Scott Bakula Biography

Scott Stewart Bakula (born October 9, 1954) is an American actor known for his role as Sam Beckett in the television series Quantum Leap (for which he was nominated for four Emmy Awards and, in 1991, won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Television Series Drama) and for the role of Captain Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise.

Bakula also starred in the comedy drama series Men of a Certain Age and guest-starred in seasons two and three of NBC's Chuck as the title character's father Stephen Bartowski.

Early life

Bakula was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Sally (née Zumwinkel) and J. Stewart Bakula, a lawyer. He has a younger brother and a younger sister. His surname comes from partial Czech ancestry. He attended college for a time, but left, he said,

Career

Bakula moved to New York City in 1976. There he made his Broadway debut playing baseball legend Joe DiMaggio in Marilyn: An American Fable, and appeared in the well-received Off-Broadway production Three Guys Naked from the Waist Down; he would later in its Pasadena Playhouse production. The success of Three Guys Off-Broadway brought him attention, and when his next show, the musical Nightclub Confidential, moved to Los Angeles, he moved there at the urging of his California agent, Maggie Henderson, and his New York agent, Jerry Hogan. As Bakula recalled in 2000,

His television debut had come in commercials for Canada Dry and for decaffeinated Folgers coffee, and now was cast in two short-lived series Gung Ho and Eisenhower & Lutz. During a Hollywood writers' strike, he returned to New York to star in Romance / Romance, and then afterward landed the lead role opposite co-star Dean Stockwell in the science-fiction television series Quantum Leap. Bakula played time traveler Dr. Sam Beckett, who was trapped by a malfunction of his time machine to correct things gone wrong in the past. His performance in this program would earn him a Golden Globe award (along with three nominations) and four Emmy nominations for Best Actor as well as five consecutive Viewers For Quality Television Awards for Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series.

In 1995, Bakula appeared on the cover of Playgirl. In 1997, he voiced Danny Cat in the animated film, Cats Don't Dance, singing in one number with Natalie Cole. In 1998, Bakula played the aging veteran pitcher Gus Cantrell in Major League: Back to the Minors, the final movie in the Major League trilogy. He also played Jim Olmeyer, same-sex partner of Sam Robards' Jim Berkley, in the 1999 film American Beauty. As Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise, Bakula played the captain of Earth's first long-range interstellar ship. In 2006, he reprised the role of Archer for the Star Trek Legacy PC and Xbox 360 video games as a voiceover. Bakula starred in the musical Shenandoah, a play which also provided his first professional theatrical role in 1976, at Ford's Theatre, in 2006. Bakula is heard singing "Pig Island" on Sandra Boynton's children's CD Philadelphia Chickens, which is labeled as being "For all ages except 43." Some of Bakula's other musical appearances include the Hollywood Bowl in 1996 and 2004, Carnegie Hall, a benefit performance of Stephen Sondheim's Anyone Can Whistle in 1995, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 1993 and 2003, in honor of Sondheim and Carol Burnett, respectively. Scott Bakula said that he might be starring as Sam in a Quantum Leap film as stated in TV Guide Magazine along with Dean Stockwell. At Comic Con 2010, he announced that a script was being worked on and that while he would be in the movie, he would not be in the main role.

Bakula performed various songs from his career for a one-night-only performance entitled An Evening with Scott Bakula at Sidney Harman Hall on January 18, 2008, as a benefit for the restoration of the historic Ford's Theater. Bakula had three appearances in 2008. He appeared as Atty. Jack Ross in an episode of Boston Legal, "Glow in the Dark", which aired on February 12, 2008 on the ABC network. From March 4 - April 20 he starred as Tony Hunter in the world premiere of Dancing in the Dark at The Old Globe in San Diego, California. Dancing in the Dark is based on the 1950s movie The Band Wagon, which starred Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. Bakula appeared as the character Chris Fulbright in the five episode run of the Tracey Ullman sketch comedy series State of the Union on Showtime.

