Born on April 2, 1988 in Dallas, TX, Plemons had an early start as an actor, making his debut at age 3 in a Coca Cola commercial that was booked through an open casting call. He landed the role because he met both job requirements – he wore a cowboy hat and he knew how to work a lasso. While his cowboy qualities helped Plemons get acting jobs, some casting directors thought they were a detriment, prompting the young actor to spend most of his life trying to lose his Texas twang. Ironically, one of Plemons’ first big screen jobs was “Varsity Blues” (1999), a football drama set in a small Texas town. In 2001, Plemons had a guest-starring role on “The Guardian” (CBS, 2001–04), which earned him a Young Artist Award nomination. Soon enough the jobs were rolling in. He played the young version of Matt Damon’s character in “All the Pretty Horses” (2000), acted alongside rapper Bow Wow in “Like Mike” (2002) and appeared in episodes of “Judging Amy” (CBS, 1999-2005) and “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC, 2005– ).
Plemons graduated from Texas Tech University Independent School District in 2007. Free to make his own way, Plemons landed on “Friday Night Lights,” which allowed him to keep his accent and stay close to home. He was just one of two actors on the show who were local Texans – the other was Brad Leland who played Buddy Garrity. “Friday Night Lights” was a critically-acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning show that followed the Dillon Panthers, a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, TX. It focused on several issues facing contemporary teenagers in Middle America, from rape to teen pregnancy to drug use. Despite the show’s somber themes, Plemons’ character provided some necessary comic relief. In an interview, the actor talked about his Members Only jacket-wearing, Christian speed metal-playing character: “He doesn’t fit into a stereotype,” Plemons said. “That’s what makes him really interesting to play. He doesn’t understand what all the hype is about football. But slowly but surely he gets drawn into it.” Meanwhile, in 2009, Plemons branched out from television into the independent film world, playing a pot dealer named Jesus in the low-budget comedy, “Shrink.”