Popular

Background:

“I don’t know if you can be ready for it (fame). I don’t want to expect too much, or too little, I’m just letting it happen. Christopher Gorham

Tall, dark-haired and good-looking actor Christopher Gorham is popular among television audiences for his roles in such hit series as “Party of Five” (1997-1998, as Elliott), “Popular” (1999-2001, as Harrison Johns) and “Felicity” (2001-2002, as Trevor O’Donnell). He also has been in several futuristic TV series, including playing Neil Taggart in “Odyssey 5” (2002-2003) and having the titular role on UPN’s “Jake 2.0” (2003-2004, earned an Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films nod). More recently, Gorham portrayed Dr. Benjamin Barnes in the comedy show “Out of Practice” (2005-2006).

In addition to his television series work, Gorham also has done a few films. Among his projects are A Life Less Ordinary (1997) and The Other Side of Heaven (2001). The latter even won the player a Character and Morality in Entertainment Award. He is set to star in the forthcoming comedy/romance movie Cougars (2006).

Off camera, 6’ tall Gorham has been married to his actress-wife, Anel Lopez Gorham, since 2000. He proposed to Anel on a beach outside of Tiffany’s on Rodeo Drive, in which he had made a picnic breakfast so that the two could have Breakfast at Tiffany’s-style meal before going in and purchasing their wedding rings. The Fresno, California native currently resides in San Fernando Valley, California, along with his wife and their two young sons.


The Mad Hatter

Childhood and Family:

Son to a licensed public accountant and a school nurse, Christopher Gorham was born on August 14, 1974 in Fresno, California. He showed an interest in acting early on when in the fourth grade he nabbed his school’s Best Actor award after portraying The Mad Hatter in a school production of “Alice in Wonderland.” He moved on to Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater and then attended high school at Roosevelt School of the Arts where he really started to improve his talents on-stage. It was while still in high school that he also won Young Male Talent of the Year at an International Modeling Talent Association competition in NYC. Christopher graduated from U.C.L.A with a B.A. in Film and Theater arts. During college, he partook in numerous sports, including fencing, stage combat, roller-blading, martial arts and ballroom dancing.

On January 22, 2000, Christopher was married to his ex-Popular co-star, Anel Lopez. A year later, the two welcomed their first child, son Lucas Gorham, and their second son, Ethan Gorham, was born in 2003.


Jake 2.0

Career:

Shortly after obtaining his B.A. degree from U.C.L.A, Christopher Gorham kicked off his professional career by making his TV series-bow with a guest spot in a 1997 episode of ABC’s “Spy Game.” Later that same year, he hit the big screen for the first time in director Danny Boyle’s A Life Less Ordinary, which starred Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz and Holly Hunter. Guest appearance in episodes of The WB’s hit “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and the ABC series “Vengeance Unlimited” followed in 1998, but it was his recurring role in the Fox popular show “Party of Five” (1997-1998), where he portrayed Elliott, a love interest of Sarah (Jennifer Love Hewitt) who comes to conclusion that he is gay, that started to put the young actor on the limelight.

In 1999, Gorham eventually received his breakthrough when he landed a costarring role opposite Leslie Bibb, Carly Pope and Sara Sue in the hit comedy-drama series “Popular” (1999-2001). There, he played Harrison Johns, a good guy who interacts with the outsider group and has a longstanding crush on cheerleader head and childhood pal, Brooke (Bibb). The same year, he also appeared as Mark Carlson in one episode of the NBC Saturday morning series “Saved by the Bell: The New Class.”

While working on “Popular,” Gorham undertook a supporting role in 2000’s comedy feature Dean Quixote, and in 2001 had the lead as a missionary in the Tonga-set adventure The Other Side of Heaven, along with Anne Hathaway. The Mitch Davis-directed film brought Gorham a Character and Morality in Entertainment, an award he shared with the movie’s producers, director and co-stars.

After “Popular” departed the airways, Gorham joined the cast of the 1998 television drama “Felicity,” playing Trevor O’Donnell from 2001 to 2002, and then was cast as Neil Taggart in the sci-fi series “Odyssey 5,” a gig he held from 2002 until 2003. In between, he made guest performances in such series as “Boomtown,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and “Without a Trace.”

In 2003, Gorham took on the lead in the UPN sci-fi drama “Jake 2.0,” about a young man’s journey from typical teenager to superhuman hero. Debuted on September, the show, however, was cancelled after 16 episodes. As for Gorham, his performance in the series earned him an Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films nomination for Cinescape Genre Face of the Future in 2004. He continued with a supporting role in the NBC drama “Medical Investigation” (2004-2005), as Dr. Miles McCabe, and more recently costarred as Dr. Benjamin Barnes in the comedy series “Out of Practice” (2005-2006), opposite Ty Burrell and Paula Marshall.

Recently starring with Nicholas Brendon and Terry Bradshaw as three siblings who compete for the coveted Gilbert Cup at the 25th Annual Gilbert family reunion in television film Relative Chaos (2006), the 32-year-old actor will star in the upcoming comedy/romance movie Cougars (2006), about a divorced urban executive who becomes entangled with an innovative young buck.


Awards:

- Character and Morality in Entertainment: Camie, The Other Side of Heaven, 2003