As Jesse Metcalfe's journey from boy toy to action daredevil proves,
it's not always easy being a hunk.
Growing up, Jesse Metcalfe wasn't quite sure what he wanted to be,
telling Life Stories Productions -
"First, I wanted to be a cowboy, then I wanted to be
Superman, then Indiana Jones, then a psychologist, then a filmmaker."
Discovering acting as a teenager changed everything. While he didn't immediately
decide he wanted to do it as a career, Metcalfe found that it helped him in
another way. As he explained to the Kansas City Star, he was somewhat shy growing up,
and discovered that acting brought him more confidence, explaining -
"The shyness and insecurity when you're acting, it does melt away,
because you're not really being YOU. And you can really put yourself in the circumstance
of your character and think your character's thoughts. It takes you on a personal journey."
As noted by Schön! Magazine Metcalfe attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts,
where he studied directing and also took acting classes. He began modeling to help pay for school,
which eventually led to his breakthrough role on "Passions." Metcalfe ended up dropping out
of school to move to Los Angeles for the part, and the rest is history.
Playing John Rowland on "Desperate Housewives" catapulted Jesse Metcalfe
to fame, but the road to stardom wasn't an easy one. While he wasn't as young
as the teenager he played on the show and not exactly a newcomer to show business,
he was still overwhelmed, saying in an interview with i-D -
"I definitely wasn't ready for so much exposure so quickly. I was 26,
and I think [my] meteoric rise coalesced with the rise of the internet. It was like a tidal wave."
"I can handle it."
"I'm pregnant and it might be yours."
Metcalfe's status as a sex symbol led to some unwanted attention,
as his appearance was dissected ad nauseam in the media. Metcalfe frequently appeared
shirtless on the show, which came with extra pressure for him to stay in shape. He added -
"You can run your body into the ground working out,
not to mention the other things male actors do to stay fit."
In an effort to cope with the crushing burden of
his fame after "Desperate Housewives," Jesse Metcalfe turned to partying, telling i-D -
"There were certainly a lot of perks, but it was bigger than me and all-consuming and I was swept
up in it. But then it all comes crashing down in the quiet moments, when you're home alone."
The actor went to rehab and got clean in 2007.
He opened up about the decision in a now-deleted Instagram post in 2018,
revealing that the experience inspired him to work on the film "Steps," writing -
"You can't wait for the phone to ring, you have to create [your] own opportunities,
by telling your own stories."
Sadly, the film, which was raising money through crowdfunding, never got off the ground;
In an interview with more! Magazine, Metcalfe
said his struggles with addiction were character-forming, saying -
"I've had to learn most lessons the hard way, but that's the reason I'm so ambitious."
"You love me, I know you love me."
"Love isn't enough.
Where would we live? Here with your roommates? The only decoration in the bathroom is a bong!"
Despite the fame he achieved with his "Desperate Housewives" role,
Metcalfe struggled to maintain steady work. Part of this was because of his good looks,
which made it difficult for him to branch out to other types of characters, telling i-D -
"The industry tends to think if you look a certain way, that's all you have to offer."
While Metcalfe was able to book roles, many of them were in low-profile projects like the
2010 TV movie "Fairfield Road" and the critically panned "God's Not Dead 2."
In an interview with Variety, Metcalfe expressed some regrets over how he
handled that phase of his career, saying - "In hindsight, I realized I should have been more
strategic. I was so hungry coming off 'Desperate Housewives' and getting 'John Tucker Must Die,'
I think I jumped too quickly at a lot of roles after that. It's really about patience."
Still, he's happy with how things turned out. Now that he's a Hallmark star, his career is
on more stable ground, and he's grateful for the difficulties of his earlier years, telling i-D -
"I've come out stronger and better having been through what I've been through in my career.
I wouldn't go back and change anything."
Jesse Metcalfe's acting talents have been on display for decades now,
but viewers of his earlier work might not know that he also has a killer set of pipes. He's
put his musical talents on display many times, such as in the film "Harmony from the Heart."
It was the Hallmark show "Chesapeake Shores," though, that really let him showcase his talents.
His character on the show, Trace, is a musician — something that was Metcalfe's own idea.
He explained to Schön! Magazine that the show is based on a series of books,
but that in the books, his character had a totally different career, saying -
"My character in the books was an architect,
and I personally didn't think that would be as interesting as him being a musician.
