Christopher Gorham

American actor Christopher Gorham has been a fixture on television since the late-1990s, specializing in earnest if awkward young men who succeeded largely by their own gumption. He made his earliest splash as a gay teen on "Party of Five" (Fox, 1994-2000), and later, attracted a fan base with shows like "Popular" (The WB, 1999-2001) and the cult science fiction show "Jake 2.0" (UPN, 2003-04).

He found perhaps his largest audience as America Ferrara's introverted love interest on the hit series "Ugly Betty" (ABC, 2006-2010). Audiences soon found Gorham cast in a more malevolent light on the short-lived horror-mystery series "Harper's Island" (CBS, 2009). He next tasted success as a blind agent and mentor to a neophyte CIA operative (Piper Perabo) on the action-drama "Covert Affairs" (USA Network, 2010-14).

Combining athletic his looks with a bookish charm, Gorham was uniquely qualified to play an enviably wide array of roles in any number of genres.

Born Aug. 14, 1974 in Fresno, CA, Gorham admitted that his adolescence and teen years were often spent pursuing the same interests as many of his characters; he loved role-playing games, math, and teaching ballroom dancing. He also developed a passion for acting at a very young age, winning kudos for his stage performances while still in grade school, and earning the top prize at an international talent contest while attending Roosevelt High School of the Arts.

After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Theater Arts, he began appearances on episodic TV shows and the occasional film; his first feature was Danny Boyle's romantic comedy "A Life Less Ordinary" (1997). Gorham earned both critical acclaim and the respect of many members of the queer community for his portrayal of Jennifer Love Hewitt's gay boyfriend on "Party of Five" (Fox, 1994-2000) during the 1997-98 season. This role led to more appearances on youth-oriented shows like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (The WB, 1997-2003) and "Saved by the Bell: The New Class" (NBC, 1993-2000).

In 1999, he made his debut as a series regular on the outlandish high school comedy "Popular" (The WB, 1999-2001) where he imbued his "nerd" role of Harrison John with a humanity and humor that transcended the occasional low-brow writing, especially during a storyline arc that found his character suffering from leukemia. While on the show, Gorham also fell in love with his castmate, Anel Lopez, and married her in 2000.

Following the demise of "Popular" due to low ratings, Gorham forged ahead with a variety of projects. He was top-billed in the feature, "The Other Side of Heaven" (2001) as a young American missionary who discovers himself while serving in the South Pacific, and enjoyed a cult audience on the short-lived Canadian science fiction series "Odyssey 5" (Showtime, 2004), as a twenty-something space traveler who must relive his painful teenage years when he and his crew are sent back in time to prevent the Earth's destruction.

Gorham ventured deeper into sci-fi with his next series, "Jake 2.0," on which he played the title character, a government worker who develops super powers. Like "Odyssey 5" and his next series, the hospital drama "Medical Investigation" (ABC/NBC, 2004-05), it lasted a single season, but retained a small but committed fanbase long after it departed the airwaves.

Gorham switched to comedy for his next stab at a series. Despite a stellar cast that included Henry Winkler, Stockard Channing, Ty Burrell, and Jennifer Tilly, "Out of Practice" (CBS, 2005-06), about a family of dysfunctional therapists, earned low ratings and was pulled from the schedule after 14 episodes. In 2006, Gorham was tapped by his former "Jake 2.0" producer Silvo Horta to appear on his new series, "Ugly Betty" (ABC, 2006-2010).

As Henry, a possible love interest for the show's main character, Betty Suarez, the dorky but sweet accountant for the show's fictional Mode magazine, Gorham provided the same underdog qualities - warmth, determination and a sense of humor - that made audiences fall for Betty. It was no wonder that the sparks flew between the two characters.

Gorham announced in 2007 that he would join the cast as a regular in its third season, so "Betty" fans would get their wish to see their heroine live happily ever after. Despite the fervent hopes of devoted audience members, the "Ugly Betty" writing staff had other plans Betty and Henry. Although Gorham left the show as a regular cast member during the third season, he did make brief reappearances from time to time before finally wishing Betty well in her life without him near the end of season four.

Moving on to far darker material, Gorham returned to series regular television as one of the young stars of the short-lived "Harper's Island" (CBS, 2009). An ambitious murder-mystery that, despite an intriguing premise and minimum of one victim-per-episode body count, never caught on with audiences and was canceled within a season.

In the meantime, Gorham kept busy with lead roles in a pair of independent features, first appearing in the romantic comedy "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend" (2010) as one of two potential lifemates posing a dilemma of the heart for a young woman (Alyssa Milano). A starring role as a nerdy bar trivia whiz with one last chance at redemption in the comedy "Answer This!" (2010) coincided nicely with the actor's next TV series effort, "Covert Affairs" (USA Network, 2010-14).

Co-starring with Piper Perabo, Gorham played played CIA intelligence agent August "Auggie" Anderson, who, after being blinded in the line of duty, served as mentor to recently promoted agent Anne Walker (Perabo) as she attempted to navigate the increasingly treacherous waters of work and home.

With his new show performing well in the ratings, Gorham also managed to find time to appear with Charlie Hunman and Terrence Howard in the tension-filled drama "The Ledge" (2011).