Jay Huguley (born July 26, 1966) is an American film, TV and theatre actor, best known for playing David on AMC's The Walking Dead,[1] and Jimmy Ledoux on HBO's True Detective.

Jay Huguley
Born (1966-07-26) July 26, 1966 (age 58)
OccupationActor
Years active1995–present

Early life and education

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Huguley was born in Englewood, New Jersey and raised in nearby Tenafly, New Jersey,[2][3] the youngest of three boys, to father Arthur W. Huguley, III, a commodities trader and president of Westway Trading Corporation, and mother Katherine McCrae Yarborough Huguley, a housewife.

As a child, Huguley spent his teenage years attending the Peddie School, a boarding school in Hightstown, New Jersey, from where he later graduated. He spent a year abroad at the University of London studying political science and graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., with a double major in political science and communications.

Huguley studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, under the aegis of Anna Strasberg, and at the Beverly Hills Playhouse in Los Angeles, under the world-renowned teacher Milton Katselas.

Career

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Prior to his professional acting career, Huguley was a fashion model. Following college, he was discovered working as a lifeguard, when someone working in fashion in New York suggested he should try modeling.[4] Two Polaroids were taken of him, and he was brought into New York City. Soon after. he received a contract with Wilhelmina Models, which sent him to London, Paris, Milan and Sydney, Australia.

Huguley lived in Paris throughout the early-1990s, where he worked as a model for brands like Armani, Valentino, Zegna and Romeo Gigli. He first realized his passion for acting while taking a directing class in college, where one of his assignments was to audition for the school play to get an idea of what actors experience in their process of attempting to score acting roles. He got the part of the Gentleman Caller in Tennessee WilliamsThe Glass Menagerie. Huguley then moved back to the United States, where he began to work regularly in theatre and studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute. He moved to Los Angeles to do a play directed by Lee’s widow, Anna Strasberg.

In his earliest appearances on television, Huguley starred in smaller roles on Mad TV, The Norm Show, Walker, Texas Ranger, Providence, and Strong Medicine before getting more recurring roles in TV shows such as Summerland, and Alias. He also starred in 2010 as Richard Hightower on the long-running soap opera, The Young and the Restless.

Huguley is best known for playing David on AMC's The Walking Dead,[5] and Jimmy Ledoux on HBO's True Detective. Huguley also played Will Branson on Seasons 3 and 4 of the HBO series Treme, and Whit Peyton in the ABC TV series, Brothers & Sisters.

Huguley has also played recurring characters in ABC Family's "Ravenswood" (spin-off to Pretty Little Liars), and in the CW's Star-Crossed. He's also guest-starred in episodes of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Red Band Society, Nashville, Breaking In, Drop Dead Diva, and Army Wives.

In 2013, he appeared in Steve McQueen’s film 12 Years a Slave, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Brad Pitt, and Michael Fassbender.[6]

In 2015, he appeared in Helen Hunt's Ride, and starred as Jonah Bock in the hit indie darling, Sunny in the Dark, a feature film written by Courtney Ware, for which he took home the award for "Best Actor" from the Northeast Film Festival.[7]

In 2016, Huguley appeared in the highly anticipated horror film, Abattoir, by the man credited for furthering the Saw franchise, Darren Lynn Bousman. Abattoir has already nabbed a sequel deal, prior to its official theatrical release.

Huguley's most recent roles include Heart, Baby and William Henry Moody in Lizzie, both released in 2018. He has twice portrayed historical figures. In 2013, he played Sheriff H.P. Voorhies, the man who negotiated freedom of Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave and most recently, as William Henry Moody, the prosecuting attorney in the infamous Lizzie Borden trial in the film Lizzie alongside Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart.

In 2008, Huguley starred in David Lindsay-Abaire’s Tony Award-winning play Rabbit Hole at the Skylight Theatre. About his performance, the Los Angeles Times said, "Jay Huguley dwells inside the play’s contradictions and connects us to its anguished, buoyant heart." In 2009, Huguley played the lead role of Henry in Tom Stoppard’s play The Real Thing at Los Angeles’ Skylight Theatre.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1995 Vampire Vixens from Venus Drained Driver
1995 Call Girl Arthur Benton
1998 Brina's Problem Michael
1999 Temptations Tanner
2003 Melvin Goes to Dinner Johnny Extra
2003 Saved by the Rules Mike
2005 Silent Men Richard 'Sadhu'
2005 Stress, Orgasms, and Salvation Reverend James
2012 Hijacked Tim
2013 Hot Guys with Guns Bruce Lieberman
2013 12 Years a Slave Sheriff H.P. Voorhies
2014 Patient Z Dr. Vincent Gersh
2014 When the Game Stands Tall Coach Towne Uncredited
2014 Ride Co-worker
2015 Sunny in the Dark Jonah
2016 Carbon Canyon Mr. Loris
2016 Abattoir Felix
2017 The Hammer Officer Paul
2018 Lizzie William Henry Moody
2018 Tales from the Hood 2 Fitch Measpine
2018 Almost Home Lexus John
2019 The Hacks Kevin
2019 From Zero to I Love You Eric Dupont
2019 Killerman James Manning
2020 The Glorias TV Interviewer
2020 The Eagle and the Albatross Dean
2020 The Fox Hunter Edwin McCushing
2020 Surviving in L.A. Mark
2021 The Eyes of Tammy Faye Jimmy Swaggart
2022 The Walk Riley

