If you were watching ABC on Thursday nights in 2004, you probably remember the face. Sean Faris had that specific kind of mid-2000s look—the jagged jawline, the intense eyes, and a striking resemblance to a young Tom Cruise that he honestly couldn't shake if he tried. But for a specific subset of TV fans, he wasn't just another pretty face in a teen drama. He was Dino Whitman.
The show was Life as We Know It. It was messy, it was crude, and it was canceled way too soon.
Looking back from 2026, the show feels like a time capsule of a very specific era in television history. It was a bridge between the earnestness of Dawson's Creek and the glossy chaos of Gossip Girl. At the center of it all was Faris, playing a high school hockey star whose life was basically imploding in slow motion.
The Show That Almost Was
Most people think teen dramas are all about the romance. Life as We Know It was different. Based on the British novel Doing It by Melvin Burgess, it focused on three guys—Dino (Faris), Ben (Jon Foster), and Jonathan (Chris Lowell). It was gritty. It dealt with sex in a way that made network executives sweat.
Dino Whitman was the "golden boy," but Faris played him with this underlying frantic energy. His parents’ marriage was falling apart because his mom was having an affair with his hockey coach. Yeah, it was heavy.
Why did it get canceled? Honestly, it was just bad timing. It aired against CSI and The O.C. ratings powerhouses. ABC pulled the plug after only 11 episodes aired, though 13 were produced. It became one of those "gone too soon" cult classics that people still hunt for on DVD or buried deep in streaming libraries.
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Life After the Cancellation
After the show ended, everyone expected Faris to become the next massive A-list movie star. He had the "it" factor. And for a while, it looked like it was happening.
- Never Back Down (2008): This was his massive breakout. He played Jake Tyler, a kid who moves to Florida and gets sucked into the world of underground MMA. It won him an MTV Movie Award. He did his own stunts. He got ripped. It was a whole thing.
- The TV Circuit: You've probably spotted him in The Vampire Diaries as Ben McKittrick or in Pretty Little Liars as Detective Gabriel Holbrook.
- Forever Strong: Another sports drama where he played a rugby player. He really cornered the market on "troubled athlete with a heart of gold."
But Hollywood is weird. It’s not always a straight line up. Faris didn't become the next Tom Cruise, but he stayed busy. He moved into producing. He did indie films like Adulterers and Gangster Land. He found a lane and he stayed in it.
Where is Sean Faris Now?
By the time we hit the mid-2020s, Faris had shifted his focus. He’s now a husband and a father. He married actress Cherie Daly in 2017—fun fact: they actually got married at Burning Man. If that doesn't tell you he’s moved away from the traditional Hollywood "machine," I don't know what will.
He’s 43 now. He still acts, but he’s more selective. He’s active on social media, often sharing shots of his outdoor adventures or family life. There’s a groundedness to him that you don't always see in child stars or teen idols. He survived the "heartthrob" era with his sanity intact.
The "Tom Cruise" Comparisons
We have to talk about it. Early in his career, every single interview mentioned his resemblance to Cruise. It was a blessing and a curse. It got him in the door, but it also meant he was constantly compared to a legend.
In Life as We Know It, you can see him leaning into that intensity. But as he got older, he developed his own style. He’s more rugged, a bit more "everyman" than the polished superstars of the 90s. Honestly, he seems happier being a working actor than a tabloid fixture.
Why We Still Talk About Him
There’s a nostalgia for the mid-2000s right now. Everything old is new again. Shows like Life as We Know It are being rediscovered by Gen Z on TikTok and Reddit. They see the raw honesty that Faris brought to Dino Whitman and realize that teen shows used to be allowed to be "ugly" and real.
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Faris represents a specific moment in pop culture. He was the guy on the posters in every teenage girl's bedroom circa 2005. But more than that, he was a talented actor who gave a voice to the confusion of being a teenage guy.
How to Revisit the Sean Faris Catalog
If you're looking to dive back into his work, here’s the best way to do it:
- Track down the Life as We Know It DVDs. They aren't always easy to stream due to music licensing issues (a common problem for mid-2000s shows), but the physical copies often have great behind-the-scenes stuff with Faris and the cast.
- Watch Never Back Down for the pure 2000s energy. It’s the peak of the MMA-movie trend and shows off his physical commitment to his roles.
- Check out his guest arcs. His time on Pretty Little Liars shows a more mature, darker side of his acting that deviates from the "jock" persona he started with.
The career of Sean Faris is a lesson in longevity. You don't have to be the biggest star in the world to have a meaningful impact on the industry. Sometimes, being the lead of a "canceled too soon" show is enough to cement your place in TV history.