Early life

Adler was born in Queens, New York, the eldest son of Lisa (nėe 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.

Career

After various roles in a number of productions, Adler was cast in a minor recurring role in the Fox television series Glee as school jock and bully Dave Karofsky. 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." The character eventually gives up his bullying and makes his peace with Kurt, but he remains closeted. Adler has been praised for his performance in episode 3x14, "On My Way", during which, after his character is outed, he attempts suicide.

Adler is a resident artist with The Porters of Hellsgate theatre company in Los Angeles, appearing in three Shakespearean productions with them since 2008.

In October 2013 it was announced that Adler will star 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, 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 Facioscapulohumeral (FSH) Society to help raise awareness of the hereditary muscle diseases. Adler's mother and grandmother have died from Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, also known as FSH or 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 FSH Muscular Dystrophy to help raise funds directly for FSH MD research which is one of the most prevalent of all muscular dystrophies. The walk is for the benefit of the FSH Society, which is the largest grassroots organization of its kind solely dedicated to finding a treatment or cure for FSH MD.

Personal life

In 2013 Adler is engaged to his longtime girlfriend Jennifer Bronstein, the actor revealed to Us Weekly. He proposed in 2012 while they were visiting Rome. They were married in December 2015.

Filmography

List of acting credits, with role, year and related notes

Title	Role	Year	Notes
Sully	Jimmy Stefanik	2016	Filming
Café Society	Walt	2016	Filming
The Midnight Man	Simmons	2016
The Big Bang Theory	Zombie	2015	Episode 175: "The Intimacy Acceleration"
Blue Bloods	Andy Fisher	2015	Episode 104: "Power Players"
Switched at Birth	Tank	2014	TV series Recurring
Saugatuck Cures	Drew Callaghan	2014
Believe Me	Baker	2014
Detention of the Dead	Jimmy	2013
23 Blast	Cameron	2013
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Kyle Banks	2013	Episode 301: "Passed Pawns"
Last Resort	Lt. Stern	2012	Pilot Episode
The Glee Project	Himself	2011	Guest Judge/mentor
Sweet Old World	Groom #3	2011
Wolf Town	Ben	2010
The Defenders	Robert	2010	Episode 1: "Pilot"
Glee	Karofsky, DaveDave Karofsky	2010 !2009-2012,2014-2015	Recurring
Chuck	Groomsman	2009	Episode 222: "Chuck Versus the Ring", Uncredited
Cold Case	Rookie '94	2009	Episode 134: "Into the Blue", uncredited
Valley Peaks	Guthrie, Anderson LordAnderson Lord Guthrie	2009	Episode 1: "Welcome to the VP"
Viva Laughlin	Chuck	2007	Episode 2: "What a Whale Wants"
Demons	Guy #2	2007	TV pilot
Ghost Whisperer	Craig	2006	Episode 32: "Giving Up the Ghost"
What About Brian	Guy #1, FratFrat Guy #1	2006	Episode 10 : "What About Denial..."
Pepper Dennis	Guy, FratFrat Guy	2006	Episode 3 : "Frat Boys May Lose Their Manhood — Film at Eleven"
Curt's Brain	Thompson	2006	Short

[ Source: Wikipedia ]