Mark Thomas Valley (born December 24, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Brad Chase in the TV drama ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to Decem ...

'', Oliver Richard in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

drama ''

Harry's Law ''Harry's Law'' is an American legal comedy drama series created by David E. Kelley, and starring Kathy Bates, which ran for two seasons on NBC from January 17, 2011, to May 27, 2012. On May 11, 2012, NBC announced that ''Harry's Law'' would ...

'',

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

Special Agent In the United States, a special agent is an official title used to refer to certain investigators or detectives of federal, military, tribal, or state agencies who primarily serve in criminal investigatory positions. Additionally, some special ...

John Scott in the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

sci fi series ''

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts and music * "The Fringe", or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * Purple fri ...

'', Christopher Chance in

's action drama '' Human Target'', and Tommy Sullivan in ABC's ''

Body of Proof ''Body of Proof'' is an American medical drama, medical/crime drama, crime comedy-drama television series that ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from March 29, 2011, to May 28, 2013, and starred Dana Delany as medical examiner List of B ...

''.

Early life

Valley was born in

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,064 at the 2020 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden. T ...

. He is a 1987 graduate from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

, with a degree in mathematics.

Career

Military service

He served in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, where he played rugby for the U.S. military team, The Berlin Yanks Rugby Football Club. Valley saw action in

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

as platoon leader detailed from the 18th Engineer Brigade to the 73rd Engineer Company, 3-2 Air Defense Artillery Battalion, 7th Transportation Group.

Acting

Valley obtained his first role, on '' The Innocent'' (1993), while serving in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

in Germany.Rochlin, Margy
"The Man Without the Prosthetic Nose"
''The New York Times'', January 10, 2010. He landed the role of "Father Pete" on '' Another World'' in 1993. He later took over the role of

Jack Deveraux Jack Deveraux is a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network, most famously played by Matthew Ashford since 1987. He is a member of the Johnson family and first appeared onscreen in 1987. Ashford ...

on the

NBC Daytime NBC Daytime was the daytime programming block of NBC. It historically featured many soap operas, game shows, and talk shows. Its main competitors were CBS Daytime (Paramount) and ABC Daytime (Disney). Game shows were removed from NBC Daytime's ...

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

'' from 1994 to 1997. In the 2000 romantic comedy '' The Next Best Thing'' he portrayed

Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupil at an English public scho ...

's on-screen lover. In 2003, Valley played Detective Eddie Arlette, an American police officer in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, on the short-lived ''

Keen Eddie ''Keen Eddie'' is an American comedy-drama police procedural television series that aired on Fox from June 3 to July 24, 2003. The series was originally scheduled to premiere during the 2002–03 television season, but was postponed and premiered ...

''. He played Brad Chase on ''

'', a spinoff of the television series ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...

''. Valley also appeared on the television series '' ER'' as Richard Lockhart,

Abby Lockhart Abigail Marjorie "Abby" Lockhart, M.D. (née Wyczenski) is a fictional character from the NBC medical drama series '' ER,'' portrayed by Maura Tierney. She first appears as a guest star in the first half of the sixth season, before becoming a ...

's ex-husband. In 2008 he appeared on ''Fringe'', as

FBI agent The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

John Scott. Valley played the lead in

's drama '' Human Target''. In 2012, Valley joined ABC's ''

'' as a series regular. He played Det. Tommy Sullivan,

Dana Delany Dana Delany (born March 13, 1956) is an American actress. After appearing in small roles early in her career, Delany received her breakthrough role as Colleen McMurphy on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television drama ''China Beach'' (1 ...

's love interest. He also co-starred alongside Delany in her short-lived series ''

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

'' in 2001.

Personal life

He has a daughter born in 1987. He married Australian actress

Anna Torv Anna Torv (born 7 June 1979) is an Australian actress. Her performance as Olivia Dunham in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox science fiction series ''Fringe (TV series), Fringe'' (2008–2013) earned her four consecutive Saturn Award for Best A ...

, his ''

'' co-star, in December 2008. In April 2010, it was reported that the couple had split several months earlier.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

;''Boston Legal'' role *Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series shared with

René Auberjonois René Marie Murat Auberjonois ( ; June 1, 1940 – December 8, 2019) was an American actor and voice actor, known for playing Odo on '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999) and Clayton Endicott III on '' Benson'' (1980–1986). He firs ...

, Ryan Michelle Bathe,

Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards as the title character on '' Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmi ...

Julie Bowen Julie Bowen (born Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer; March 3, 1970) is an American actress. She starred as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom '' Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she received widespread critical acclaim. She won the Primetime Emmy A ...

, Justin Mentell,

Rhona Mitra Rhona Natasha Mitra (born 9 August 1976) is a British actress. Mitra is known for her roles as Sonja in '' Underworld: Rise of the Lycans'' (2009); as Major Rachel Dalton in the second and third seasons of '' Strike Back'' (2012–2013); as Rac ...

Monica Potter Monica Potter (June 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles in the films ''Con Air'' (1997), ''Patch Adams (film), Patch Adams'' (1998), and ''Along Came a Spider (film), Along Came a Spider'' (2001). She also appear ...

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

, and

James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960; ) is an American actor. He is known for often portraying eccentric and morally ambiguous characters. He began his career in critically acclaimed independent films before transitioning into television, f ...

(2006) *Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series shared with

Craig Bierko Craig Philip Bierko (born August 18, 1964) is an American actor. Early life Bierko was born in Rye Brook, New York, where, for a brief time, his mother Pat was president of The Harrison Players, a local community theatre. After graduating Bl ...

, and

(2007) *Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series shared with

Saffron Burrows Saffron Burrows (born 22 October 1972) is a British and American actress who has appeared in films such as '' Circle of Friends,'' '' Wing Commander,'' '' Deep Blue Sea,'' '' Gangster No. 1,'' '' Enigma,'' ''Troy,'' '' Reign Over Me'', and '' Th ...

, Christian Clemenson,

Taraji P. Henson Taraji Penda Henson ( ; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, alongside nominations for an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2016 and 2024, ''Time'' named Henson one of ...

John Larroquette John Bernard Larroquette (; born November 25, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in the NBC military drama series '' Baa Baa Black Sheep'' (1976–1978), the NBC sitcom ''Night Court'' (1984–1992; 2023–2025) for ...

, Tara Summers,

Gary Anthony Williams Gary Anthony Williams (born March 14, 1966) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He has voiced the character Uncle Ruckus on ''The Boondocks'', General Horace Warfield in '' StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty'' and Dr. Richard Tygan in '' ...

, and

Constance Zimmer Constance Zimmer (born October 11, 1970) is an American actress. She rose to prominence playing Dana Gordon on the HBO series ''Entourage (American TV series), Entourage'' (2005–11) and List of Boston Legal characters#Claire Simms, Claire Sim ...

(2008) ;''Keen Eddie'' role *Nominated —

Teen Choice Award The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...

for Choice TV Breakout Star — Male (2003) ;''Human Target'' role *Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor — Action (2010)

Radio and podcast appearances

*Valley appeared on Ken Reid's ''TV Guidance Counselor'' podcast on September 14, 2016.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valley, Mark 1964 births Male actors from New York (state) American male film actors United States Army personnel of the Gulf War American male television actors American male voice actors Living people People from Ogdensburg, New York United States Army officers United States Military Academy alumni American male soap opera actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors