Max Adler

Max Adler (born January 17, 1986) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dave Karofsky on the television series Glee (2009–2015).

Early life Adler was born to a Jewish family in Queens, New York, the eldest son of Lisa (née Kobrin) and Doug Adler. A year after Adler was born, his family relocated to Fountain Hills, Arizona, then to Scottsdale, Arizona. Adler attended Horizon High School, where he was a First Chair All-State show choir member. After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. Adler has a younger brother named Jake, born in 1992. Glee creator Ryan Murphy was impressed with his acting and wanted to write more with him. In the November 2010 episode "Never Been Kissed", written to tackle the issue of LGBT youth bullying, Karofsky is revealed to be a closeted gay teen. Adler had previously questioned his character's motivations, but was surprised by the scene in which Karofsky kisses the object of his bullying, openly gay student Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer). He received a positive response via the social networking websites Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook, and commented that he was "glad to represent such a large group of people". He expanded on this, saying, "I've gotten so many messages from people all around the world these last couple of days thanking me because either they are Karofsky, they were Karofsky or they know a Karofsky."

From 2014 to 2017, Adler had a recurring role as Tank, Bay's college friend on Switched at Birth.

In 2014, Adler played the role of Baker in the religious satire Believe Me.

Activism Following the Glee episode "Never Been Kissed", Adler was contacted by the It Gets Better Project, an internet based project founded by Dan Savage and his husband, Terry Miller, which aims to prevent suicide among LGBT youth. Adler recorded a heartfelt video for the project, offering words of hope and encouragement for kids and teens facing bullying due to their sexual orientation. Through playing one of the most well-known bullies on television, Adler offers viewers insight and advice, telling viewers, "most bullies are extremely insecure, and want to knock you down a peg to feel better about themselves. So, being who you are is what's awesome. It's what makes you special, interesting, fun to talk to, [and] desirable."

On November 15, 2010, Adler spoke at the Anti-Defamation League Concert Against Hate at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Adler has also worked with the FSHD Society and MDA to help raise awareness for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) and other hereditary muscle diseases. Adler's mother and grandmother suffered from relatively severe forms of FSHD. Because of the support that his mother gave him in becoming an actor, he feels that devoting time to raising money for MDA is a way for him to return the favor to her.

Adler, under "Team Max" is the host of the Celebrity Charity Walk 'n' Roll for FSHD to help raise funds directly for research of FSHD, one of the most prevalent muscular dystrophies. The walk is for the benefit of the FSHD Society, which is the largest grassroots organization of its kind solely dedicated to finding a treatment or cure for FSHD.

Personal life In 2012, Adler became engaged to his longtime girlfriend Jennifer Bronstein; he proposed while they were visiting Rome. They were married on December 19, 2015. On March 27, 2020, the couple welcomed their first child.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2015 Girls Rule Himself Short Film 2016 Winterball Himself 2012 Sweet Old World Groom #3 Detention of the Dead Jimmy 2013 Love and Honor Burns 23 Blast Cameron Marshall 2014 Saugatuck Cures Drew Callaghan Believe Me Baker 2016 Simmons Café Society Walt Uncredited The Binding David Sully Jimmy Stefanik 2017 Wolf Town Ben Mope Chris 2018 Fishbowl California Billy Kobrin Snapshots Joe Muller 2019 Radioflash Police Officer 2020 The Trial of the Chicago 7 Officer Stan Wojohowski 2023 Scrambled Ron

Television Year Title Role Notes 2006 What About Brian Frat guy #1 Episode: "What About Denial..." 2006 Ghost Whisperer Craig Episode: "Giving Up the Ghost" 2007 Viva Laughlin Chuck Episode: "What a Whale Wants" 2009 Valley Peaks Anderson Lord Guthrie Web series; 3 episodes 2009 Cold Case Rookie (1994) Episode: "Into the Blue" (uncredited) 2009–2015 Glee Dave Karofsky 29 episodes 2010 Robert Church Episode: "Pilot" 2011 Himself (guest judge/mentor) 2 episodes 2012 Last Resort Stern Episode: "Captain" 2013 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Kyle Banks Episode: "Passed Pawns" 2014 Celebrity Ghost Stories Himself Episode: "Pam Grier, David Otunga, Max Adler, Golden Brooks" 2014–2017 Switched at Birth Miles "Tank" Conroy 21 episodes 2015 Blue Bloods Andy Fisher Episode: "Power Players" 2015 Zombie Episode: "The Intimacy Acceleration" 2016 Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life Tommy Hench Episode: "How to Survive Your Emotional Baggage" 2016 Rizzoli & Isles Steve Browning Episode: "Ocean Frank" 2017 Bones Randy Stringer Episode: "The Final Chapter: The Brain in the Bot" 2017 Jesse Smith 7 episodes 2017 Corporal Steven Mason Episode: "Turbulence" 2018 Criminal Minds Assistant Chief Jimmy Mackenzie Episode: "Full-Tilt Boogie" 2018–2023 Hotness / Jaco Birch 5 episodes 2018 Famous in Love Derek Bagotti Episode: "Reality Bites Back" 2018 Mom Officer Terry Blankenship Episode: "Phone Confetti and a Wee Dingle" 2018 Into the Dark Officer Freer Episode: "The Body" 2019 Shameless Eric Episode: "The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Alibi" 2019 9-1-1 Sam Episode: "Ocean's 9-1-1" 2019 The Filth Jake Douglas Episode: "Filthy Bro Day" 2020 The Rookie Cisco Fane Episode: "The Hunt" 2021 NCIS Luke Stana Episode: "Watchdog" 2021 All RiseDeputy Sheriff JacobsEpisode: "Forgive Us Our Trespasses" 2022 The Guardians of Justice Samson Steel 7 episodes 2026 The Pitt Ralph Episode: "5:00 P.M."