He broke into show business during college. His first major role was on the daytime
soap opera ''
Ryan's Hope, in which he played Rick Hyde from 1984–1987. During his last year on the show, he received a Daytime Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Young Actor in a Daytime Drama Series". Also, during his time on the soap, Show dated fellow Ryan's Hope'' actor
Yasmine Bleeth. Hyped as the series' leading heartthrob, he even had a pin-up poster issued during the series' run but later became dissatisfied with acting in soaps and went to
London in order to improve his craft. Returning to the United States in the late 1980s, he landed occasional primetime television acting jobs. He auditioned for (but did not receive) the part of J.D in the 1991 film
Thelma & Louise, which was a break-out role for
Brad Pitt. The other two actors who missed out after auditioning with
Geena Davis were
Mark Ruffalo and
George Clooney, whom she did not recognise until he reminded her of his disappointment at missing out on the role several years later, a tale she recounted on
The Graham Norton Show. His appearances on television attracted the attention of producer
Aaron Spelling, who felt he had star potential and decided to cast him as Jake Hanson on a few episodes of the popular series
Beverly Hills, 90210 in order to spin off the character as the lead in his next series
Melrose Place. Debuting with much fanfare (Show was on the covers of both
TV Guide and
People immediately after the series' debut), the series' ratings in its first season were not up to expectations, and the show was revamped in the middle of the first season from an episodic strait-laced drama format to a melodramatic soap opera serial format in the tradition of
Dynasty, one of Spelling's earlier hits. The series made Show one of the most popular and best-known actors on American television during the 1990s. He also played Jake in a guest appearance in the pilot of the
Melrose spin-off
Models Inc., making him the only actor to play the same character on the first three shows in the
Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise. During his time on
Melrose Place, Show also appeared on an episode of
Saturday Night Live hosted by
Laura Leighton. In 1997, Show, Leighton (an off-screen girlfriend of Show's for a period),
Doug Savant,
Courtney Thorne-Smith and
Marcia Cross left
Melrose Place, which led the show into a major decline. It was cancelled two years later, though Show later regretted his decision to leave, despite his dislike of the scripts during his final season. He has since starred in a number of television movies, including
Blessed Assurance with
Cicely Tyson,
Between Love and Honor with
Robert Loggia, and
Homeland Security with
Tom Skerritt and was one of the leads in the short-lived Fox Network supernatural drama
Point Pleasant in 2005. He made a guest appearance in three episodes of HBO's acclaimed series
Six Feet Under in 2002, and in 2006 he guest-starred on two episodes of the ABC Family show
Beautiful People, alongside former
Melrose Place co-star
Daphne Zuniga. In 2007, Show appeared in three episodes of the
FX show
Dirt, playing a closeted gay action movie hero, Jack Dawson. In 2008, Show starred in the short-lived
CBS summer drama series
Swingtown as an airline pilot, Tom Decker. Show was also featured in a recurring role in episodes of
Private Practice in the 2008–2009 season. He starred opposite
Jenna Elfman in the 2009 series
Accidentally on Purpose, his first sitcom. In the 2010 and 2011 season, he appeared in the recurrent role of Michael Sainte, the Goji Guru, on the HBO series
Big Love. He has acted in a number of stage productions. In 1990, he played the lead in an adaptation of
On the Waterfront and after his stint on
Melrose Place he appeared in a production of
The Glass Menagerie. He was on
Broadway in 1999 playing a doctor in
Wit. In 2012, he appeared in the film
The Possession, directed by
Ole Bornedal, alongside
Jeffrey Dean Morgan and
Kyra Sedgwick. In 2013, he began his role as
Spence Westmore on
Devious Maids. In March 2017, he was cast in
The CW's
Dynasty reboot as
Blake Carrington. ==Personal life==