First, I wanted to be a cowboy, then I wanted to be Superman…
~ Jesse Metcalfe
by Rita Cook
Born in Carmel Valley Village, California, the son of Nancy (née DeMaio) and Jeff Metcalfe. His father is of English, Irish, French, and Italian descent and his mother is of Italian and Portuguese descent. Metcalfe played in several basketball leagues during his teen years in Waterford, Connecticut, and graduated from The Williams School in New London, Connecticut. He dropped out of NYU once he booked the part Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald on the soap opera Passions.
Outside of work, Metcalfe is a huge sports fan with strong loyalty to the NBA teams Lakers and Knicks, MLB team Yankees and NFL teams Patriots and Cowboys. He also works out religiously and is himself a regular on the basketball court.
A music lover, Metcalfe is an accomplished guitarist. He’s also into classic cars, motorbikes and is an avid poker game.
Metcalfe became a household face with his turn on “Desperate Housewives” from 2004 to 2009 playing John Rowland, the love-struck teenage gardener who had an illicit affair with Gabrielle Solis, Eva Longoria’s character. However, in addition to that plum role, Jesse Metcalfe has also starred in two films this year and recently became an ambassador for an organization called GO Campaign (www.gocampaign.org).
GO Campaign is dedicated to helping orphans and vulnerable children throughout the world build a better future with an emphasis on the countries of China, Cambodia, Kenya, Malawi, Peru, Rwanda, Tanzania and Malawi. A youth-driven nonprofit that brings together youth everywhere, their main goal is to cut out the red tape and provide direct access to grassroots projects that improve’— and often save—lives of vulnerable children around the globe.
“I heard about the campaign from a friend and literally asked them if I could become involved,” he says. “Simple as that and lucky for me they said yes. I like the fact that the GO Campaign is 100% centered on helping orphans and children less fortunate throughout the world.”
It was this upbringing that he says contributed to who he is today, “I learned to work hard for the things I wanted in life and the “value of a dollar” from very early on. I think, like most east coast upbringings, I learned to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground, or else, get slapped back down. I’d say that a “keep it real” mentality is my greatest homegrown asset.”
In The Tortured, Metcalfe played a loving family man who seeks revenge after his son’s murder and believes that “both character arches center around the theme of morality versus desire. Both characters are engaged in an inner struggle that is very tangible and very human; a struggle that we’re all faced with at some point or another in life. I found all the desires of both these characters within myself.”
Currently Metcalfe says there is nothing he would change in his life even though acting might not have always been his first choice.
“Life is trial and error,” he begins. “First, I wanted to be a cowboy, then I wanted to be Superman, then Indiana Jones, then a psychologist, then a filmmaker and now I’m an actor. Who knows what I’ll want to be next week.”
With his five-year goals in place he concludes, “Hopefully [I will] have a long and inspired career as an actor, travel the world, help people through various philanthropic ventures by giving of myself and my time, become a more accomplished guitarist, spend time with my friends and family and generally, be a better man.”
