John Corbett

John Corbett
Corbett in July 2015
Born	John Joseph Corbett (1961-05-09) May 9, 1961 Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, singer
Years active	1987–present
Partner(s)	Bo Derek (2002–present)

John Joseph Corbett (born May 9, 1961) is an American actor and country music singer.^[1] He is best known for playing Chris Stevens on Northern Exposure from 1990 to 1995; and Aidan Shaw on Sex and the City – a role which he reprised for the series film sequel Sex and the City 2 (2010). He also played the male lead in My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) and its 2016 sequel. He starred in United States of Tara as Max Gregson, and has appeared on NBC dramedy Parenthood as Seth Holt. Corbett started his acting career in television commercials, and in recent years, he has done TV and radio voiceovers for Applebee's restaurants and Walgreens drug stores, among others. Aside from acting, Corbett has recorded and released two country music albums.

Early life

Corbett was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, the son of Sandra "Sandy" (née Pavilack) and John Marshall Corbett. He grew up in an apartment block near the Ohio River with his mother, a waitress who worked in his uncle's music club.^[2] His mother was of part Russian Jewish descent,^[3] though Corbett was raised Catholic.^[4] His father was born and raised in Bellaire, Ohio.^[5] He started playing the guitar at age seven, and at 16 he had a job as a security guard at the Capitol Music Hall.^[6] Corbett attended Wheeling Central Catholic High School, from which he graduated in 1979.^[7]

Following his graduation from high school, Corbett moved to California and worked in a steel factory for six years.^[8] During his time as a boilermaker in the factory, Corbett spent a year training to become an L.A. County Deputy Sheriff, but ultimately failed.^[9] He stopped working at the factory after he was injured, and subsequently enrolled at Cerritos College in Norwalk, California. There, he took acting classes and studied hair dressing for a year.^[10] Corbett said, "I went to hair school by day and studied theatre at night."^[11] He has been a licensed hair stylist since 1986.^[5] He then landed a Samsung commercial, and after three years he had starred in 50 national commercials.^[12]

Career

Acting

Corbett at the 44th Primetime Emmy Awards in August 1992

Corbett's first major role was as the hippie boyfriend of Karen Arnold in season one, episode 4 ("Angel"), of The Wonder Years in 1988. For this appearance, he was credited as Jack Corbett. He has co-starred in three successful television series to date: Northern Exposure from 1990 to 1995, Sex and the City from 2001 to 2002, and United States of Tara from 2009 to 2011.

Corbett played the leading role in two short-lived television series. The first was in the 1997 science fiction series The Visitor, in which Corbett played Adam MacArthur, a man abducted by aliens, only to find his way home 50 years later and endowed with unearthly powers. In 2003, he starred in his second series, Lucky, which was about a professional poker player, Michael "Lucky" Linkletter, living in Las Vegas.

Corbett guest starred on the NBC daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives as a hospital administrator for two episodes in late-December 1995 and two episodes in early March 1996. Corbett's film credits include Tombstone, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, Raising Helen, Dreamland and The Messengers. Corbett appeared in Serendipity with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, and he played the role of a music teacher in Raise Your Voice, which starred Hilary Duff. He had a cameo role as Ken Roloff in Dinner Rush (2000). Additionally, Corbett starred in the 2007 Lifetime film Montana Sky, and co-starred as a corrupt LAPD vice squad member in Street Kings (2008). He then starred as Tom Marks, the father of a little girl fighting for her life, in the Hallmark film "November Christmas", which premiered November 28, 2010. Corbett co-starred in the Showtime series United States of Tara opposite Toni Collette.

From 2011 to 2012, he had a recurring role on Parenthood.^[13][14] In March 2013, Corbett appeared in two episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles and was considered to be the star of a NCIS spin-off series that was ultimately not produced. He also played teacher Mike Kersjes in the Hallmark film based on the memoir A Smile as Big as the Moon (2012). Corbett provided the voiceover for Applebee's television commercials and, since 2012, for Walgreens' television and radio adverts.^[15]

Music

Corbett released a full-length, self-titled country music album, co-produced by D. Scott Miller and Tara Novick, on April 4, 2006, and went on tour that year to promote the album, opening for ZZ Top, Lisa Marie Presley and Charlie Daniels. Its only single, "Good to Go" (which was also recorded by Jason Aldean on his self-titled debut album), debuted at No. 48 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, which was the highest debut by a new artist from an independent label,^[16] and later peaked at No. 43. In addition, Corbett was featured in Trisha Yearwood's music video of her 2008 single "This Is Me You're Talking To". In 2013, Corbett released his second country album, Leaving Nothin' Behind, produced by Jon Randall.^[17][18]

Personal life

Corbett was raised Catholic, but is now a born-again Christian, although he does not attend church.^[4] He has never been married, and has stated that he does not see himself getting married or having children.^[19] He has been in a relationship with actress Bo Derek since 2002.^[20] The couple reside on a ranch in Santa Ynez, California.^[21]

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Corbett.

• John Corbett on IMDb
• John Corbett Official Website