David James Elliott Biography

David James Elliott (born September 21, 1960) is a Canadian actor who was the star of the series JAG, playing lead character Harmon Rabb Jr. from 1995 to 2005.

Early life

Elliott was born David William Smith on September 21, 1960, in Milton, Ontario, Canada, the son of Pat Farrow, an office manager, and Arnold Smith, a heating and plumbing wholesale contractor. He was the second of three boys. During his teenaged years, he was part of a band, quitting Milton District High School in his final year to pursue his dream of becoming a rock star. However, at age 19, he realized this would not happen and returned to finish high school.

After graduating from high school, he attended Ryerson University in Toronto, graduating in 1982. He joined the Stratford Shakespearean Festival in Ontario as a member of its Young Company.

Career

Subsequently moving to Los Angeles, he took the stage name David James Elliott, having found an actor was already named David Smith. He appeared in the film Police Academy 3: Back in Training in 1986, and subsequently in the television series Street Legal, Knots Landing as Bill Nolan, and in 1993's The Untouchables as Agent Paul Robbins. The following year, Elliott landed a recurring role on the hit series Melrose Place, playing Terry Parsons, and a guest appearance in an episode of Seinfeld as "Carl" the antiabortion furniture mover.

In 1995, Elliott landed the role he would hold for 10 years, the role of naval aviator-turned JAG lawyer Harmon Rabb, Jr. in the NBC/CBS television drama JAG. His tenure on JAG ended in 2005 with the series finale.

In 1996, Elliott starred in the made-for-cable movie Holiday Affair with Cynthia Gibb. This is a remake of the 1949 classic Holiday Affair which starred Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh. In 2005, Elliott starred in a Canadian television movie The Man Who Lost Himself, which was based on the true story of Terry Evanshen, a Canadian football player who was in a car accident and lost his memory due to severe head injuries. Nanci Chambers also appeared in this movie as a doctor. In October 2006, Elliott joined the cast of legal drama Close to Home (2005-2007) as Chief Deputy Prosecutor James Conlon. During 2008, he had a recurring role in the Canadian series The Guard. He starred in Sci Fi Channel's four-hour miniseries, Knights of Bloodsteel (2009). Elliott was cast as an Internet millionaire in Terror Trap, directed by Dan Garcia. Elliott also starred in Dad's Home (2010), a widowed advertising executive who loses his job and becomes a stay-at-home dad for his two children.

On March 19, 2010, Elliott replaced Neal McDonough as the male lead in the television series Scoundrels. In 2010, Elliott was cast as FBI Agent Russ Josephson on CSI: NY, a recurring role as Detective Jo Danville's (Sela Ward) ex-husband, a role which he first portrayed in January, 2011.

In 2012, Elliott also co-starred as Ripp Cockburn, the husband of Kristin Chenoweth's character Carlene, on ABC's comedy-drama series GCB. In 2014, Elliott appeared in Mad Men (season 7) as Dave Wooster. In 2015, Elliott guest starred in the TV drama Scorpion.

In 2015, Elliott played actor John Wayne in the film Trumbo.

On March 29, 2019, CBS announced Elliott would be reprising his JAG role of Harmon Rabb, Jr. for a multi-episode arc in the tenth season of NCIS: Los Angeles.

Personal life

He married actress Nanci Chambers in 1992. She also appeared in JAG as the ambitious Lt. Loren Singer. They have a daughter, Stephanie (b. 1993) and a son, Wyatt.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Police Academy 3: Back in Training	Cadet Baxter #2
1986	The Climb	Otto Kempter
1987	The Big Town	Cool Guy
1988	Night Friend	Cab Driver
1997	Clockwatchers	Mr. MacNamee
2000	Stanley's Gig	Record Store Clerk
2001	The Shrink Is In	Michael
2008	The Rainbow Tribe	Morgan Roberts
2009	Gooby	Jack Dandridge
2010	Confined	Michael Peyton
2010	Terror Trap	Don
2013	Rufus	Hugh Wade
2014	Stranded (Dawn Patrol)	Jim
2015	Battle Scars	Frank Stephens
2015	Trumbo	John Wayne

