Though Tinker was born in New York, he relocated to Los Angeles when he was three years old.[3][4] He is the son of television producer and writer John Tinker and Lori Mozilo.[5] Lori is an executive at Disney and is of Italian ancestry.[2][6] Tinker's parents are divorced.[7] Through his father, Tinker is the grandson of television executive Grant Tinker and the nephew of producer and director Mark Tinker. Tinker began acting as a child in elementary school.[4]
He also had aspirations of going to the NBA until he stopped growing when he was a teenager.[8] He started his college career at Gonzaga University.[9] Like his father, and brother, Tinker planned to become a writer. However, after he participated in a theater production of Stephen Belber's Tape, Tinker realized he wanted to a career as an actor. Up until that point, acting was just a hobby.[10] He then transferred to Loyola Marymount University in his Junior year as a theater major.[4] In 2019, Tinker jokingly described himself as the "black sheep" of his family for becoming an actor. However, despite his father's initial reservations, Tinker said his family has been supportive.[10]
Career
Tinker booked his first major television role in 2015 when he appeared in an episode of TNT's Murder in the First.[9] In 2016, he appeared in an episode of My Crazy Ex and the film Dear Diary, I Died.[11] In 2017, Tinker appeared in Law & Order True Crime, a dramatic retelling of the murder trial of Lyle and Erik Menéndez.[7] In 2018, Tinker would go on to appear in episodes of CBS's NCIS and the Facebook Watch series, Turnt.[11] In November 2018, it was announced that he had joined the cast of The Young and the Restless as a recast of Fenmore as the previous actor, Max Ehrich, was unable to reprise the role.[12] The character was written out in early 2019.[13] That year, Tinker would also in an episode of You're the Worst.[14] In the summer of 2019, Tinker was cast as Sam in American Horror Story: 1984, the ninth season of the horror anthology series.[15] In November 2019, it was announced that he would reprise the role Fen in December 2019.[16]
Tinker's Fenmore was written out again in early 2020.[17] Throughout 2020, Tinker would appear in episodes of ABC's Station 19, Netflix's 13 Reasons Why, and L.A.'s Finest.[2] In August 2021, Tinker joined the cast of the Days of Our Lives spinoff miniseries Beyond Salem as a recast of Sonny Kiriakis, a role originated by Freddie Smith. The series would stream on Peacock exclusively.[1] Tinker would reprise the role in the holiday movie Days of Our Lives: A Very Salem Christmas.[18] On February 11, 2022, Days of Our Lives announced that Tinker was slated to step into the role of Sonny on the main show.[19] Tinker made his debut on Days of Our Lives on March 10, 2022 as a series regular.[20] Tinker last appeared as a series regular on December 27, 2022. In January 2023, Tinker briefly reprised the role of Fenmore Baldwin on The Young and the Restless.[21] On January 27, 2023, it was announced that Tinker had joined the cast of Fire Country.[22]
Personal life
In 2019, Tinker was romantically linked with his The Young and the Restless co-star Cait Fairbanks.[23] The duo officially confirmed that they were dating in early 2020.[24]