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James Denton Profile |
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Birth Date: January 20, 1963
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Birth Place: Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Birth Name: James Denton
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Height: 6'1"
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Biography |
James Denton is an American actor.
The second of three children born to a dentist and his wife
in Nashville, Tennessee, Denton attended Goodlettsville High
School, played basketball at a junior college for a while,
then went on to graduate with honors from the University of
Tennessee at Knoxville, earning a degree in advertising as a
television/journalism major.
Even though his father was involved in community theater,
Denton didn't do it until he was 23, during the state
bicentennial in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1996. His role as “
George Gibbs” in a production of Our Town turned out to
be only the first in a long line of plays that he would do,
first in Nashville and then later in North Carolina,
Chicago, and California.
Although he spent the next four years selling advertising
for two radio stations and the CBS-TV affiliate in
Nashville, Denton's heart was already in another place, and
after a short stint in North Carolina, he headed to Chicago
to try his hand at acting full-time.
In Chicago, his first role was as Stanley in A Streetcar
Named Desire and his last was as the terrorist Bebert in the
French farce Lapin Lapin. In the years that came between the
two, Denton was a company member at The Griffin Theater and
at Strawdog Theater Ensemble.
He added a steady string of roles and accolades to his
growing list of achievements, including one of the leads in
the world premiere of Flesh and Blood, performing in and
composing the music for The Night Hank Williams Died, and
his portrayal of Kentucky preacher C.C. Showers in The
Diviners — which gained him a nomination for a Best Actor
"Joseph Jefferson Award" (Chicago's only theater award).
A small part in The Untouchables on TV was followed by guest
roles on Sliders and Dark Skies. Denton did a guest spot on
Moloney, made the 1997 pilot for LA Med, and then filmed
three movies (That Old Feeling, Face/Off, and Primary
Colors) in quick succession.
In 1997, Denton got called to read for a role in the TV
series, The Pretender. He auditioned for it on his way home
from L.A. International Airport - after returning from a
trip to promote "That Old Feeling", which had just been
released on video. Denton showed up for the audition with no
idea what the producers wanted. As he was leaving the
audition, they called him back and said, "A little more
Jimmy Stewart." Denton had the offer to play the "possible
recurring" part of "Mr. Lyle" before he even reached home.
A pilot for his own series, called The Hanleys, made with a
cast that included Barry Corbin (from Northern Exposure) and
Rosemarie), proved to be in another aspect when, at the last
minute, the ABC opted instead to air something more "hip and
urban" in its place, and shelved the would-be series.
Undaunted, Denton set aside thoughts of the small town
veterinarian that he thought he'd be portraying during the
next season, and instead continued producing chilling
portrayals as Mr. Lyle in NBC's The Pretender.
Summer of 1999 found Denton heading back to the theater,
starring in the world premiere of the play In Walked Monk.
It was still running when The Pretender came "off the
bubble" and was renewed, allowing production for the 4th
season to begin. For the first month of production, twice a
week, Denton played two completely different roles within a
twenty-four hour period... portraying the sociopathic "Mr.
Lyle" on the set of The Pretender by day, then hurrying to
the theater to play the mild-mannered "Steven" on stage in
the evening.
When a largely "Lyle-less" 4th season on The Pretender left
him with too much free time on his hands, Denton kept
himself busy by adding two more guest starring roles to his
credits... one that showed his ability to shine in a comedic
role on Two Guys and a Girl and another on Ally McBeal.
With The Pretender again teetering on the brink of
cancellation, Denton once more turned his considerable
energy toward the stage and the theater, taking on the very
physical role of "Inmate #1" in the Court Theater's
production of Asylum. When NBC decided that there would be
no 5th season for The Pretender, he landed a guest spot on
the popular West Wing, then went to Canada to film Pretender
2001 and Pretender: The Island Of The Haunted (both of which
were two-hour movies that TNT produced after NBC cancelled
the show).
2001 found Denton back at ABC after Steven Bochco cast him
as "Judge Augustus "Jack" Ripley" in his struggling new
series Philly. Viewers liked "Judge Ripley" and hopes were
high that the sizzling on-screen chemistry between Jamie's
character and the one portrayed by Kim Delaney would
convince ABC to give the show another season to improve its
ratings.
Ironically, he was in Australia, promoting Philly, when he
received word that ABC had passed on renewing the show for a
second season. He ended 2002 with a two-part guest starring
role on The Drew Carey Show.
Denton returned as a guest star on JAG in 2003, and the
pilot season landed him the opportunity to once again head
up the cast of an ABC series, in Threat Matrix, a Touchstone
production offering up fictionalized events relating to
terrorist activity around the world. He played John Kilmer,
the man who lead the ultra-covert team of anti-terrorist
specialists who answered solely to the President of the
United States. The timely and serious role also gave Jamie
the opportunity to change his professional billing from
"Jamie Denton" to "James Denton." Only days before the
annual "upfronts" in New York, where the major networks
announce their new fall season line-ups, ABC picked up the
show for September, 2003.
Although Threat Matrix held its own in one of the worst
time-slots of the season (sandwiched between the last season
of Friends and Survivor), ABC nonetheless pulled the series
after only fourteen episodes aired (sixteen episodes were
filmed). Threat Matrix was officially cancelled on the same
day as Denton's role as "Mike Delfino" on Desperate
Housewives, a new ABC series scheduled for the Fall, was
announced at the 2004 upfronts in New York.
On October 3, 2004, Desperate Housewives garnered good
ratings with its debut episode and ABC picked up the rest of
the first season before the end of the month.
In 2005, Denton, along with the rest of the acting ensemble
of Desperate Housewives, won a SAG Award for his work on the
show. Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy
Series (2005)
Denton has become a breast cancer advocate due to the death
of his mother from breast cancer in 2002. Denton was the
2005 co-spokesperson for the Lee National Denim Day breast
cancer fundraiser that raised millions of dollars for
research and education regarding the disease. |
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Other Information |
Dated country music star Deana Carter in high school.
Has a son named Sheppard, born in March 2003, with his wife
Erin.
Has a tattoo of his late father's initials, birth and death
dates, and rank and serial number in the Navy on his left
bicep.
19 Febuary 2005 - Recipient of Oprah Winfrey's "Your Wildest
Dream" when he was taken from Fort Myers, Florida to City of
Palms, Florida to spend an afternoon training with the
Boston Red Sox baseball team at their spring training
facility, after which Fort Myers Mayor Jim Humphrey gave him
the key to the city.
James and his wife welcomed a baby girl, Malin O'Brien
Denton, on 22 March 2005. The baby weighed 7 pounds, 5
ounces.
Grew up in Atlanta, Georgia.
When in Atlanta, he likes to go to the Varsity (a restaurant
in downtown Atlanta).
Grew up in Goodlettsville, Tennessee |
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