Las Vegas

Background:

“I want to be a part of great projects and I want to be able to carry some weight on those projects.” James Lesure

American actor James Lesure is popular among television audiences for playing Mike Cannon on the NBC hit comedy/drama series “Las Vegas” ( 2003-2008) and as Mel Ellis on the NBC/WB sitcom “For Your Love” (1998-2002). He also played the regular role of Alonzo Pope on the short lived ABC sitcom “Mr. Sunshine” (2011).His television credits also include recurring roles in “Half & Half” (2002-2006), “Alias” (2002-2003), “The Division” (2003), “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” (2007) and “Lipstick Jungle” (2008-2009) as well as guest roles in popular television series like “NYPD Blue,” “Seinfeld” and “Monk.” Lesure has acted in the films “Giving It Up” (1999), “The Ring Two” (2005), “Loveless in Los Angeles” (2007) and “Our Family Wedding” (2010).

Lesure is a sport enthusiast. He has been awarded two MVP Awards from the NBA Entertainment League. Other awards he has received include Outstanding Actor in TV Drama at the Multicultural Prism Awards (2006) and Distinguished Support Award from the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation of California.

Amateur Boxer

Childhood and Family:

James Lesure was born on September 21, 1970, in Los Angeles, California. After high school, he attended the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, but quit after one year. He then took acting classes and joined a Shakespeare company that toured Los Angeles junior and high schools before resuming his education. In 1995, James received a B.F.A. In Theater from the University of Southern California. During his time at USC, he spent a year studying abroad at the University of Kent at Canterbury, England. There he performed in college productions of “Hair” and “The Island” and became an amateur boxer.

For Your Love

Career:

James Lesure decided to pursue acting more professionally after graduating from college. He joined a small theater group in Los Angeles and started auditioning for small parts. In 1995, Lesure hit television with guest roles in such series as “Hope & Gloria,” “Space: Above and Beyond” and “NYPD Blue” as well as a bit part in the made for TV film “The O.J. Simpson Story,” starring Bobby Hosea as the title character. Still in 1995, he made his feature film acting as guard #2 on “Crimson Tide,” an action/drama film directed by Tony Scott and starring Gene Hackman, Denzel Washington and Matt Craven.

Lesure continued to make guest appearances in television series like “Mad About You,” “Pacific Blue,” “Martin,” “Seinfeld,” “Diagnosis Murder,” “Dangerous Minds” (all 1996), “The Burning Zone,” “The Drew Carey Show,” “Saved by the Bell: The New Class” (all 1997) and “Getting Personal” (1998). However, the actor did not land his first regular role until he was cast as attorney Mel Ellis on the NBC/WB sitcom “For Your Love,” opposite Holly Robinson Peete. The show ran for four seasons from March 17, 1998 to August 11, 2002.

In 1998, Lesure starred with Kasan Butcher in “Show and Prove,” a 20 minute crime film directed and written by Marc Pitre. In the following year, he was cast in the supporting role of Kevin in the independent film “Giving It Up,” by Christopher Kublan. The film, which starred Mark Feuerstein, Amy Redford and Dabney Coleman, won the Feature Film Award for Best Romantic Comedy at the 1999 New York International Independent Film & Video Festival.

Entering the new millennium, Lesure could be seen making guest appearances in television shows such as “Suddenly Susan” (2000, as David Gordon, M.D.) and “George Lopez” (2002, as Ben Adams) and played Russell in the made for television film “The Johnny Chronicles” (2002). In 2002, he had a recurring role as Brian LeFine in the UPN sitcom “Half & Half,” which he would reprise later in 2003 and then 2006. Between 2002 and 2003, Lesure played Craig Blair in three episodes of the Jennifer Garner action series “Alias.” He played Johnny Sloan/Johnny in two episodes of “The Division” called “Radioactive Spider” and “ Acts of Betrayal” (both 2003). Lesure also acted in the short films “What Wouldn't Jesus Do?” (2002, as Jesus Christ) and “African-American Idol: The Search for the Next Black Leader” (2003, as Shekar Orr).

Lesure's big break came when he won the role of the debonair, competitive head of surveillance, Mike Cannon, on the hit series “Las Vegas,” opposite legendary actor James Caan, Josh Duhamel and Vanessa Marcil. Created by Gary Scott Thompson, the series debuted on NBC on September 22, 2003 and would run for five seasons until February 15, 2008. It won the ASCAP Award for Top TV Series at the 2004 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards.

Meanwhile, in 2005, Lesure appeared as doctor in the psychological horror film “The Ring Two,” the sequel to the 2002 critically and commercially successful remake “The Ring.” In the next year, he starred alongside Richard T. Jones and Darrel Heath in the short film “The Package,” which was directed and co-written by Brad Spencer. In 2007, Lesure was cast in the comedy/romance film “Loveless in Los Angeles,” starring Dash Mihok, Ryan Freeman and Brittany Daniel, and guest starred as Dr. Rob Hamill in an episode of the ABC drama series “Lost” called “ Through the Looking Glass.” The same year, he also had a recurring role of Captain Boyle in the Aaron Sorkin short lived series “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.”

After the cancellation of “Las Vegas,” Lesure joined the cast of the NBC series “Lipstick Jungle” in its second season in the recurring role of Griffin Bell. He also guest starred as Ray Regis in an episode of Tony Shalhoub's television series “Monk” called “Mr. Monk Takes a Punch” (2008) and as Myles Marson in the episode “Game Changer” (2009) of Sherri Shepherd's sitcom, “Sherri.” Still in 2009, he portrayed Dave in three episodes of the CBS sitcom “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In 2010, Lesure was cast as Officer Turman in “Our Family Wedding,” a romance/comedy film directed and co-written by Rick Famuyiwa and starring Forest Whitaker, America Ferrera, Carlos Mencia, Lance Gross, Shannyn Sossamon and Regina King. The film has received mostly negative reviews from critics and has grossed over $21 million worldwide. The same year, he also starred as Gary in the short film “Casting Call,” opposite Josh Braaten and Michael Westphal.

In early 2011, Lesure retuned to series television as a regular in “Mr. Sunshine,” a sitcom co-created by and starring Matthew Perry. The show premiered on February 7, 2011 but it was canceled later on May 13, 2011. There Lesure played ex-NBA star Alonzo Pope, Ben's freewheeling co-worker and Alice's boyfriend.

Awards:

• Sickle Cell Disease Foundation of California: Distinguished Support Award, 2006

• MIB Prism: Outstanding Actor in TV Drama, 2006

• NBA Entertainment League: Most Valuable Player (twice)