Emmy and Global Globe nominee John Corbett portrays Chris Stevens, Cicely's resident disc jockey. Known to quote Walt Whitman, Jung, and Dostoevsky over the air on KBHR's Chris in the Morning Show, Chris also spins an off-the-wall musical mix, ranging from jazz to show tunes to rock-n-roll, and provides a running commentary on the offbeat goings-on in Cicely, Alaska.

Born May 9, 1961, and raised in West Virginia (like his character, Chris), Corbett moved to California where he found work in a steel factory. He worked there for six years until an injury forced him to quit. Concurrently, he was attending the local city college and decided to sit in on a friend's drama class on a whim. While there, he was invited on stage for an exercise and was immediately captivated with the craft. Corbett went on to perform in several college theater productions under the encouragement and direction of his drama teacher, who motivated him to pursue Hollywood.

Not long thereafter, Corbett landed a series of high-profile commercials, appearing in over fifty national spots and also guest-starring in the highly acclaimed series The Wonder Years. When he wasn't acting, Corbett performed in a band in the Seattle area, where he owned a bar (Fenix Underground). The Fenix was severely damaged in an earthquake February 2001 but reopened in a new location in 2002. It's not clear if Corbett still has an ownership in the bar. In addition to his musical pursuits, he enjoys playing softball, basketball, and shooting pool.

Since both Corbett and his character, Chris, are from Wheeling, West Virginia, the writers/producers of Northern Exposure let Corbett use references from his own past. "Uncle Roy Bauer", "Chuck Vincent" and "Earl P. Duffy" are character names Chris Stevens refers to on Northern Exposure. They also happen to be real people Corbett grew up with. Roy Bauer was a high school friend, Earl P. Duffy was the Dean of Discipline at Wheeling Central Catholic High School (the school Corbett attended). (Thanks to Agent Pat of the John Corbett Home Page for this bit of trivia.)

After Northern Exposure ended, he was the official spokesperson for Ford TV ads, which echoed his Chris-in-the-Morning character. He has appeared in several television movies including Innocent Victims (1996), The Sky's on Fire (1996) and On Hostile Ground (1998), a successful TBS disaster movie. His TV work also includes the miniseries To Serve and Protect (1999), a short lived dramatic series called The Visitor (1997) and FX's Lucky (2003). He had minor roles in the feature films Wedding Bell Blues (1996) and Volcano (1997).

Deemed the "Alaskan Adonis" by TV Guide during his NX stint, it is no surprise that Corbett guest starred in 2000 as Sarah Jessica Parker's (Carrie) love interest on HBO's Sex and the City. Corbett, who stands 6'4" to Parker's 5'4" plays Aiden, a furniture maker who meets Parker when she buys a chair from him. This role cemented Corbett's sex-symbol status: Parker told TV Guide that her co-stars "Kristin (Davis) and Cynthia (Nixon) said to me, 'If you don't want him, we'll take him.' I'm like, 'Ladies, he's not a piece of meat!'" Corbett, who claims to be a long-term bachelor says he really respects the show for daring to realistically portray the relationship between the sexes. In 2001, Corbett returned to Sex and the City. The show's executive producer Michael Patrick King said that fans besieged the show's producers with pieces of wood and small chairs carved with the words, "Don't Leave Aiden Unfinished!" But in the end, it wasn't Aiden who ended up with Carrie.

In 2000, Corbett hosted the A&E documentary series "Love Chronicles", a series which takes a sociological, scientific, and historical look at the rituals and traditions surrounding love, courtship and marriage. He also appeared in the films Dinner Rush, Serendipity, Private Lies, Prancer Returns, and My Dinner with Jimi released in 2000 and 2001.

In 2002, he appeared in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a romantic comedy produced by Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson. As of November 2002, MBFGW has made more than $200 Million. "Not only has "Greek Wedding" become the biggest independent film in history (surpassing the $140.5 million grossed by "The Blair Witch Project" in 1999), but it has become the most financially successful romantic comedy (beating the $178.4 million grossed by "Pretty Woman" in 1990, although ticket prices were much lower then)." (NY Times, 11/27/02).


Corbett played "a sexy man of god," Pastor Dan, in Raising Helen (2004). He also appeared in the Hilary Duff movie Raise Your Voice (2004). Corbett filmed two more movies in 2004, the not yet released (in US) Elvis Has Left the Building and Bigger Than the Sky (working title was "Caught in the Act").At the end of 2004, Corbett was filming Dreamland in New Mexico.An ABC television series project also has been rumoured in the works for some time, although nothing seems to have come of it... yet (was first reported in Nov. 2003).

However, in the Fall of 2004, Corbett declared his retirement from acting (perhaps just a hiatus and debut into country music. “I’m definitely branching into music and I’m getting out of acting,” confesses Corbett, best known for Northern Exposure, My Big Fat Greek Wedding and his turn opposite Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City. “I’ve got one more movie to promote after this one and then it’s, ‘Thank you, Jesus, I don’t have to do this anymore.” See his official band website, where you can see a list of upcoming appearances and also hear him sing a tidbit of his song "Whole Other Bottle of Whiskey."

He spends his free time with girlfriend, actress Bo Derek, whom he met on a blind date. He has houses in California, Maui, and West Virginia, and probably soon in Nashville.

Credit: home.comcast.net