The effect that the ABC drama/soap “Desperate Housewives” (2004- ) had on its cast during the show’s monster first season was nothing short of dramatic. For its veteran cast members like Teri Hatcher and Marcia Cross, the show provided a considerable boost to their careers; while for newcomers like Eva Longoria, it propelled them from obscurity to overnight stardom. Jesse Metcalfe, who played teenage gardener John Rowland, was firmly in the latter category, as the program elevated him from minor celebrity status to full-fledged star – much to the delight of his female fan base who could never get enough of him cutting the lawn shirtless.
Metcalfe was born on Dec. 9, 1978, though the location ended up the subject of much debate on the internet, with some sources (including his official bio on ABC.com) listing him as a native of Waterford, CT, while others give Carmel Valley, CA as his birthplace. Whatever the case, Metcalfe spent a portion of his formative years in Waterford before attending New York City’s famed Tisch School of the Arts from 1996-99 to pursue acting and directing. Though he left the school before graduating, he managed to make ends meet as a print model for several years, landing coverage in youth-oriented publications such as Seventeen and YM.
Eventually, Metcalfe ended up an open casting call for a new, wackier than usual daytime soap opera called “Passions” (NBC, 1999- ). Luck, talent and good genes all played their part in Mecalfe landing the role of Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald, one of four sons in one of the show’s central families. Miguel’s story arc centered around his desire for the supernaturally-inclined Charity Standish (Molly Stanton) and the machinations of his childhood friend Kay Bennett (Taylor Anne Mountz) to claim him as her own. This led to Kay bearing Miguel’s child, but by 2004, Miguel and Charity departed the show’s fictional locale, leaving her an embittered single mom. Metcalfe departed the show at this point, but his character, now played by Adrian Bellani, returned in 2006. Reportedly, Metcalfe and Mountz dated during their tenure on the soap.
Moving up the ladder of success, Metcalfe logged appearances in two episodes of “Smallville” (WB, 2001- ) during his time on “Passions;” in both episodes (aired in 2003 and 2004), he played the vengeful Van McNulty, who sought to kill anyone affected by the same freak meteor shower that launched Clark (Tom Welling) Kent’s developing powers. Metcalfe also had a small role as a uniformed police officer in the 2003 FX TV movie, “44 Minutes: A Shootout in North Hollywood.”
In ’04, Metcalfe was cast on “Desperate Housewives,” leaving his life forever changed. Viewers immediately responded to his high school gardener, John Rowland’s sexy and illicit romance with his older, married boss, Gabrielle (Eva Longoria). His subsequent story arc – which encompassed everything from believing that he had impregnated Gabrielle to being assaulted by her husband Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) at a gay hate crime trial –was very much in line with the series’ hyper-dramatic tone. Leaving the show in 2005, John Rowland had been written as away from Gabrielle and running his own gardening company, but the actor returned to the steamy show in 2006, reprising the role that made him catnip to viewers of both sexes.
The exposure Metcalfe enjoyed from “Housewives” led to some high-profile TV and film appearances. He was featured twice on Ashton Kutcher’s reality-comedy series “Punk’d” (MTV, 2003- ), once as part of a gag involving Longoria, and once as the sole focus of a joke. He also turned up in the music video for the song “Let Me Go” by the alt-rock outfit, Three Doors Down. And in 2006, he graduated to leading man status in the comedy “John Tucker Must Die,” which co-starred Sophia Bush of “One Tree Hill” (The WB/CW, 2003- ) and R&B singer/actress Ashanti. The film received almost universally negative reviews, but the savvy advertising campaign (which centered around Metcalfe’s face and body) helped bring in the teenage audience, and Metcalfe himself showed a knack for comedy in the title role of a high school lothario whose conquests unite to bring him down.