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1998 Mad TV Cop Episode: "Vivica A. Fox"
2000 The Norm Show Man Episode: "I've Got a Crush on You"
2000 Walker, Texas Ranger Detective Rogers Episode: "Deadly Situation"
2001 Dexter's Laboratory Hokochoo 2 episodes
2002 That '80s Show Bartender 3 episodes
2002 Providence Georgeous Doctor Episode: "It's Raining Men"
2002 Meet the Marks Jay 'the groom' Episode #1.1
2003 Boomtown Chris Hamlin Episode: "The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang"
2004 Strong Medicine Donald Murray Episode: "Graft"
2005 Summerland Doug Fox 3 episodes
2005, 2006 Alias Dr. Peter Marks 2 episodes
2006 Medium Larry Greene / Best Man Episode: "Knowing Her"
2006 Cold Case Joe Livingston (1979) Episode: "The Key"
2006 Thick and Thin Gerard Episode: "Jen the Model"
2006–2007 Brothers & Sisters Whit Peyton 6 episodes
2007 What About Brian Martin First Episode: "What About the Tangled Web..."
2008 Quarterlife Arthur Episode: "Goodbyes"
2010 The Young and the Restless Richard Hightower 4 episodes
2010 Dad's Home Brian Westman Television film
2011 Drop Dead Diva Kevin Williams Episode: "Prom"
2012 Breaking In Sean Hurley Episode: "The Legend of Hurley's Gold"
2012 Army Wives Dr. Paul Campell Episode: "Handicap"
2012–2013 Treme Will Branson 6 episodes
2013 Nashville Dewey Episode: "I'm Sorry for You, My Friend"
2013 The Neighbors Paul Episode: "Mother Clubbers"
2013 Anna Nicole John Lawfton Television film
2013–2014 Ravenswood Tom Beddington 3 episodes
2014 True Detective Jimmy Ledoux Episode: "After You've Gone"
2014 Star-Crossed Ray Whitehill 4 episodes
2014 Red Band Society Sean Fahey Episode: "So Tell Me What You Want

What You Really Really Want"

2015 CSI: Cyber Gordon Episode: "L0M1S"
2015 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Young Rebecca's Father Episode: "I Hope Josh Comes to My Party!"
2015 The Walking Dead Dave 3 episodes
2016 The Inspectors Frank Macom Episode: "No Good Deed"
2016 Halt and Catch Fire Cal Erickson Episode: "Rules of Honorable Play"
2016 Rosewood David B. Jones Episode: "Boatopsy & Booty"
2016 The Real O'Neals Gary Episode: "The Real Tradition"
2019 The Purge Defense Attorney Episode: "Blindspots"
2020 NCIS: New Orleans Ben Kinnaman Episode: "Relentless"
TBA Pegasus Actor Episode: "Do you believe in magic?"

References

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  1. ^ Deadline.com (October 21, 2015). "The Walking Dead Adds Jay Huguley". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  2. ^ Duggan, Amelia; and Spelling, Ian. "Famous people who entered the world in Bergen", (201) magazine. Accessed August 18, 2015. "Born in Englewood... Jay Huguley, 1966 - Tenafly native Jay Huguley has enjoyed a successful career in television and feature films, including Cold Case, Medium, Brothers and Sisters, and What About Brian. He had a recurring role as Will Branson on the HBO series Treme and appeared in the 2012 film Hijacked."
  3. ^ Duggan, Amelia and Spelling, Ian. "Big Name 'Small' Start" on bergen.com (May 9, 2012); last accessed October 4, 2012
  4. ^ "(201)Face-to-face with guest actor and Tenafly native Jay Huguley" on bergen.com (May 20, 2010), last accessed October 4, 2012
  5. ^ Bradley, Bill (November 7, 2015). "8 'Walking Dead' Secrets You Didn't Know, According To A Dead Man". The Huffington Post. Los Angeles: AOL. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  6. ^ Boone, Lisa (October 19, 2013). "'12 Years a Slave' actor Jay Huguley at home in Kesling design". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 16, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  7. ^ Beckerman, Jim (September 12, 2015). "Tenafly actor to be seen in film screened at Northeast Film Festival Saturday". The Record. North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
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