David Anders

Biography:

David Anders was born in Grants Pass, Oregon, to Dr. Tony Holt and Jeri Holt. He has three older siblings: his biological brother Arik, a brother named Jason, and a sister named Maili. He is of English and Norwegian heritage.

Anders developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in school plays. However, throughout high school he focused mainly on sports, including basketball and tennis. At 15, during his senior year, he portrayed Philip the Apostle in a regional theater production of Jesus Christ Superstar. At 18, he was cast as George in his high school’s production of Our Town, and later took on the role of Freddy Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady.

After relocating to Los Angeles, he adopted the stage name David Anders because another actor was already using the name David Holt. In 2001, he appeared as a high school senior in the Olsen twins’ series So Little Time. Later that year, he was cast as Julian Sark in Alias. Initially introduced as a guest character, his role became a regular one, and he remained on the series until 2006. Before gaining recognition on Alias, Anders worked at The Gap and also taught tennis. During his time on the show, he made guest appearances on series such as Charmed, CSI, and Grey’s Anatomy. He was also active in independent films and stage productions. In 2002, he appeared in the indie film The Surge. Around the same time, he was featured in an advertisement for rapper Canibus in The Source magazine, where he resembled Eminem. In 2005, Anders starred as the lead in the Off-Broadway rock musical Beautiful, which was staged during the New York International Fringe Festival. That same year, he acted in the film Circadian Rhythm. In 2006, he appeared in the horror movie Left in Darkness alongside Monica Keena, and in 2007 he played the title role in ELI.

He later secured a regular role in the second season of NBC’s Heroes, portraying Adam Monroe, also known as Takezo Kensei, a character with regenerative powers. As with his role in Alias, Anders used a British accent for the character.

Anders also appeared in films such as Into the Blue 2: The Reef and The Revenant, and guest-starred in the eighth season of 24. In 2010 and 2011, he portrayed John Gilbert in the television series The Vampire Diaries.

By late 2011, he had taken on a recurring role as Victor Frankenstein—along with his Storybrooke persona, Dr. Whale—on ABC’s Once Upon a Time. He also starred as Troy Cutler in USA Network’s Necessary Roughness and continued appearing in Once Upon a Time during its third season. Beginning in 2015, Anders played Blaine DeBeers in the series iZombie. He made brief return appearances in Once Upon a Time in 2015 and 2016, and in 2017, he had a silent cameo in the series finale of The Vampire Diaries.

In June 2017, Anders announced that he was recording his first album “for fun.” The project was produced by musician David Poe. He independently released the EP in limited quantities, and on October 20, 2022, he made the single “Above Below” available for streaming along with its music video, which served as a tribute to his late father.

On stage, Anders has performed in the world premiere of Rockne: The Musical in a leading role. In 2001, he also appeared in The Diary of Anne Frank, a production that earned a Best Ensemble award at the Back Stage West Garland Awards. In June 2018, he performed alongside Ruth Connell, Rob Benedict, and Jason Watkins at the 26th Annual Young Playwrights Festival.

In 2006, Anders joined the band Band From TV, formed by his Alias and Heroes co-star Greg Grunberg. He shared lead vocals with Bonnie Somerville, while Hugh Laurie played keyboards and James Denton played guitar. The group performed primarily to raise funds for major charities, often playing high-paying corporate events with proceeds donated to charitable causes.

In 2015, Anders appeared in a promotional video for Stop-Attack, an app designed to raise awareness about and combat domestic violence. He was among more than 125 celebrities who supported the initiative, along with equity owner Christina Milian.