Memory Alpha
Advertisement
Memory Alpha
Real world article
(written from a production point of view)

Steven Culp (born 3 December 1955; age 68) is the actor who portrayed J. Hayes in five Star Trek: Enterprise third season episodes. He had previously played Martin Madden in Star Trek Nemesis, but his scenes were deleted from the final film.

Early life[]

Culp was born in La Jolla, San Diego, California but moved to Virginia as a child. He attended First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach and graduated from The College of William & Mary with a major in English literature. He then studied English Literature at the University of Exeter in Devon, England before studying Theater Arts & Acting at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Television[]

In 1983 and 1984, near the start of his acting career, Culp played the regular role of Dr. Danny Wolek on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. Several years later, he guest-starred on A Man Called Hawk, a short-lived series starring Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Avery Brooks in the lead role. Culp subsequently appeared on such television programs as Murphy Brown (in an episode with Janet MacLachlan), L.A. Law (with James Avery, Corbin Bernsen, Larry Drake, Jennifer Hetrick and Diana Muldaur), Touched by an Angel (with Jeannetta Arnette), and an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 directed by James Darren.

In 1996, Culp won the recurring role of Special Agent Clayton Webb on the CBS series JAG. He appeared in 41 episodes of this series airing between January 1997 and September 2004, making his debut in the first episode of the second season entitled "We the People" and directed by Les Landau.

During his time on JAG, Culp continued appearing on other shows such as Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (starring Joe Lando), Profiler, Ally McBeal (with Roy Brocksmith, Kate Asner, Gina Philips, Jay Karnes and Clyde Kusatsu), Boston Public (starring Jeri Ryan), and Crossing Jordan (starring Miguel Ferrer, with Robert Curtis Brown and Paul Winfield).

In 2003, prior to his making his debut on Enterprise, he played Ted Simmons in three episodes of 24, working with the likes of Jude Ciccolella, Daniel Dae Kim, Michelle Forbes, Penny Johnson, and Harris Yulin. That same year, he appeared with Robert Picardo in an episode of The Lyon's Den.

From 2003 through 2005, Culp played Speaker of the House Jeff Haffley on The West Wing. In 2004, he had a recurring role as Dave Spencer on NBC's ER. Perhaps his best known role, however, is that of Dr. Rex Van de Kamp on Desperate Housewives. He was a regular on this series during its first season, alongside Teri Hatcher and Mark Moses. Rex was involved in an affair with Maisy Gibbons, played by Star Trek: Voyager guest star Sharon Lawrence, during which Culp's character suffered a heart attack, ultimately leading to his "untimely" death. Culp returned to the show for flashback scenes during the second season finale and narrated an episode from the third season.

Culp later starred in the ABC drama Traveler, along with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine guest star William Sadler and Star Trek: First Contact actor Neal McDonough. He has also appeared on Numbers with Bruce McGill, The Closer with Raymond Cruz, and the Sci-Fi Channel's Stargate: Atlantis. In December 2007, he appeared on Boston Legal, playing the attorney prosecuting William Shatner's character, Denny Crane, on soliciting charges. The episode also featured series regulars René Auberjonois and John Larroquette.

He later appeared as an American Patriot officer in Revolution, co-starring Stephen Collins.

Film[]

In addition to his television credits, Culp has appeared in several films, beginning with 1989's Gross Anatomy (with Gordon Clapp, Clyde Kusatsu, and Kay E. Kuter). Perhaps his most notable film role was that of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days (2000, with Star Trek and 2013 actor Bruce Greenwood playing Kennedy's brother, President John F. Kennedy). Culp would again work with Greenwood on Firehouse Dog (2007).

Thirteen Days also featured fellow Star Trek alumni Jack Blessing, Len Cariou, Kevin Conway, Charles Esten, Tim Kelleher, Boris Krutonog, Ed Lauter, Dakin Matthews, and Bill Smitrovich. This film was actually the second time Culp played Robert Kennedy: he previously tackled the role in Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996, starring Ashley Judd and featuring Jeffrey Combs and John Rubinstein).

Culp's other movie credits include Dead Again (1991, with Raymond Cruz), Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993, with Leslie Jordan and Michael Buchman Silver), Fearless (featuring John de Lancie), James and the Giant Peach (1996), Nurse Betty (2000, with Kevin Rahm), The Emperor's Club (2002, with Harris Yulin), Spartan (2004, with Matt Malloy, David Paymer and Natalia Nogulich).

Appearances as Major J. Hayes[]

External links[]

Advertisement