An All-American-looking Tennessee native who played basketball in high school and college, actor Jamie Dentons breakout role was as the mysterious hunky carpenter Mike Delfino on the hit Desperate Housewives (ABC, 2004 - ); the most mysterious about Denton himself is his oft-shifting billing: sometimes he appears as James, other times as Jamie.
Denton got serious about acting as a student at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, where he earned a degree in advertising. The son of a community theater actor, Denton started with the stage. He worked as a radio ad salesman in Nashville by day and performed theater productions in North Carolina, Chicago and California by night for four years.
Denton eventually moved to Chicago, where he became was a company member at The Griffin Theater and the Strawdog Theater Ensemble. His greatest accolades came for his portrayal of a Kentucky preacher in "The Diviners," which gained him a nomination for a Best Actor "Joseph Jefferson Award", a mark of great repute in the Chicago theater community.
In 1997, Denton joined the cast of NBCs The Pretender (1996-2000). During his four years playing the creepy sociopath, Mr. Lyle, Denton also made appearances on Sliders, JAG, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place and Ally McBeal. And clearly not one to let dust settle on his rising star, Denton also built movie credits with That Old Feeling (1997), director John Woos Face/Off (1997) and as a member of the star-studded cast for the critically acclaimed Primary Colors (1998).
After an appearance on The West Wing in 2000, producer Steven Bocho cast him opposite Kim Delaney for the second season of Philly (ABC, 2001-2002). After guest spots on The Drew Carey Show and JAG, Denton had a new role was as leader of an elite Homeland Security team in Threat Matrix (ABC, 2003).
Next, Denton went from an experienced, but relatively unknown actor who takes in stray animals to the media hype surrounding his turn as the new neighbor with hidden secrets who beguiles Teri Hatchers Desperate character. The exposure catapulted the former mentor for the Big Brother program onto People magazines Sexiest Man Alive list in 2004. Country Music Television tapped Denton to host the Miss America pageant, taped in Las Vegas instead of the traditional Atlantic City, in 2006.
Copyright © Baseline 2006.