Jack Coleman

Biography:

Jack Coleman was born on February 21, 1958, in Easton, Pennsylvania, located in the Lehigh Valley region. He is a sixth-generation descendant of Benjamin Franklin. Coleman attended Solebury School in Pennsylvania before enrolling at Duke University, where he chose to pursue acting professionally. After graduating in 1980, he continued his training at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut.

His first significant television role was on Days of Our Lives (1981–1982), where he portrayed Jake Kositchek, also known as the “Salem Strangler.” Around that time, he also appeared on Celebrity Bullseye. In 1982, he joined the cast of Dynasty, taking over the role of Steven Carrington—one of the earliest openly gay characters on American television. The character’s altered appearance was explained by plastic surgery following an oil rig accident. Coleman remained on the show until the conclusion of its eighth season in 1988.

He later became a regular cast member on the short-lived series Nightmare Cafe (1992) and appeared in the miniseries Kingdom Hospital (2004). Over the years, he made guest appearances on shows including The Net, CSI: Miami, Nip/Tuck, Without a Trace, Diagnosis: Murder, and Entourage. He also co-starred in the Disney Channel film Cow Belles, playing the father of characters portrayed by Alyson and Amanda Michalka.

Coleman earned a nomination for his performance in Stand-Up Tragedy at the Mark Taper Forum and won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his role in Bouncers. In addition to acting, he wrote screenplays for Studio City, which he also produced and starred in, and Can’t Help Falling.

He gained widespread recognition as Noah Bennet in the science-fiction series Heroes. Describing the role, Coleman noted that he aimed to balance the character’s darker and lighter traits rather than portray him as a stereotypical villain. In 2015, he reprised the role in Heroes Reborn, a continuation of the original storyline.

In 2010, Coleman appeared in The Mentalist as Max Winter, a wealthy and arrogant murder suspect, and in an episode of House titled “Office Politics,” playing Joe Dugan, a political campaign manager. That same year, he starred in the Hallmark Channel film Rock the House, portraying a lawyer who reconnects with his daughter and rediscovered his passion for music.

Beginning in late 2010, Coleman had a recurring role on The Office as Pennsylvania State Senator Robert Lipton, a character romantically involved with both Angela Martin and Oscar Martinez. He appeared in numerous episodes across multiple seasons.

From 2011 to 2012, he portrayed Bill Forbes in the third season of The Vampire Diaries. In 2011, he also guest-starred on Criminal Minds as a serial offender in the episode “Hope.” In 2012, he joined the fifth season of Castle as Senator William Bracken, serving as a primary antagonist in several episodes. He later took on a recurring role in the final season of Burn Notice, playing Andrew Strong, a senior CIA officer who pushes the protagonist to extreme measures.

In 2013, Coleman appeared on Scandal as Daniel Douglas Langston, the closeted husband of Vice President Sally Langston. The following year, he was featured in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. In 2019, he starred in the film adaptation of Graham Farrow’s stage play Rattlesnakes.

Coleman married actress Beth Toussaint in 1996, and the couple has a daughter, Tess, who was born in 1999.