Jack Coleman (actor)
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John MacDonald Coleman (born February 21, 1958) is an American actor who has played the role of
Steven Carrington Steven Daniel Carrington is a fictional character on the American prime time soap opera ''Dynasty (1981 TV series), Dynasty''. Steven is noteworthy as one of the earliest gay main characters on American television. Despite identifying as homosexua ...
in the 1980s prime time
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...
'' (1982–1988),
Noah Bennet This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
in the
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science-fiction drama series '' Heroes'' (2006–2010), State Senator Robert Lipton on ''
The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...
'' (2010–2013), and United States Senator William Bracken on the ABC series ''
Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
'' (2012–2015).


Early life and education

Coleman was born February 21, 1958, in
Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in and the county seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Delawa ...
, in the
Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...
region of eastern
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. He is a sixth-generation descendant of
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
. He attended Solebury School in Solesbury Township, Pennsylvania, and
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
, where he decided to pursue acting as a career. After graduating from Duke in 1980, he attended Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut.


Career

Coleman's first major role was in ''
Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...
'', where he appeared from 1981 to 1982 as the character of Jake Kositchek (aka ''The Salem Strangler''). He also made an appearance on ''Celebrity Bullseye''. In 1982, he joined the cast of ''
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...
'' when he took over the role of
Steven Carrington Steven Daniel Carrington is a fictional character on the American prime time soap opera ''Dynasty (1981 TV series), Dynasty''. Steven is noteworthy as one of the earliest gay main characters on American television. Despite identifying as homosexua ...
, one of the first gay characters on American television, his changed appearance explained as due to plastic surgery after an oil rig accident. He played the role until the end of the show's eighth season in 1988. He was a regular on the short-lived series '' Nightmare Cafe'' (1992), and appeared on the miniseries '' Kingdom Hospital'' (2004). He made guest appearances in '' The Net'', '' CSI: Miami'', '' Nip/Tuck'', ''
Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002, to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...
'', '' Diagnosis: Murder'', and '' Entourage''. He co-starred as Reed Callum, the father of Alyson and Amanda Michalka's characters, in the
Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
film '' Cow Belles''. He was nominated for his performance in the play ''Stand-up Tragedy'' at the Mark Taper Forum, and won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his performance in ''Bouncers''. He wrote the screenplays for ''Studio City'', which he produced and acted in, and ''Can't Help Falling''.


''Heroes''

Coleman was a main cast member of science-fiction series '' Heroes'', in which he played
Noah Bennet This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
. Coleman states about portraying the character, "It's a combination of the light and dark. I don't want to just be a moustache twirling villain." In 2015, he reprised his role as
Noah Bennet This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'', the List of Heroes graphic novels, ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In i ...
in an "event miniseries" '' Heroes Reborn'', which served as a continuation of the original ''Heroes'' storyline.


2010-present

Coleman appeared in an episode of ''
The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, t ...
'' in October 2010. He played the role of a wealthy, arrogant murder suspect named Max Winter. He also played a patient named Joe Dugan (a campaign manager of a New Jersey senator) in the ''
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
'' episode " Office Politics" in 2010. In
Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...
’s film ''Rock The House'' (2010), Coleman played a lawyer named Max who finds a way to reconnect with his daughter and his old sense of joy when he gets back together with his music-making friends from his teenaged years. Starting in November 2010, Coleman had a recurring role on ''
The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...
'' as Pennsylvania State Senator Robert Lipton, the love interest for both
Angela Martin Angela Noelle Schrute (née Martin; formerly Lipton) is a fictional character in the U.S. version of the television sitcom '' The Office,'' portrayed by actress Angela Kinsey. The character is based on Sheila from the original version of ''Th ...
( Angela Kinsey) and Oscar Martinez ( Oscar Nunez). He appeared in the episodes " WUPHF.com", " Classy Christmas", " Michael's Last Dundies"," Goodbye, Michael", "
Jury Duty Jury duty or jury service is a Civil service, service as a juror in a legal proceeding. Different countries have different approaches to juries: variations include the kinds of cases tried before a jury, how many jurors hear a trial, and whether th ...
", "
Fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
", " Free Family Portrait Studio", " New Guys", " Here Comes Treble", " The Boat", " The Whale", "
Customer Loyalty In marketing and consumer behaviour, brand loyalty describes a consumer's persistent positive feelings towards a familiar brand and their dedication to purchasing the brand's products and/or services repeatedly regardless of deficiencies, a co ...
" and "
Vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The t ...
". From 2011 to 2012, Coleman played Bill Forbes on the third season of the CW drama ''
The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...
''. In 2011, he appeared on the CBS drama ''
Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...
'', playing Bill Rogers, a serial rapist, in the episode "Hope". In July 2012, it was announced that Coleman joined the fifth season of ''
Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
'' as a new antagonist for Stana Katic’s character Kate Beckett. He has appeared in the episodes "After the Storm", "Recoil", "In the Belly of the Beast", "Veritas", "XY", and "XX" playing Senator William Bracken. Coleman joined
USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
’s '' Burn Notice'' as a recurring part of the drama's truncated (13-episode) seventh and final season. He played Andrew Strong, a ranking CIA officer who has seen it all. Noble, but also obsessive at times, Strong is a relentless taskmaster who pushes Michael ( Jeffrey Donovan) to do whatever it takes to complete the mission. In 2013, he played the closeted gay husband Daniel Douglas Langston of conservative Vice President Sally Langston on ''
Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...
''. In February 2014, he appeared in the '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' episode "Love for Sale". In 2019, he starred in the
film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...
of Graham Farrow's stage play ''Rattlesnakes''.


Personal life

Coleman married actress Beth Toussaint in 1996. They have a daughter, Tess, born in 1999.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

* * * *
Jack Coleman Livejournal Community

Jack Coleman Facebook Fan Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Jack 1958 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male soap opera actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male voice actors Duke University alumni Male actors from Pennsylvania Writers from Easton, Pennsylvania