A 1986 honors graduate in broadcasting, James Denton is well known for his role as Mike Delfino, the sexy plumber on ABC’s Desperate Housewives. Along with the rest of the cast, Denton was honored with the 2005 and 2006 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for best ensemble in a comedy.
A graduate of Goodlettsville High School, he played junior college basketball and then transferred to UT. At age 20 he played the part of George Gibbs in a Nashville bicentennial production of Our Town. He gave up his job selling advertising for radio stations and Nashville’s CBS affiliate and went to Chicago to pursue an acting career, where he landed the role of Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire.
He relocated to Los Angeles and appeared in films such as Primary Colors, Face/Off, and That Old Feeling, but he became known for his role in television series. He played the role of Mr. Lyle on NBC’s Pretender, followed by Pretender movies. In 2004 he began his stint with Desperate Housewives.
In March 2007, Denton became part of an Orange County investment group that purchased the Golden Baseball League Team, The Fullerton Flyers. On August 11, 2007, his bobblehead doll made its appearance at the luxury box at Goodwin Field.