Christopher Gorham

**Christopher David Gorham** is an American actor who is best known for the ABC series *Ugly Betty*. He has also appeared in such series as *Popular*, *Odyssey 5*, *Felicity*, *Jake 2.0*, *Medical Investigation*, *Out of Practice*, *Harper's Island*, *Covert Affairs*, and *Once Upon a Time*.

## Early life

Gorham was born in Fresno, California, to David Gorham, a certified public accountant, and Cathryn Gorham, a school nurse. He attended Roosevelt High School and graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Theater in 1996. While in college he participated in many sports, including martial arts, stage combat, fencing, rollerblading, and ballroom dancing.

## Career

His first job in the acting business was as an intern on *Baywatch* (1989). Gorham has appeared in a number of science fiction TV series, ranging from a starring role in *Odyssey 5* to the title character in *Jake 2.0*. He also had roles on *Party of Five*, *Felicity*, and *Without a Trace*. He has also acted in films, including 2001's *The Other Side of Heaven* co-starring Anne Hathaway.

Gorham played Harrison John in the WB series *Popular* and Dr. Miles McCabe in the NBC drama *Medical Investigation*. He played the lead role in the short-lived CBS series *Out of Practice*. He was also the lead of ABC Family's original movie *Relative Chaos*.

Three years after *Jake 2.0* ended, Gorham had a recurring role as Henry Grubstick in Silvio Horta's new series, *Ugly Bett*y, and played the main love interest for the series' heroine Betty Suarez (played by America Ferrera). He joined the cast full-time for the series' second season. He then left in July 2008, but returned for the Season 3 and then also the Season 4 finale. He starred in the 2009 CBS TV miniseries, *Harper's Island*, in which characters were killed off every week leading to the eventual reveal of the murderer.

In summer 2010 he was cast as one of the leads in *Covert Affairs*, playing a blind special ops agent, Auggie Anderson, who leads the main character, a trainee CIA agent played by Piper Perabo, at her new job. The series on the USA cable network received high ratings right from the airing of its pilot episode and was renewed for a fourth season on September 25, 2012. *Covert Affairs* had a season 5 premiere on June 24, 2014. BuddyTV ranked Gorham No. 5 on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011".

In 2014 Gorham recurred in the back half of the third season of *Once Upon a Time* as Walsh, the Wizard of Oz. He currently plays rival pageant coach Bob Barnard on the Netflix series *Insatiable* which premiered August 10, 2018.

## Personal life

Gorham is married to his former *Popular* co-star, Anel Lopez Gorham, with whom he has three children: sons born 2001 and 2003, and a daughter born in January 2009. He is an autism awareness advocate as he has a child diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.

## Trivia

* Attended high school at Roosevelt School of the Arts and graduated from UCLA with a BA in Film & Theater arts. While in college, he participated in many sports including martial arts, stage combat, fencing, roller-blading, and ballroom dancing.
* He resides in San Fernando Valley, California, USA.
* Although he doesn't actually play the trumpet, his brother does, so he was guided in his determination that his fingering would at least appear authentic in The Other Side of Heaven (2001). Likewise, he does not speak Tongan, but he practiced hard, and his coach declared that he had perfect pronunciation. The cast and crew were quite impressed and, in this way, he set the work ethic for the entire shoot. Gorham was cast in the starring role as a Mormon missionary although he is not part of the LDS church in real life; in the director's words, Gorham was chosen because "he has a very gentle soul.".
* While still in high school, he won Young Male Talent of the Year at an International Modeling Talent Association competition in New York City.
* In the fourth grade he starred as the Mad Hatter in Lewis Carroll's Alice Through the Looking Glass, for which he won the Best Actor award that was usually reserved for sixth graders.
* He is a licensed auctioneer, having trained with his grandfather in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
* First job in the business was as an intern on Baywatch (1989).
* Attended Roosevelt School of the Arts in Fresno with Anita Kopacz, Yvonna Kopacz Wright, Audra McDonald, Matthew Floyd Miller, Kurando Mitsutake, James Runcorn, Matt G. Wiens, and Mick Wingert.
* He starred in the CBS hit show, Harper's Island, where characters were killed off in order to reveal a murderer.
* He met wife, Anel Lopez Gorham on the set of the series, Popular and they have four children; three boys and a girl.
* He made an appearance in Hot in Cleveland, a TV Land series starring Betty White.