Jesse Metcalfe - Career

Career

In 1999, Metcalfe successfully auditioned for the NBC soap opera television series Passions, which debuted in July 1999. Metcalfe portrayed the role of Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald, a resident in the fictional city of Harmony. In July 2004, after more than five years on the series, Metcalfe announced he was taking a break from Passions to pursue other projects. Metcalfe, in November of that year, returned to the series for a brief stint before making his final appearance on the series in January 2005.

In October 2004, Metcalfe starred in the ABC drama comedy television series Desperate Housewives as teen gardener John Rowland, who is involved in an affair with a married housewife. In 2005, Metcalfe won the "Choice TV Breakout Performance: Male" award at the Teen Choice Awards for his role on the show. For a brief period Metcalfe juggled both Passions and Desperate Housewives roles before leaving Passions to focus on Desperate Housewives full-time. Following the first season, creator Marc Cherry revealed Metcalfe would return to the series on a recurring basis. Metcalfe made his final appearance as a special guest star on the show in October 2009.

In July 2006, Metcalfe played the title character in the 20th Century Fox comedy film John Tucker Must Die. The film, which starred Sophia Bush and Brittany Snow, followed three friends who set out to break the heart of a serial cheater by setting him up with the new girl in town. Filming took place in Vancouver on a budget of $18 million. The film and Metcalfe's performance received mixed reviews and went on to make over $68,824,526 worldwide. To promote the film, Metcalfe hosted an episode of the British TV chat show The Paul O'Grady Show in October, due to O'Grady's being unwell.

In July 2008, Metcalfe starred in the horror film Insanitarium portraying the protagonist, Jack. The film, which centers on a young man trying to break his sister out of a mental institution, was filmed in August and September 2007. The film received negative reviews though Metcalfe's performance received positive reviews from the few critics who reviewed the film. That same year Metcalfe starred in The Other End of the Line as the romantic interest Granger Woodruff. The film was released in October and went on to make over $507,534 worldwide on a limited theatrical release in selected countries.

In February 2008, Variety announced Metcalfe would star alongside Michael Douglas and Amber Tamblyn in the remake of the 1956 film Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. Filming took place in Los Angeles the following month. The film suffered distribution problems and suffered numerous push-backs. The film was released in September 2009 to universally negative reviews. The film, which made over $3 million worldwide, failed to surpass the its $25 million budget.

In February 2010, Metcalfe was cast in the NBC crime drama television series Chase. The pilot was shot in March that same year in Houston, Texas. On May 10, 2010 NBC picked up an 18-episode first season. The series centers on a fugitive-apprehension team based outside of Houston, Texas who track down dangerous criminals. The series premiered on September 20 2010 to 7.31 million viewers and mixed reviews from critics. The series did not return for a second season due to low ratings.

In February 2011, Metcalfe was confirmed to star in the TNT drama television series Dallas. The series is a continuation of the Dallas series that premiered in 1978 and went on for 14 seasons. In July 2011, TNT picked up the pilot and ordered a 10-episode first season. Both Jordana Brewster and Josh Henderson were confirmed to star. Metcalfe portrays Christopher Ewing, a role that originated from the original series (and was played by another actor). The series premiered on June 13, 2012 to 6.86 million viewers and positive reviews from critics.