Bakula appeared in the 2009 dark comedy film The Informant! as Brian Shepard, an FBI agent working with the title character, Mark Whitacre, (played by Matt Damon). In April 2009, he began a recurring role on the television series Chuck as Stephen Bartowski, the eponymous character's long lost father. From July 31 to August 2, 2009, he starred as Nathan Detroit in three performances of Guys and Dolls at Hollywood Bowl. Beginning in December 2009, Bakula began appearing as Terry, one of the three lead characters, along with Ray Romano (Joe) and Andre Braugher (Owen), in TNT's hour long comedy/drama Men of a Certain Age. In 2011, he performed a voice cameo in the film Source Code as a slight nod to his character on Quantum Leap, with his catchphrase of "Oh, boy." and appeared in the feature length documentary The Captains, in which was written and directed by William Shatner, Bakula is interviewed by the original Star Trek captain about his life and career leading up to his performances as Captain Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise. In the movie Shatner interviews Bakula at his ranch in California where the pair ride horses and discuss the pitfalls that come with a career in television. In September 2011, Bakula starred in Terrible Advice by Saul Rubinek at the Menier Chocolate Factory. In April to May 2012, he guest starred in the last five episodes of Desperate Housewives as Bree Van de Kamp's criminal defense lawyer and third husband. In April 2013 he made a guest appearance on Two and a Half Men as a car dealer.

Personal life

Bakula married Krista Neumann in 1981; they divorced in 1995. The couple have two children: Chelsy or Chelsea (sources differ as per spelling) and Cody. He and actress Chelsea Field have been companions since 1996 and have two children, Wil Botfield and Owen Barrett.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color	Jeffrey Wilder	Episode: "I-Man"
1986"1987	Gung Ho	Hunt Stevenson	9 episodes
1986	My Sister Sam	Peter Strickland	Episode: "Teacher's Pet"
1986"1988	Designing Women	Ted Shively	5 episodes
1987	The Last Fling	Drew	TV movie
1987	Matlock	Jed Palmer	2 episodes
1988	Eisenhower and Lutz	Barnett M. 'Bud' Lutz, Jr.	13 episodes
1989"1993	Quantum Leap	Dr. Sam Beckett	97 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Television Series Drama Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series (1990"93) Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (1990"93) Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Television Series Drama (1991, 1993)
1990	Sibling Rivalry	Harry Turner
1991	Necessary Roughness	Paul Blake
1992	In the Shadow of a Killer	Detective David Mitchell	TV movie
1994	Color of Night	Bob Moore
1993	Mercy Mission, the Rescue of Flight 771	Jay Parkins
1994"1996	Murphy Brown	Peter Hunt	13 episodes Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Specialty Player in a Drama Series
1995	The Invaders	Nolan Wood	TV movie
1995	Lord of Illusions	Harry D'Amour
1996"1997	Mr. & Mrs. Smith	Mr. Smith	13 episodes
1997	Cats Don't Dance	Danny
1998	Major League: Back to the Minors	Gus Cantrell
1999	NetForce	Alex Michaels	TV movie
1999	American Beauty	Jim Olmeyer
2000	The Trial of Old Drum	George Graham Vest	TV movie
2001	Life as a House	Officer Kurt Walker
2001	A Girl Thing	Paul Morgan	TV movie
2001"2005	Star Trek: Enterprise	Captain Jonathan Archer	98 episodes Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television (2002-2004)
2006"2010	The New Adventures of Old Christine	Jeff Hunter	4 episodes
2007	Blue Smoke	John Minger	TV movie
2007	American Body Shop	Maury	Episode: "Juicy Lou's"
2008	Boston Legal	Jack Ross	Episode: "Glow in the Dark"
2008	State of the Union	Chris Fulbright	4 episodes
2009	The Informant	FBI Special Agent Brian Shepard
2009"2010	Chuck	Steve Bartowski	7 episodes
2009"2011	Men of a Certain Age	Terry Elliott	22 episodes
2011	Source Code	Colter's father	Voice cameo
2011	The Captains	Himself
2012	Desperate Housewives	Trip Weston	5 episodes
2012	Law & Order: SVU	Kent Webster	Episode: "Vanity's Bonfire"
2013	Two and a Half Men	Jerry	Episode: "Bazinga! That's From a TV Show"
2013	Behind the Candelabra	Bob Black	Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
2014	Looking	Lynn	TV, recurring role
2014	Basmati Blues	TBA