--- name: "John Robinson" canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-robinson" fi1m_id: "john-robinson" imdb_id: "nm1440281" tmdb_id: 19197 wikidata_id: "Q1339579" roles: ["Actor"] born: "25 October 1985" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 69 average_as: "actor" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-10-05T04:50:43.156607+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # John Robinson ## Identity John Robinson - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/john-robinson - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** john-robinson - **IMDb ID:** nm1440281 - **TMDB ID:** 19197 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1339579 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Robinson_(American_actor), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1339579, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1440281/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/19197 Actor. Born 25 October 1985 in Portland, Oregon, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 25 October 1985, Portland, Oregon, USA - **Active:** 2003–present - **Also known as:** 존 로빈슨 - **Frequently works with:** [Gus Van Sant](https://film.one/person/gus-van-sant.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 69, as actor, over 3 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 69 (2), 2020s 70 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 69 to 68 across 3 titles - **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 2 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Crime 2, Drama 2, Action 1, Adventure 1, Science Fiction 1, Thriller 1 - **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $722m across 3 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Robinson_(American_actor), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1339579, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1440281/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/19197 ## Streaming the US now - **Netflix:** [*Dead Man's Wire*](https://film.one/film/dead-mans-wire.md) (70) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on John Robinson > John Robinson makes awkward, half-prepared conversation worth listening to. We rate the unshowy presence he brings to *Elephant*, while its stiffer moments suggest how much this sort of naturalism needs a patient director. John Robinson's exchanges in *Elephant* (2003) have the hesitations of someone who has not rehearsed a speech for our benefit. As John McFarland, he belongs to a group of pupils whom Gus Van Sant allows considerable room. We grew fond of them because their improvised conversations made them seem like people with something other than the film's concerns on their minds. Robinson is worth watching here for how little he appears to insist on being watched. He began with that lead role after an open casting call, then played Stacy Peralta in *Lords of Dogtown* (2005), where skateboarding called for physical commitment as well as sincerity. A supporting part in *Transformers* (2007) followed, while *Wendy and Lucy* (2008) placed him opposite Michelle Williams in an independent drama. This was not a steady progression towards studio leads; independent films and supporting work have made up much of the career. Those parts suit an actor whose most persuasive quality is making ordinary young men seem worth our attention. The caution is in *Elephant* too: natural speech can sound stiff when a scene has not quite found its rhythm. We do not need to pretend every improvised exchange works to value what Robinson and his fellow actors bring. Van Sant gives an ensemble including Elias McConnell and Kristen Hicks space for that unevenness, and the pupils benefit from not sounding alike. A director less willing to wait through an awkward conversation might leave much less for Robinson to do. His work through the 2010s and 2020s has remained largely in independent films, with occasional television, and he returns to Van Sant in *Dead Man's Wire* (2026). We recommend that tight, funny siege film chiefly for Bill Skarsgård. For Robinson, begin with *Elephant*, and allow the conversations to find their own pace. ## Biography John Robinson is an American actor. He was born on 25 October 1985 in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from the Oregon Episcopal School in 2005. Robinson made his screen debut in Gus Van Sant's *Elephant* (2003) as John McFarland. He later portrayed skateboarder Stacy Peralta in *Lords of Dogtown* (2005). His other film roles include Miles in *Transformers* (2007) and Andy in *Wendy and Lucy* (2008). In 2025 he appeared as John in *Dead Man's Wire*. Robinson has also worked in modelling and played lacrosse at school. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *Dead Man's Wire* (2026), Fi1m 70, as John — [page](https://film.one/film/dead-mans-wire.md) - *Transformers* (2007), Fi1m 57, as Miles — [page](https://film.one/film/transformers.md) - *Elephant* (2003), Fi1m 81, as John McFarland — [page](https://film.one/film/elephant.md) ## Complete filmography (42) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Dead Man's Wire* (2026), as John — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/dead-mans-wire.md) - *In the Mud* (2025), as Lewis - *Niki* (2024), as Harry Matthews - *Funny Birds* (2024), as Sebastian - *Alone at Night* (2023), as Handyman - *Le fil* (2023), Actor - *The House* (2022), as Mark - *On the Line* (2022), as Mad Man - *Dark Stories to Survive the Night* (2019), as Matthew - *Billboard* (2019), as Casey - *Avenues* (2019), as Richard - *The Amityville Murders* (2018), as Ronald 'Butch' DeFeo Jr. - *The Cellar* (2018), as Marek - *Cut Off* (2018), as Clive Stone - *Alcoholist* (2017), as Trevor - *Room 105* (2016), as Mike - *Intruder* (2016), as John - *Sky* (2016), as Night Biker - *Hot Bot* (2016), as Rodney - *There Is a New World Somewhere* (2015), as Ethan - *Forbidden Kiss* (2014), as Jake - *Something Wicked* (2014), as James Campbell - *Boys of Abu Ghraib* (2014), as Ryan Fox - *Looking* (2014), series, as Liam - *Fire City: King of Miseries* (2013), as Christopher - *She Loves Me Not* (2013), as Dusty - *186 Dollars to Freedom* (2012), as Wayne - *The Napkin* (2012), as John · Story - *Homecoming* (2011), as Derrick - *Fault Line* (2009), Actor - *Wendy and Lucy* (2008), as Andy - *Remember the Daze* (2008), as Bailey - *Transformers* (2007), as Miles — Fi1m 57, [page](https://film.one/film/transformers.md) - *Seraphim Falls* (2007), as Kid - *.45* (2006), as Cop #1 - *Lords of Dogtown* (2005), as Stacy - *Feed* (2005), Makeup Effects - *The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things* (2004), as Aaron - *Elephant* (2003), as John McFarland — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/elephant.md) - *Law & Order* (1990), series, as Dr. Andrews — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md) - *Lake Mead*, as Ranger John - *La symphonie du sens*, Actor ## Gallery - ![John Robinson](https://film.one/media/person/7389/gallery-5617a9220217.jpg) John Robinson — LucaFazPhoto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/John_Robinson_at_82nd_Venice_International_Film_Festival-1.jpg/1280px-John_Robinson_at_82nd_Venice_International_Film_Festival-1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![John Robinson](https://film.one/media/person/7389/gallery-c154688ef460.jpg) John Robinson — Image via TMDB - ![John Robinson](https://film.one/media/person/7389/gallery-f7227bbf3b41.jpg) John Robinson — Image via TMDB - ![John Robinson](https://film.one/media/person/7389/gallery-bd7aec422711.jpg) John Robinson — Image via TMDB --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/john-robinson