Nashville native James 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 starting an ad career in Tennessee and then in North Carolina before taking off for Chicago to risk everything to become a professional actor.
He soon was accepted as one of Chicago's brightest stars. 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.
As one of the stars of the Golden Globe® and SAG Award-winning “Desperate Housewives,” Denton started building his Hollywood career 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, “The Pretender.” The 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,” 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.” 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.” His latest run of feature films include “Grace Unplugged” released in the Fall of 2013 and “Stranded in Paradise” released in summer of 2014 on Hallmark Channel.
He currently stars as Dr. Sam Radford in Hallmark Channel’s hit series “Good Witch,” which was renewed for a third season, and has a recurring role in “Devious Maids.” Acting obviously is serious work for the handsome and athletic star. He got his start on the stage in Chicago, his first role there was as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and his last was the terrorist in 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.
Denton devotes a large portion of his time to Band from TV which was formed when Greg Grunberg (“Heroes”), Hugh Laurie (“House”) and Bob Guiney (“The Bachelor”) decided to band their musical interests together to raise money for charity. The Band, which now includes Jesse Spencer (“House”), Scott Grimes (“ER,” “Band of Brothers”) and Adrian Pasdar (“Heroes”) plays several shows around the country every year to raise money for charity and since their inception BFTV has raised almost two million dollars for various causes supported by the band.
