Charles Esten

Charles Esten seemed to fight his destiny as an actor in his younger years. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Esten went through his younger years focused on business, as he wound up attending The College of William and Mary and studying economics. Throughout most of his time at college, he was a lead singer in a band. That wasn't enough to satiate the performer in him, though, as he wound heading off to England to pursue his theater aspirations following his college graduation in 1987.

He was back a few years later to make his sketch comedy debut on the short-lived show "On the Television" (Nick-at-Nite 1990-91). After that ended, Esten made his debut on the British version of the improv comedy show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (Channel 4 1988-1998) in 1992, appearing in several episodes over the course of the next few years. Throughout the '90s, Esten appeared in a number of TV shows, including guest spots on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994) and "Star Trek: Voyager" (UPN 1995-2001) and a memorable role as Luke near the end of "Party of Five" (Fox 1994-2000).

In 1999, he returned to improv comedy, this time in the American version of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (ABC 1998-2006). Esten quickly became a regular on the show, appearing in over 150 episodes. As his time on the show ended, Esten appeared in a few episodes of "The Office" (NBC 2005-2013), "ER" (NBC 1994-2009), and "Big Love" (HBO 2006-2011) over the next few years, biding his time waiting for something more long term. He finally landed a regular role on a show as country music star Deacon Claybourne on "Nashville" (NBC 2012- ).