Jay Huguley Explained

Jay Huguley
Birth Date:26 July 1966
Occupation:Actor
Years Active:1995–present

Jay Huguley (born July 26, 1966) is an American film, TV and theatre actor, best known for playing David on AMC's The Walking Dead,[1] and Jimmy Ledoux on HBO's True Detective.

Early life and education

Huguley was born in Englewood, New Jersey and raised in nearby Tenafly, New Jersey,[2] [3] the youngest of three boys, to father Arthur W. Huguley, III, a commodities trader and president of Westway Trading Corporation, and mother Katherine McCrae Yarborough Huguley, a housewife.

As a child, Huguley spent his teenage years attending the Peddie School, a boarding school in Hightstown, New Jersey, from where he later graduated. He spent a year abroad at the University of London studying political science and graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., with a double major in political science and communications.

Huguley studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, under the aegis of Anna Strasberg, and at the Beverly Hills Playhouse in Los Angeles, under the world-renowned teacher Milton Katselas.

Career

Prior to his professional acting career, Huguley was a fashion model. Following college, he was discovered working as a lifeguard, when someone working in fashion in New York suggested he should try modeling.[4] Two Polaroids were taken of him, and he was brought into New York City. Soon after. he received a contract with Wilhelmina Models, which sent him to London, Paris, Milan and Sydney, Australia.

Huguley lived in Paris throughout the early-1990s, where he worked as a model for brands like Armani, Valentino, Zegna and Romeo Gigli. He first realized his passion for acting while taking a directing class in college, where one of his assignments was to audition for the school play to get an idea of what actors experience in their process of attempting to score acting roles. He got the part of the Gentleman Caller in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. Huguley then moved back to the United States, where he began to work regularly in theatre and studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute. He moved to Los Angeles to do a play directed by Lee’s widow, Anna Strasberg.

In his earliest appearances on television, Huguley starred in smaller roles on Mad TV, The Norm Show, Walker, Texas Ranger, Providence, and Strong Medicine before getting more recurring roles in TV shows such as Summerland, and Alias. He also starred in 2010 as Richard Hightower on the long-running soap opera, The Young and the Restless.

Huguley is best known for playing David on AMC's The Walking Dead,[5] and Jimmy Ledoux on HBO's True Detective. Huguley also played Will Branson on Seasons 3 and 4 of the HBO series Treme, and Whit Peyton in the ABC TV series, Brothers & Sisters.

Huguley has also played recurring characters in ABC Family's "Ravenswood" (spin-off to Pretty Little Liars), and in the CW's Star-Crossed. He's also guest-starred in episodes of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Red Band Society, Nashville, Breaking In, Drop Dead Diva, and Army Wives.

In 2013, he appeared in Steve McQueen’s film 12 Years a Slave, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Brad Pitt, and Michael Fassbender.[6]

In 2015, he appeared in Helen Hunt's Ride, and starred as Jonah Bock in the hit indie darling, Sunny in the Dark, a feature film written by Courtney Ware, for which he took home the award for "Best Actor" from the Northeast Film Festival.[7]

In 2016, Huguley appeared in the highly anticipated horror film, Abattoir, by the man credited for furthering the Saw franchise, Darren Lynn Bousman. Abattoir has already nabbed a sequel deal, prior to its official theatrical release.

Huguley's most recent roles include Heart, Baby and William Henry Moody in Lizzie, both released in 2018. He has twice portrayed historical figures. In 2013, he played Sheriff H.P. Voorhies, the man who negotiated freedom of Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave and most recently, as William Henry Moody, the prosecuting attorney in the infamous Lizzie Borden trial in the film Lizzie alongside Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart.

In 2008, Huguley starred in David Lindsay-Abaire’s Tony Award-winning play Rabbit Hole at the Skylight Theatre. About his performance, the Los Angeles Times said, "Jay Huguley dwells inside the play’s contradictions and connects us to its anguished, buoyant heart." In 2009, Huguley played the lead role of Henry in Tom Stoppard’s play The Real Thing at Los Angeles’ Skylight Theatre.

Filmography

Film

!Year!Title!Role!Notes
1995Vampire Vixens from VenusDrained Driver
1995Call GirlArthur Benton
1998Brina's ProblemMichael
1999TemptationsTanner
2003Melvin Goes to DinnerJohnny Extra
2003Saved by the RulesMike
2005Silent MenRichard 'Sadhu'
2005Stress, Orgasms, and SalvationReverend James
2012HijackedTim
2013Hot Guys with GunsBruce Lieberman
201312 Years a SlaveSheriff H.P. Voorhies
2014Patient ZDr. Vincent Gersh
2014When the Game Stands TallCoach TowneUncredited
2014RideCo-worker
2015Sunny in the DarkJonah
2016Carbon CanyonMr. Loris
2016AbattoirFelix
2017The HammerOfficer Paul
2018LizzieWilliam Henry Moody
2018Tales from the Hood 2Fitch Measpine
2018Almost HomeLexus John
2019The HacksKevin
2019From Zero to I Love YouEric Dupont
2019KillermanJames Manning
2020The GloriasTV Interviewer
2020The Eagle and the AlbatrossDean
2020The Fox HunterEdwin McCushing
2020Surviving in L.A.Mark
2021The Eyes of Tammy FayeJimmy Swaggart
2022The WalkRiley

