Jan M. Janssen was born on October 26, 1975, in Marshfield, WI. He is an actor, writer and director. In 2005, Jan won the nationwide American Idol & Ford Video Casting Call contest with his "Shining Star" music video. He then worked at NewsChannel 7 (a CBS affiliate) in Wausau, WI as a cameraman/editor while also reporting. He eventually began producing his own movie review segment in 2006, "Reel Talk with Jan Janssen" until moving to Los Angeles, CA in 2007. Jan is best known for his recurring role as Officer Jenkins on the hit ABC series, Castle.