More familiar to UK audiences than those in the US, actor Jack Davenport stars as an evil director in NBC’s upcoming musical Smash. A Britain native, Davenport was born in Merton, England. His major film successes have been The Talented Mr. Ripley, where he played Matt Damon’s love interest, the romantic comedy The Wedding Date, in which he acted alongside Smash co-star Debra Messing, and Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean.
He is wildly successful in UK television, but his US television endeavors have not been as promising. Davenport starred in Swingtown and Flashforward, both of which got cancelled after one season. Luckily, Smash has already been renewed for season two.
Unfortunately, Davenport is taken, ladies. He has been married to actress Michelle Gomez since 2000, and they welcomed a baby boy last year.
His role in Smash is quite a departure from his home life as a family man. On Smash, he was the brilliant but womanizing director of the Marilyn Monroe-inspired musical in production. He is a ruthless director who stops at nothing to make sure the show will be a success, but also takes advantage of his role as director.
His road to acting was not a straightforward one; though his parents are actors, they did not want him to become an actor and rather welcomed him being a lion tamer instead. But an actor he became and we get to see him get his sexy evil director on in Smash.