James Denton Biography
Currently starring as Mike Delfino in the Golden Globe and SAG Award winning “Desperate Housewives,” Nashville native James Denton has just completed filming the feature film “Wanted: Undead or Alive” with Saturday Night Live alum Chris Kattan. The upcoming comedy features Denton and Kattan as Zombie hunting cowboys in the Wild Wild West.
Denton, who originally attended college on a basketball scholarship, wasn’t bitten by the acting bug until he was 28. He landed the role of George Gibbs in a Nashville production of “Our Town,” got fine reviews, but thought there was a more solid career in selling advertising. He did that in Tennessee and then in North Carolina for four years before taking off for Chicago to risk everything to become a professional actor.
He soon was accepted as one of Chicago’s brightest stars. And after earning a key casting when the “Untouchables” series came to town to film, Denton was drawn to Los Angeles where his strong theatre reputation had preceded him, and he was locked in with choice turns in film, on TV and on the stage.
He started building his big screen profile with performances in such films as “Primary Colors,” “Face/Off” and “That Old Feeling,” but soon off-beat roles in adventurous TV series were claiming his time. In 1997, Denton landed the role of the eerily sociopathic Mr. Lyle on NBC’s hit drama show “The Pretender.” The NBC series’ multi-year run was followed by “The Pretender” television films “Pretender 2001” and “Pretender: The Island of The Haunted.”
In 2001, Denton was cast by ABC to star opposite Kim Delaney in Steven Bochco’s “Philly” series, which was critically acclaimed but short-lived. But Denton’s growing reputation quickly led to a new series casting him as a top player in this nation’s homeland security community, Special Agent Jon Kilmer on “Threat Matrix.”
Acting obviously is serious work for the handsome and athletic star. His Chicago training with some of that area’s most excellent teachers pointed him in that direction. His first role there was as Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” and his last was the terrorist on the French farce, “Lapin, Lapin.” He was a company member of the Griffin Theatre and at the Strawdog Theatre Ensemble. He added a steady string of roles and accolades to his quickly growing list, 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 coveted Joseph Jefferson Best Actor nomination. For these performances, Denton was listed as one of Chicago’s hottest actors by Screen Magazine. In Los Angeles, he appeared in the premieres of “Asylum” at the Court Theatre, “Locked Up Down Shorty’s” at the Powerhouse Theatre and “In Walked Monk” at the Hudson Theatre. In addition to his series starring roles on TV, his guest appearances include “JAG,” “Slider,” “Dark Skies,” “Two Guys and a Girl,” “Ally McBeal” and “The West Wing.”In January 2006 James Denton hosted the prestigious Miss America Pageant on the CMT Network.