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1998Mad TVCopEpisode: "Vivica A. Fox"
2000The Norm ShowManEpisode: "I've Got a Crush on You"
2000Walker, Texas RangerDetective RogersEpisode: "Deadly Situation"
2001Dexter's LaboratoryHokochoo2 episodes
2002That '80s ShowBartender3 episodes
2002ProvidenceGeorgeous DoctorEpisode: "It's Raining Men"
2002Meet the MarksJay 'the groom'Episode #1.1
2003BoomtownChris HamlinEpisode: "The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang"
2004Strong MedicineDonald MurrayEpisode: "Graft"
2005SummerlandDoug Fox3 episodes
2005, 2006AliasDr. Peter Marks2 episodes
2006MediumLarry Greene / Best ManEpisode: "Knowing Her"
2006Cold CaseJoe Livingston (1979)Episode: "The Key"
2006Thick and ThinGerardEpisode: "Jen the Model"
2006–2007Brothers & SistersWhit Peyton6 episodes
2007What About BrianMartin FirstEpisode: "What About the Tangled Web..."
2008QuarterlifeArthurEpisode: "Goodbyes"
2010The Young and the RestlessRichard Hightower4 episodes
2010Dad's HomeBrian WestmanTelevision film
2011Drop Dead DivaKevin WilliamsEpisode: "Prom"
2012Breaking InSean HurleyEpisode: "The Legend of Hurley's Gold"
2012Army WivesDr. Paul CampellEpisode: "Handicap"
2012–2013TremeWill Branson6 episodes
2013NashvilleDeweyEpisode: "I'm Sorry for You, My Friend"
2013The NeighborsPaulEpisode: "Mother Clubbers"
2013Anna NicoleJohn LawftonTelevision film
2013–2014RavenswoodTom Beddington3 episodes
2014True DetectiveJimmy LedouxEpisode: "After You've Gone"
2014Star-CrossedRay Whitehill4 episodes
2014Red Band SocietySean FaheyEpisode: "So Tell Me What You Want What You Really Really Want"
2015GordonEpisode: "L0M1S"
2015Crazy Ex-GirlfriendYoung Rebecca's FatherEpisode: "I Hope Josh Comes to My Party!"
2015The Walking DeadDave3 episodes
2016The InspectorsFrank MacomEpisode: "No Good Deed"
2016Halt and Catch FireCal EricksonEpisode: "Rules of Honorable Play"
2016RosewoodDavid B. JonesEpisode: "Boatopsy & Booty"
2016The Real O'NealsGaryEpisode: "The Real Tradition"
2019The PurgeDefense AttorneyEpisode: "Blindspots"
2020Ben KinnamanEpisode: "Relentless"
TBAPegasusActorEpisode: "Do you believe in magic?"

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Walking Dead Adds Jay Huguley. Deadline.com. October 21, 2015. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. December 16, 2015.
  2. Duggan, Amelia; and Spelling, Ian. "Famous people who entered the world in Bergen", (201) magazine. Accessed August 18, 2015. "Born in Englewood... Jay Huguley, 1966 - Tenafly native Jay Huguley has enjoyed a successful career in television and feature films, including Cold Case, Medium, Brothers and Sisters, and What About Brian. He had a recurring role as Will Branson on the HBO series Treme and appeared in the 2012 film Hijacked."
  3. Duggan, Amelia and Spelling, Ian. "Big Name 'Small' Start" on bergen.com (May 9, 2012); last accessed October 4, 2012
  4. http://www.bergen.com/artsmusic/201_Face-to-Face_with_guest_actor_and_Tenafly_native_Jay_Huguley.html "(201)Face-to-face with guest actor and Tenafly native Jay Huguley"
  5. News: 8 'Walking Dead' Secrets You Didn't Know, According To A Dead Man. Bradley. Bill. November 7, 2015. The Huffington Post. AOL. December 16, 2015. Bill Bradley. Los Angeles.
  6. News: '12 Years a Slave' actor Jay Huguley at home in Kesling design. https://web.archive.org/web/20131116083508/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/oct/19/news/la-lh-actor-jay-huguley-william-kesling-house-20131015. dead. November 16, 2013. Boone. Lisa. October 19, 2013. Los Angeles Times. Tribune Publishing Company. December 16, 2015.
  7. News: Tenafly actor to be seen in film screened at Northeast Film Festival Saturday. Beckerman. Jim. September 12, 2015. The Record. North Jersey Media Group. December 16, 2015.