Born in New Orleans, John has a ballet instructor as a mother and a federal agent as a father giving him a diverse upbringing as his family moved around the country from New Mexico, Mississippi, and finally to Puerto Rico. From there John started making under water videos with his brother, Joseph Swider who is also a gifted actor and psychiatrist. Having served as a combat medic out of high school in the US Army National Guard, John went on to study philosophy in a Masters program while acting in student films. He then moved to Washington, DC where he was a public speaker for many years. A friend suggested he join him on the set of 'Syriana' where he got to work with 'Christopher Plummer' and even though John's scene did not make the final cut, it still fired up his acting desires. Soon thereafter John moved back to New Orleans to find a very receptive film community where he was able to act and star in many independent films including the John Goodman film Girls Gone Gangsta (2009), Flesh Wounds (2011) with Kevin Sorbo, and 2 Bedroom 1 Bath (2014) with Eric Roberts and Dee Wallace. Swider also appeared in numerous national commercials including Chevrolet and Isle of Capri. John Swider also gives back to the community appearing in Public Service Announcements at NFL games and as a personality for fund-raisers such as Celebrity Vampire Baseball (2010) which raised money for the Haitian Earthquake relief as well as the Deepwater Oil Spill relief. Recently he has appeared in the TV series Breakout Kings (2011). Watch for him in the upcoming WGN series Salem (2014), and the feature films 1959 (2016) and Love Me True (2015). His agency representation is the Del Corral Model and Talent out of New Orleans. His roles make use of his large frame, tough looks, and smart demeanor. Show less «