Housewives ‘hunk’ proud of roots
By Francesca Donlan
Published by news-press.com on November 15, 2004
The biggest hit on TV stars an actor with deep Fort Myers ties.
James "Jamie" Denton plays Mike Delfino, the single neighbor on ABC’s
hot new hit, "Desperate Housewives."
The 41-year-old actor has been described as "the bachelor hunk of the show —
the dreamboat plumber of Wisteria Lane."
And his response to the instantaneous success from "Desperate Housewives?
"I’m reeling from it," he said in a phone interview from his North Hollywood
home, where he lives with his wife and son.
His success doesn’t surprise local relatives.
"He is a wonderful person," said John Sheppard, a local retired attorney and
second cousin. "He can't help it that he's handsome and a hunk. He's even nicer in person."
Denton’s mother, Mary Jean Woolslair, was born and raised in Fort Myers. She also earned
another kind of fame — she was the Queen of Edisonia in the mid-1950s.
One of the strangest coincidences is that "Desperate Housewives" takes place on
Wisteria Lane. Denton's mother, who passed away in 2002, was nicknamed "Wisty"
because an uncle said, "she's as pretty as a little Wisteria."
"When I first saw that on the script I laughed out loud," Denton said. "It's
not a common name. It's a pretty outrageous coincidence."
Denton spent many summers in Fort Myers riding his bike up and down McGregor Boulevard.
His grandfather was prosecuting attorney John Woolslair.
His Fort Myers roots mean a lot to him. Denton named his 2-year-old son Sheppard after
John Sheppard. Denton's first girlfriend, Laurie McNew of Fort Myers, was also on the court
of the Edison Pageant in the mid-80s. Denton's mother's best friend was Beverly McNew.
Denton's mother went to college in Tennessee, married and raised Denton and two siblings near
Nashville. Denton graduated from college and took a job selling advertising for CBS. When
he was 28 he decided to ditch his job for an acting career.
For five years he performed in Chicago theater. A friend mentioned him to a Los Angeles
talent manager, John Cosby, who represents Rene Russo and Charlize Theron. Denton
decided to give Hollywood a try. He hasn't looked back since.
"I haven't been out of work ever since," he said.
That work included special agent John Kilmer in ABC's "Threat Matrix" last year.
He was also cast in "The Pretender," and "Philly" and had guest
appearances on "JAG," "Ally McBeal," "The West Wing,"
"The Drew Carey Show."
"Threat Matrix" got canceled last year, and Denton auditioned for "Desperate
Housewives" one month later. They shot the pilot in March.
"We knew the network put a lot of eggs in our basket," he said. "I knew we
would do well, but nobody knew we would be the number one show on TV. It's kind of mind blowing."
So far, his life hasn't changed much.
"We're still getting paid the same as if it was number 50," he said. "At least a
couple of times a day a stranger will come up to me and want to talk about the show."
It's fun to talk to fans about the show, he said. He doesn't understand actors who complain about success.
"Bottom line is that you beat the system when you're an actor," he said. "There's
no room for whining. I've been on the other side of it. I've been on shows nobody watched."
"Desperate Housewives" is filmed at Universal Studios where "Leave it to
Beaver" was staged.
"There are very few similarities with that show," he laughed. "I get to bounce to
between Nicollette Sheridan and Teri Hatcher. And all that bouncing around between sexy
actresses doesn't bother his wife, Erin O'Brien.
"My wife was an actress in a former life, and now she's a personal trainer," he said.
"She knows what the drill is."
There is no feuding on the show, he reports. The only tensions exist when scripts come in a little late.
"The scripts are hard to write, to achieve darkness, and be really be funny," he said.
"It's tricky to write and take the time to get scripts out. It's a function of a show that's smart
and they care that much about."
In between scripts, Denton enjoys success and counts his blessings.
"I am very fortunate," he said. "I have a number of friends who are better
actors than I and can't even get an agent or an audition, much less work."
His recent success still surprises him.
"I never anticipated any kind of attention outside of a theater audience when I got into this,
so all of it now is a little unnerving," he said. "Sure beats being on a show nobody's
talking about, however."
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