James Tupper (born August 4, 1965) is a Canadian actor known for his roles as Jack Slattery on the ABC television series Men in Trees, Dr. Chris Sands on the NBC medical drama series Mercy, and David Clarke on ABC's Revenge. He also starred in the post-apocalyptic thriller Aftermath, on Space in Canada and Syfy in the U.S., and in the HBO series Big Little Lies.

James Tupper
Born (1965-08-04) August 4, 1965 (age 59)
EducationConcordia University (BFA)
Rutgers University, New Brunswick (MFA)
OccupationActor
Years active2000–present
Spouse
Kate Mayfield
(m. 2001; sep. 2006)
PartnerAnne Heche (2007–2018)
Children1

Early life

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Tupper was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He studied acting at Concordia University, Montreal, and later at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where he earned a master's degree.[1]

Career

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Tupper acted in several off-Broadway plays, including An Actor Prepares and After the Rain. He co-wrote and appeared in 2005's Loudmouth Soup, a fully improvised independent film that was filmed in one night with no script and no second takes.[2]

In 2006, Tupper started portraying Jack Slattery in the ABC series Men in Trees, credited for all 36 episodes of the show's run. He then appeared as Dr. Chris Sands in the NBC medical drama Mercy for 22 episodes before it was cancelled in 2010.

Tupper appeared as Dr. Andrew Perkins, a trauma counselor, on ABC's Grey's Anatomy.[3] He appeared in seven episodes in the show's seventh season.

Tupper appeared on ABC's Revenge from 2011 to its cancellation in 2015. He portrayed the character of David Clarke, the supposedly deceased father of the main character. His character had a recurring role for the first three seasons, appearing only in flashbacks and videos. Tupper was promoted to main cast for season four after it was revealed in the season three finale that his character was still alive.[4]

On September 27, 2016, the British Columbia, Canada-produced post-apocalyptic action thriller Aftermath debuted on Canada's Space network and on America's Syfy network. While starring in this series, his real-life partner Anne Heche played his wife for the series. In addition to his acting role on the series, Tupper also served as co-producer. The freshman season's 13-episode run ended in December 2016; the series was not renewed.

Personal life

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Tupper split from his wife, Kate Mayfield, in November 2006; they were still married as of early 2009.[5] He began dating actress Anne Heche in 2007, they met on the set of Men in Trees and went on to co-star in the 2008 film Toxic Skies. [6] Their son was born in March 2009.[7] They split in January 2018.[8]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2001 Corky Romano FBI Agent
Joe Dirt Cop at the Bridge
Peroxide Passion Jed
2005 Loudmouth Soup Keith Miller
2006 Invisible Joe
Love's Abiding Joy Henry Klein
2008 For Heaven's Sake Peter Whitman
Toxic Skies Jack
Me and Orson Welles Joseph Cotten
2011 Mr. Popper's Penguins Rick
Girl Fight Ray
2012 Playing for Keeps Matt
2013 Nothing Left to Fear Dan
Decoding Annie Parker Steven
2016 My Sweet Audrina Damian
2020 Beneath Us Ben Rhodes
2022 The Requin Kyle
2023 Cold Copy
2024 Ride Cody

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2000 Time of Your Life Kedrick Episode: "The Time She Found Her Father"
2005 Gilmore Girls Biker #1 2 episodes
How I Met Your Mother Derek Episode: "The Limo"
CSI: NY Paul Zernecky Episode: "Dancing with the Fishes"
Love's Long Journey Henry TV movie
2006 Dr. Vegas Paramedic Episode: "Heal Thyself"
2006–2008 Men in Trees Jack Slattery Main role; 36 episodes
2007 Pictures of Hollis Woods John Regan TV movie
2008 Samantha Who? Owen 4 episodes
The Ex List Dan Episode: "Flower King"
2009–2010 Mercy Dr. Chris Sands Main role; 22 episodes
2009 A New Beginning Chris Daniels TV movie
The Gambler, the Girl and the Gunslinger B.J. Stoker TV movie
2010–2011 Grey's Anatomy Dr. Andrew Perkins Recurring role; 7 episodes
2011–2015 Revenge David Clarke Recurring role (season 1–3); main role (season 4)
2013 Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives TV movie
2014 Resurrection Dr. Eric Ward Recurring role
Mom's Day Away Michael Miller TV movie
2016 Aftermath Joshua Copeland Lead role
2017-2019 Big Little Lies Nathan Carlson Main role
2017 Site Unseen: An Emma Fielding Mystery Special Agent Jim Connor TV movie
2018 Past Malice: An Emma Fielding Mystery Special Agent Jim Connor TV movie
The Brave Alex Hoffman 2 episodes
American Woman Steve Nolan Recurring role
No Apologies Moses Fallon TV movie
2018–2019 A Million Little Things Andrew Pollock Recurring role
2019 Emma Fielding: More Bitter Than Death Special Agent John Connor TV movie
2020 The Detectives Detective Hank Idsinga 2 episodes
The Hardy Boys Fenton Hardy Main role
2021 My Christmas Family Tree Richard Hendricks TV movie
2022 Mid-Love Crisis Sam TV movie
2023 Fall Into Winter Brooks McLeod TV movie (Great American Family)

References

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  1. ^ Thomas, Rachel (October 2007). "An Interview with James Tupper (Jack, Men in Trees)". About.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2014. Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Stevens, Dana (September 22, 2005). "Let's Do Dinner (Ulterior Motive for Dessert)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 9, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  3. ^ Abrams, Natalie (July 15, 2010). "James Tupper to Guest-Star on Grey's Anatomy". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  4. ^ Bentley, Jean (June 9, 2014). "Revenge season 4 adds James Tupper as regular". zap2it. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2014. Archived April 23, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Nissim, Mayer (January 30, 2009). "Heche 'wants boyfriend to get divorced'". Digital Spy.
  6. ^ Pringle, Gill (May 1, 2011). "Anne Heche interview: "There was no joy in my family"". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on May 31, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  7. ^ Chiu, Alexis (March 11, 2009). "It's a Baby Boy for Anne Heche!". People. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
  8. ^ Dupre, Elyse (January 12, 2018). "Anne Heche and James Tupper Break Up After More Than 10 Years Together". E! Online. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
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