Brenda Strong

Character: Ann Ewing

Brenda Strong is best known for her roles as Mary Alice Young on Desperate Housewives and on Sports Night as Sally Sasser.

In 1978, Strong graduated from Sandy Union High School in Sandy, Oregon and later moved to Arizona to study music in Arizona State University. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in musical theater. In 1980, Strong won the title of Miss Arizona.

In 1984, she appeared in Billy Crystal’s You Look Marvelous music video, and then transitioned into minor roles in known television series, such as St. Elsewhere, MacGyver, Cheers, Dallas, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Grapevine, Picket Fences, Silk Stalkings, E.R., Matlock, Murphy Brown, "Herman’s Head", and "Blossom and Twin Peaks".

After gaining much exposure, she was eventually cast into more recurring roles, such as Kathleen Isley in Party of Five, Miss Frost in 3rd Rock from the Sun, Sue Ellen Mischke in Seinfeld, Mrs. Carmen Mackoul in 7th Heaven, Marsha Palmer in The Court, Iris in Nip/ Tuck, Arlene Ridgeway in The Help, Julia Brown in Everwood and Linda in Help Me, Help You.


Recently, Strong starred, mostly off-screen, in Desperate Housewives as the voice of the deceased Mary Alice Young.

Larry Hagman

Character: J.R. Ewing

Larry was born in Texas and, following his parents divorce, he moved to Los Angeles to live with his grandmother. His mother, Mary Martin, was a budding actress, working on Broadway and Larry also made the move to New York, following his grandmother's death.

Having landed a part in the musical South Pacific, which also starred his mother, Larry traveled to England and ended up staying for five years. During his time in the UK, he managed to squeeze in a stint in the U.S Air Force and met his wife, Swedish designer Maj Axelsson.

Having returned to the US, Larry appeared in a number of Broadway plays such as Once Around the Block, Comes A Day and A Priest in the House. His first TV break came in the popular daytime series The Edge of Night, although it wasn’t until the young actor moved to Hollywood that he hit the big time in the cult TV classic I Dream of Jeannie. The show proved a huge success and turned Larry into a bankable star.

In 1977, Larry landed the role which would make him a worldwide megastar. Dallas was the saga of an excessively rich Texas family and was one of the boldest, brassiest and most talked-about shows on the 80s. Larry was perfect as the despicable millionaire J.R. Ewing - the man everyone loved to hate!

The series ran for an unprecedented 13 seasons from 1978 – 1991, and in 1980 a staggering 350 million fans in 57 countries tuned in to find out who shot J.R

Having been one the most recognizable faces of the 80s, Larry’s career would never reach the same heights again. In his autobiography, Hello Darlin: Tall (and Absolutely True) Tales About My Life he spoke frankly about his alcohol abuse and drugs use. In 1995, Larry successfully underwent a liver transplant and during the summer of 1996 he served as the National Spokesperson for the U.S. Transplant Games presented by the National Kidney Foundation.

Patrick Duffy

Character: Bobby Ewing

Patrick Duffy's tremendous world wide audience appeal has been gained through three highly successful series. Starting with Man From Atlantis, then his thirteen years starring as Bobby Ewing on Dallas (including the unprecedented ‘dream season’ which he is brought back from the dead in the famous shower scene), and finally in seven seasons of the popular half-hour situation comedy Step by Step, Patrick has consistently been an audience favorite.

All three series were not only hugely successful in the U.S., but have become benchmark programs all over the world as well. Man From Atlantis captured its place in history when it became the first American television series program to be aired in China.

Born in 1949, Patrick was raised in a small town of 600 people in Montana and moved to Seattle in 1961. He began the Professional Actors Training Program at the University of Washington under RAD and Old Vic Alumnus William Duncan Ross and Canadian theatre and movement teacher Arnie Zaslov. This was the first undergraduate professional school for actors in a major U.S. university. Over 1,200 people auditioned for this 'second year' of the program and Patrick was one of 12 selected. The four year program trained the actors in works from medieval morality play to the modern works, with the obvious emphasis on Shakespeare through Mr. Ross and theatre and movement with Mr. Zaslov.

Jesse Metcalfe

Character: Christopher Ewing

Born in Monterey, California, and raised in Waterford, Connecticut, Metcalfe was always a fan of the arts. After studying at New York University at the famed Tisch School of the Arts, he went on an open audition, which earned him a role in the hit daytime drama Passions. For four years he honed his craft while mesmerizing the daytime audience, breaking more than a few hearts with his 2004 departure from the show.

A SAG Award-winning actor, Metcalfe may be best known for his role as John Rowland, the gardener working for (and playing with) wealthy ex-model Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) in the pop culture phenomenon Desperate Housewives. He has since appeared in the television movie Fairfield Road and the television show Chase. His next television role will be in the 2012 reboot of Dallas.

Metcalfe’s move to the big screen happened in 2006 when he starred as the lead title character in John Tucker Must Die. He was last seen starring opposite Michael Douglas in Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, the romantic comedy The Other End of the Line and The Tortured opposite Erika Christensen.