Today is a special day for Days of Our Lives star Matthew Ashford, who plays returned-from-the-dead Jack Deveraux.
That’s because he was born on January 29, 1960 in Davenport, Iowa, which means he is turning 59 years old today! He is the third youngest child of eight kids. He has four brothers and three sisters.
At the tender age of 12, Ashford’s sisters took him to auditions for a local play, which started his desire to be an actor.
A year later, the family moved to Fairfax, VA, where he participated in his high school shows at Hayfield High while also appearing in local theatre.
From there, he attended North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem and during the summers, he worked as a street performer in Myrtle Beach, SC and then joined the Ragamuffin Magic & Mime Company where he earned his first professional paycheck. After graduating, he moved to New York and soaps came calling.
In 1982, he landed the role of sweet Drew Ralston on One Life to Live. That was followed by Cagney on Search for Tomorrow. But, it was in 1989 when he took over the role of Jack Deveraux that he took off, especially when he was paired with Melissa Reeves’s Jennifer Horton.
In between stints on DAYS, he was Tom Hardy on General Hospital. Many roles in primetime also followed, on shows like Quantum Leap, Burke’s Law, Pacific Blue, Providence, Dharma & Greg, and Friends.
He also appeared in films like Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss with Sean Hayes, Fuzz Track City with Dee Wallace, and Blood Runs Thick with Tom Sizemore.
Soap Hub wishes Matthew Ashford the happiest of birthdays and you can too by clicking the Twitter link below.
Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes.
Video Credit: Keren
Video Credit: pylkje17
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