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Jesse Metcalfe portrays the role of John Rowland on Desperate Housewives.

Biography[]

Jesse Eden Metcalfe was born in California to Scott Metcalfe and Nancy DeMaio; his father is of French and Italian descent, and his mother is of Portuguese and Italian descent. Jesse Metcalfe, who played in several basketball leagues during his teen years, grew up an only in Waterford, Connecticut and graduated from The Williams School, in New London, CT, but dropped out of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in order to pursue a career as a writer/director.

Metcalfe moved to Los Angeles and attended an open casting call, successfully auditioning for the NBC soap opera Passions. He played Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald, one of five siblings, from the show's debut in July 1999 -July 2004. He left Passions because he felt that he "wasn't really going to get anything more out of it."

In late 2003 and early 2004, Metcalfe made two guest appearances on the WB Networ] TV series Smallville as vindictive "meteor freak hunter" Van McNulty.

Metcalfe returned to television as the teenage gardener John Rowland on the popular ABC TV drama Desperate Housewives, where his character had a secret relationship with housewife Gabrielle Solis played by Eva Longoria, since the series' debut in October 2004. This was the role that made Metcalfe a household name, and he immediately gained attention for his well-toned body, particularly his smooth and muscular pectorals, emphasised by the fact that he appeared shirtless in almost every scene he was in. USA Today in November 2004 named him "the show's hottest sex symbol'. However, his character was reduced to a recurring role because Metcalfe wanted to move on to other projects. He has only appeared in a few episodes of the 2nd season, 1 of the 3rd season, and 1 of the current season. However, he has stated that he will continue to make guest appearances in future seasons. Metcalfe also travels to Metro Detroit often where his managing agency is based.

Metcalfe is the fifth victim and the fifth star to appear on Punk'd more than once, after Ben McKenzie, Wilmer Valderrama, Omarion, and Jesse McCartney. His first appearance was when Metcalfe and Ashton Kutcher punk'd Eva Longoria for stealing thousands of dollars and fraud (false identity). His second is when Metcalfe was punk'd by Ashton Kutcher's crew members during the Spider-Man 3 audition. Metcalfe also appeared in 3 Doors Down "Let Me Go" video.

Metcalfe's first film role is in John Tucker Must Die, alongside Ashanti and One Tree Hill's Sophia Bush, in which he plays a wealthy and insincere teenage playboy high school basketball player. The film opened on July 28, 2006.

Jesse hosted The New Paul O'Grady Show on October 26, 2006, because Paul was taking the week off on doctor's orders. Jesse had previously been interviewed on the show twice before.

Metcalf sang 'Hey Jude' on the Soap Sessions 3: Beatle songs CD.

He is set to appear in 2008 movies American Cowslip as Jay, The Other End of the Line as Granger Woodriff, Insanitarium and Loaded as Tristan Price.

Metcalfe will be appearing in the TNT Dallas pilot in the role of Christopher Ewing, son of Bobby (role to be reprised by Patrick Duffy) and Pamela Ewing. Metcalf will be playing the main role opposite Josh Henderson, who is set to play his cousin and rival John Ross III in the continuation of the epic power struggle over Ewing Oil.

Career[]

Films[]

Year Title Role Notes
2003 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out Uniform TV Movie
2006 John Tucker Must Die John Tucker Main role
2007 Loaded Tristan Price
2008 Insanitarium Jack Direct-to-video
The Other End of the Line Granger Woodriff
2009 Beyond a Resonable Doubt C.J. Nichols


Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
1999–2004 Passions Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald Series regular
2003–2004 Smallville Van McNulty 2 episodes
2004–2006 Desperate Housewives Jonathan "John" Rowland Season 1 (regular), Season 2-3 (recurring)
2007 Desperate Housewives Jonathan "John" Rowland 1 episode:Art Isn't Easy (episode 4.05)


Awards and nominations[]

  • 2000

Nominations

Soap Opera Digest Award: "Favorite Teen Star" (Passions)
  • 2004

Wins

Actor: "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" (Desperate Housewives)
  • 2005

Nominations

Teen Choice Award: "Choice TV Actor: Comedy" (Desperate Housewives)

Wins

Teen Choice Award: "Choice TV Breakout Performance - Male" (Desperate Housewives)
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