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	The Campbells	Hardy	Episode: "First Day"
1987	Adderly	Commando	Episode: "Year of the Tiger"
1987	Mariah	Fergus	Episode: "Prey"
1987	Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future	Jason	Episode: "The Mirror in Darkness"
1988-91	Street Legal	Nick Del Gado	Main character (36 episodes)
1989	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Ted	Episode: "In the Driver's Seat"
1989	The Hitchhiker	Jason	Episode: "The Cruelest Cut"
1990	China Beach	Mr. Green	Episode: "Phoenix"
1991	Over My Dead Body	Larry Chadway	Episode: "Separation Is Murder"
1991	Her Wicked Ways	Andrew	TV movie
1991	Fly by Night	Mack Sheppard
1991	The Hidden Room	Ron	Episode: "A Type of Love Story"
1992	Doogie Howser, M.D.	Rick O'Neill	Episode: "The Show Mustn't Go On"
1992	Dark Justice	Zachary Hamilton	Episode: "Needy Things"
1992	Knots Landing	Bill Nolan	3 episodes
1993-94	The Untouchables	Agent Paul Robbins	Main character
1994	Golden Gate	Tony Gennera	TV movie
1994	Seinfeld	Carl	Episode: "The Couch"
1994-95	Melrose Place	Terry Parsons	4 episodes
1995	Big Dreams & Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story	Byron Metcalf	TV movie
1995	Degree of Guilt	Chris Paget	TV movie
1995-2005	JAG	Harmon 'Harm' Rabb Jr.	Main character
1996	Holiday Affair	Steve Mason	TV movie
1998	Hercules	Thor: Norse God of Thunder	Episode: "Hercules and the Twilight of the Gods" Voice role
1999	Maggie Winters	Jack	Episode: "Girls Night Out"
2000	Buzz Lightyear of Star Command	Romac	Episode: "Star Crossed" Voice role
2001	Dodson's Journey	James Dodson	TV movie
2003	Yes, Dear	Commander Harmon 'Harm' Rabb Jr.	Episode: "Let's Get Jaggy with It"
2003	Code 11-14	Det. Kurt Novack	TV movie
2005	The Stranger I Married	Terry Evanshen	TV movie
2006	Sixty Minute Man	John Henderson	TV movie
2006	Medium	Johnny Dunham	Episode: "Twice Upon a Time"
2006-07	Close to Home	Chief Deputy Prosecutor James Conlon	Main character (season 2)
2008	Love Sick: Secrets of a Sex Addict	Rick Hudson	TV movie
2008	The Guard	David Renwald	Recurring 7 episodes
2009	Impact	Alex Kittner	TV miniseries
2009	Knights of Bloodsteel	John Serragoth	TV miniseries
2009	The Storm	General Wilson Braxton	TV miniseries
2010	Dad's Home	Ben Westman	TV movie
2010	Scoundrels	Wolfgang 'Wolf' West	Main character
2011	CSI: NY	FBI Agent Russ Josephson	2 episodes
2011	Truth Be Told	Mark Crane	TV movie
2012	GCB	Ripp Cockburn	10 episodes
2013	Exploding Sun	Don Wincroft	TV movie
2014	Mad Men	Dave Wooster	2 episodes
2014	Here's Your Damn Family
2015	Scorpion	Bruce	Episode: "Forget Me Nots"
2017	Mom	Joe	Episode: "A Bouncy Castle and an Aneurysm"
2018	Impulse (TV series)	Bill Boone	10 Episodes
2019	NCIS: Los Angeles	Harmon Rabb	1 episode "The Guardian (NCIS: Los Angeles)"

Awards

• TV Guide Award [2000] "Favorite Male Actor in a Drama".