James Thomas Denton Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for playing Mike Delfino on ABC’s comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives and Dr. Sam Radford on Hallmark Channel’s comedy-drama series Good Witch. Take a look below for 23 more fun and fascinating facts about James Denton.
1. Denton was born January 20, 1963, in Nashville, Tennessee, and grew up in nearby Goodlettsville, the second of three children.
2. His father, J.T. Denton (1930–1993), was a dentist who had served in the military.
3. His mother, Mary Jean Woolslair Denton, died from breast cancer in 2002.
4. Denton was raised Southern Baptist and became a Minister of Music at Westmoreland United Methodist Church in Westmoreland, Tennessee.
5. Denton graduated from Goodlettsville High School, and attended the University of Tennessee, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
6. He majored in Television/Journalism, and earned a degree in Advertising.
7. Before becoming an actor, he sold advertising for two radio stations.
8. He began acting at the age of 23, at a community theater in Nashville.
9. He eventually moved to California to become a full-time actor.
10. Early in his career, he was sometimes credited as Jamie Denton.
11. Denton dated country music singer Deana Carter in high school.
12. He was married to Jenna Lyn Ward from 1997 to 2000.
13. On December 16, 2002, Denton married Erin O’Brien, a personal trainer at Life Time Fitness. They have a son Sheppard (b. 2003) and a daughter Malin (b. 2005).
14. The couple previously lived in Glendale, California. After Desperate Housewives ended, the family moved to Chanhassen, Minnesota.
15. Denton is part-owner of independent minor league baseball team the Orange County Flyers (part of the Golden Baseball League), who won the GBL Championship in 2008. The Orange County Flyers play at California State University, Fullerton in Fullerton, California.
16. Denton plays guitar in the charity cover band Band from TV along with Hugh Laurie, Teri Hatcher, Greg Grunberg among others.
17. They donate the proceeds of their performances and recordings to the charities of their choice. Band from TV has raised almost two million dollars for various causes supported by the band.
18. He has appeared on the cover of several magazines, including TV Guide, Tango, Orange Coast, Calabasas and Spectrum United, and pictorials for Entertainment Weekly, People, US Weekly and Life & Style.
19. Denton has appeared in television commercials for Buick and Ford Warriors in Pink.
20. Denton modeled for Daniel Hechter’s 2012 Spring/Summer advertising campaign.
21. In 2016, he had a recurring role as Peter Hudson on Lifetime’s comedy-drama series Devious Maids.
22. In 2018, he made a guest appearance as Navy Captain Deckard on CBS’ television series NCIS: New Orleans, in the episode “Checkmate, Part 2”.
23. Denton has appeared in several films, including: That Old Feeling (1997), Face/Off (1997), and Primary Colors (1998). He has appeared in various television shows, including: Sliders, Dark Skies, Two Guys and a Girl, Ally McBeal, The West Wing, and JAG, and has had recurring roles in The Pretender, Philly, The Drew Carey Show and Reba.