I think everyone involved agreed, and that idea started to take shape."
Metcalfe loved being able to make music on the show,
revealing that he even wrote some songs for the series.
"I try to pull the heartstrings even more by writing songs that
really speak to the themes and the storylines on the show."
His musical talents don't end there, though — he grew up playing the piano, guitar, and clarinet.
When he's not acting or playing music Jesse Metcalfe also has some pretty
smooth moves on the dance floor. The "John Tucker Must Die" star competed on
"Dancing With the Stars" in 2020 and, while he had no previous experience,
impressed audiences as he danced with pro partner Sharna Burgess. They didn't win the competition,
but Metcalfe said he had a blast in the reality competition, telling ET -
"I think the journey was cut short a bit, but everything that's meant to be will be,
and this was the end of the road for me. I trimmed down,
I lost 10 pounds, and I really think it helped with my posture.
Overall, it was just such an amazing experience." The competition was not only fun for Metcalfe,
but it also gave him a greater appreciation for dance, telling Heavy -
"Maybe much like acting, I think the average person doesn't realize
how difficult of an artform it is."
Much to the dismay of fans,
Jesse Metcalfe unexpectedly left the Hallmark show "Chesapeake Shores" in 2021.
He'd been on the show since 2016, and felt his time there had run its course, telling ET -
"Life's all about growth. I tend to put myself in
challenging situations because I feel like that's the fastest way to grow."
Leaving "Chesapeake Shores" also frees up some time for Metcalfe
to pursue other projects. During the ET interview,
he explained that he was hoping to break into some higher-profile projects, saying -
"I really want to up the bar in my career. Not to look down on any of
the previous work that I've done, but I want to continue to pursue a film career,
and I think the best way to do that is to get on a respected, critically acclaimed television show."
While Jesse Metcalfe is best known for romantic films like "Christmas Under the Stars," he's
also an action star. Metcalfe starred alongside Bruce Willis in 2020's "Hard Kill" and the "Dead
Rising" films. Metcalfe works hard to stay in top-notch shape, and according to Men's Journal,
he prefers physically challenging exercises that work numerous parts of the body at the same time.
Staying in peak physical shape helps him with all of those action scenes,
especially as he prefers to do his own stunt work. In an interview with Nuke
the Fridge for "Dead Rising: Watchtower," Metcalfe said he even shooed his stunt
double off the set before a big fall, deciding to do it himself, boasting -
"There's not a single moment in the movie where you're like,
'that's not Jesse,' cause there isn't one. I seriously challenge anyone to find one."
"I'm sliding down escalators, decapitating zombies, I'm — I'm doing uh, high falls."
Speaking with ET Canada, Metcalfe revealed that he's also trained in
MMA fighting and boxing, which helped him when filming "Hard Kill," saying -
"I'm not a UFC fighter by any means, but I know how to throw a punch,
so I didn't need to develop fighting skills from the ground up. I know enough,
and I'm well-versed enough in the art of stage combat to do this stuff on the fly."
Jesse Metcalfe spent his early career in Los Angeles,
having moved there in the late '90s to star on the soap opera "Passions."
After spending decades in the city, Metcalfe made the move to Miami in January 2022.
The actor spoke to Aventura Magazine about the move to Florida, explaining that the COVID-19
pandemic turned the acting industry on its ear, and the changes allowed him to make the move.
"With Zoom, Skype, and other ways to communicate, you don't have to live in Los Angeles anymore,"
In an interview with KTLA, Metcalfe said he was ready for some changes in his life,
and also admitted that it didn't hurt that he got a great offer on his home in Los Angeles,
making the move to Miami that much sweeter. Metcalfe seems thrilled
with his new location, telling Aventura Magazine -
"The city is beautiful, and for me, it is a breath of fresh air after so many years in Los Angeles."
Speaking to i-D, Jesse Metcalfe speculated that his career might have been a bit
easier if social media had been around when he was starting out, saying -
"It seems like a lot of actors now get sent right to the top — one television show can lead to a
hundred-million-dollar movie. I wish there had been Twitter and Instagram when I was coming up."
Metcalfe is making up for the lack of social media in his youth now, though,
and is keeping his many fans updated on several social media platforms. The actor boasts over
190,000 followers on Twitter and a whopping one million followers on Instagram as of this video.
He's less prolific on TikTok, but still has more than 8,000 followers on the platform.