Sam Weir on "Freaks and Geeks"

John Daley plays Sam Weir, the geeky high school freshman trying to overcome the challenges that face most 14-year-olds who arrive at high school far less mature - both physically and socially - than the rest. Although he portrays an easy target for bullies on "Freaks and Geeks," in real life, Daley is no pushover, having studied Shaolin Kung-fu for six years and currently training for his second-degree black belt.

Daley is also one of the rare young actors who play a character that is older than themselves. He was cast in the role of Sam before ever starting his own high school experience. "John brings an unusual amount of maturity to his work," explains executive producer Judd Apatow. "Although he was playing someone older, he had a great sense of what Sam's experience would be like." Daley also was never worried about his youth getting in the way, just his health. "At the first audition, I was sick, I had no energy and I felt like I just wanted to get it over with," admits the teenager. "But when they called me back, I found out that they liked that I didn't try to over-do Sam's geekiness, so I continued to audition as myself, just feeling kind of subdued and low-key."

Acting comes naturally to Daley, whose parents are also performers. As a toddler he traveled regularly with his father, R.F. Daley, who was an actor with the national touring company of "Cats," and his mother, Nancy, a singer and pianist. At age 9, Daley impressed his parents when he won the title role in the live theater version of "Tommy" and traveled with his father, who was also in the cast, performing throughout the U.S. and Germany. His other credits include singing with Tony Bennett on the crooner's "The Playground" album and appearing in the independent film "Allerd Fishbein's in Love."

An honor roll student in his hometown, on the outskirts of New York City, Daley enjoys spending time with his friends, making home movies and writing songs, in addition to his martial arts. He is also a huge fan of Jackie Chan and Jim Carrey movies as well as Tom Clancy novels. His birthday is July 20, 1985.