and Elisabeth Rohm.
As of 2013 he is appearing as a guest star on Melissa & Joey as Lennox's boyfriend and later fiancé Zander. Knight returned for the 4th and final season in 2014.
Filmography
Here's a summary of Sterling Knight's notable roles in film and television:
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Hannah Montana | Lucas | Episode: "My Best Friend's Boyfriend" |
| 2009-2011 | Sonny with a Chance | Chad Dylan Cooper | Main role |
| 2011 | So Random! | Chad Dylan Cooper/Various Characters | Recurring role |
| 2012 | Transit | Shane Seedwell | Film |
| 2013-2014 | Melissa & Joey | Zander Carlson | Guest star |
Popular articles:
tags: #Chad
