Thomas J. Pelphrey (born July 28, 1982) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Jonathan Randall and Mick Dante in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

television series ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'' and ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

'' respectively, Kurt Bunker in the

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent net ...

television series ''

Banshee A banshee ( ; Modern Irish , from sga, ben síde , "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name is c ...

'', Ward Meachum in the

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original series '' Iron Fist'', Ben Davis in the Netflix original series ''

Ozark The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...

'', and Perry Abbott in the

Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service prim ...

original series ''

Outer Range ''Outer Range'' is an American science fiction neo-Western streaming television series created by Brian Watkins and starring Josh Brolin and Imogen Poots. It premiered on Amazon Prime Video on April 15, 2022. In October 2022, the series was ren ...

'' as well as a supporting role in

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...

's film ''

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''.

Early life and education

Born in

Howell, New Jersey Howell Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The township is the largest municipality in the county by total area, comprised of about . It is located in the New York metropolitan area and has been a steadily gro ...

, Pelphrey graduated from Howell High School in 2000, and from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

(

Mason Gross School of the Arts Mason Gross School of the Arts is the arts conservatory at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It is named for Mason W. Gross, the sixteenth president of Rutgers. Mason Gross offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Theater, Digi ...

) in 2004 with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

degree.

Career

''Guiding Light''

Pelphrey's most notable role has been the role of Jonathan Randall, the son of

Reva Shayne Reva Shayne is a fictional character from ''Guiding Light'', played by four-time Daytime Emmy Award winner Kim Zimmer from November 28, 1983, to July 23, 1990, and August 14, 1995, until the show's final episode on September 18, 2009. Zimmer has b ...

and her late former husband, Richard Winslow, on the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

''. He joined the cast in September 2004 and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of anti-hero Jonathan. He was nominated for a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

for "Outstanding Younger Actor" in 2005 and won the award the following year in April 2006. He received a third consecutive nomination in the same category in 2007 but lost to

Bryton McClure Bryton McClure (born August 17, 1986), also credited as Bryton James and Mononymous person, mononymously as Bryton, is an American musical theatre, film and television actor. As a child actor, he played List of Family Matters characters#Richie Cr ...

. Pelphrey won his second

for "Outstanding Younger Actor" in 2008.

''As the World Turns''

Pelphrey signed a contract to play "Mick" on ''

'' beginning in October 2009. His run ended in February 2010 when his character was sent to prison for his misdeeds. Pelphrey earned an Emmy pre-nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Mick Dante.

Other television roles

On March 30, 2007, he appeared in an episode of ''

Numb3rs ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, for six seasons and 118 episodes. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton ...

'', "Pandora's Box". On October 17, 2008, he appeared in an episode of "Ghost Whisperer", and the following season in an episode of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''. In 2015 Pelphrey landed the recurring role of Kurt Bunker, a former neo-nazi trying to reintegrate into society, on

's action drama ''

''. To prepare for this role he started lifting weights and did research by reading books on the neo-Nazi movement in America. In 2017, he appeared in '' Iron Fist'' as

Ward Meachum Ward Meachum is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. In his original comic book appearances, he is depicted as the brother of Harold Meachum and the uncle of Joy Meachum. Ward was portrayed by Tom Pe ...

and portrayed Ben Davis on the third season of the Netflix crime drama ''

'' which was released on March 27, 2020. His portrayal in the latter received critical acclaim and the lack of an Emmy nomination was perceived as a snub by fans and critics. Nonetheless, Pelphrey received nominations for

Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series The Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series is one of the award categories presented annually by the Critics' Choice Television Awards (BTJA) to recognize the work done by television actors. It was introduced i ...

Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film The Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film is one of the annual Satellite Awards given by the International Press Academy The International Press Academy (IPA) is an American association of professi ...

and

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast (or Ensemble) in a Drama Series is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest ensemble acting achievements in drama series. Winners and nominees 1990s 20 ...

(shared with the cast). In the final season of ''Ozark'' (2022), Pelphrey reprised the role of Ben Davis as a guest appearance, for which he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Recently in 2022, he has starred in the

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

series ''

'' as Perry Abbott and will star in the upcoming

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

miniseries ''

Love and Death ''Love and Death'' is a 1975 American comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. It is a satire on Russian literature starring Allen and Diane Keaton as Boris and Sonja, Russians living during the Napoleonic Era who engage in mock-serious p ...

'' as Don Crowder.

Theater

From September 6, 2007, to September 30, 2007, Pelphrey performed in Kevin Mandel's ''A New Television Arrives Finally'' as the title character, at Theatre 54, in New York. Pelphrey starred in ''In God's Hat'' at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, in New York City, through August 7, 2010. In 2012, he appeared in the Broadway cast of the musical drama ''

End of the Rainbow ''End of the Rainbow'' is a musical drama by Peter Quilter, which focuses on Judy Garland in the months leading up to her death in 1969. After a premiere in Sydney, Australia in 2005, the show has played on the West End in London and a Broadway ...

'' as Mickey Deans; in 2015, he returned to Broadway in a revival of '' Fool for Love'', playing Martin.

Personal life

In 2022, Pelphrey began dating actress

Kaley Cuoco Kaley Christine Cuoco ( ; born November 30, 1985) is an American actress. After a series of supporting film and television roles in the late 1990s, she landed her breakthrough role as Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom ''8 Simple Rules'' (2002 ...

. They made their first public appearance as a couple at a

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

ceremony in May 2022. Pelphrey and Cuoco announced via Instagram in October 2022 that they were expecting their first child together, a daughter.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

*
CBS website biography of Tom Pelphrey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelphrey, Tom 1982 births Living people American male soap opera actors Howell High School (New Jersey) alumni Male actors from New Jersey People from Howell Township, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series winners