Sasha Mitchell (born July 27, 1967) is an American actor best known for his television roles as James Beaumont on ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'' and Cody Lambert on '' Step by Step'' as well as playing David Sloane in three installments of the original Kickboxer franchise. Mitchell has a black belt in

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

Personal life

Mitchell was born on 27 July 1967 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, the son of a garment manufacturer. Mitchell is Jewish, with Russian origins. In 1990, he married Jeannette Robbins. The two had four children together before divorcing in 1997. During Mitchell's marriage to Robbins, police were called to the couple's home to investigate reports of

domestic abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partne ...

. In 1996, Mitchell was convicted of misdemeanor battery,

spousal abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...

and child endangerment stemming from an altercation with his wife. He was given three years’ probation and ordered to perform community service and attend counseling classes for spousal abusers. After violating his probation, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail. In 2002, Mitchell spoke of the incident on '' Entertainment Tonight'', claiming that he was protecting his children from his ex-wife, who was addicted to drugs at the time of the arrests. Mitchell ended up getting custody of their four children, with his ex-wife given limited visitation. In December 2010, Mitchell married his second wife Rachel, also known as Sharmaine Rayner. He filed for divorce in spring 2015.

Career

Prior to acting, Mitchell was often used as a model for Bruce Weber's fashion photography. From 1989 to 1991, Mitchell appeared on the hit CBS prime time

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 ...

'', as James Beaumont, the illegitimate first-born son of J. R. Ewing and his long-ago girlfriend Vanessa Beaumont. He made guest appearances on other series, including ''

Rags to Riches Rags to riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, and in some cases from absolute obscurity to heights of fame, fortune and celebrity—sometimes instantly. This is a common archetype in literature and popul ...

''. He had the title role in the 1988 film ''

Spike of Bensonhurst ''Spike of Bensonhurst'' is a 1988 American comedy drama and mafia film written and directed by Paul Morrissey and starring Sasha Mitchell. The film also features Ernest Borgnine, Maria Pitillo, and Talisa Soto. Plot The protagonist, Spike Fumo ...

'' and in 1994's '' Class of 1999 II: The Substitute''. He starred in '' Kickboxer 2: The Road Back'' and the third and fourth installments of the film series. He also appeared in a '' 3 Musketeers'' commercial in 1989. His best-known role came on the ABC sitcom '' Step by Step'', where he played Cody Lambert, the nephew of actor Patrick Duffy's character Frank Lambert. Duffy had also played the uncle of Mitchell's character on ''Dallas''. Mitchell's character Cody was based on his personal life experiences. In the early 2000s, Mitchell acted in several films and made guest appearances on '' JAG'', '' NYPD Blue'', and '' ER''.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Sasha 1967 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from California American male film actors American people of Russian-Jewish descent American male television actors Jewish American male actors People convicted of domestic violence People from Greater Los Angeles American male taekwondo practitioners 21st-century American Jews