While living in
Chicago, Denton's first role was as "Stanley" in
A Streetcar Named Desire, and his last role was as the terrorist "Bebert" in the French farce,
Lapin Lapin. In the years that came between the two roles, Denton was a company member at The Griffin Theater and at Strawdog Theater Ensemble. He added a steady string of roles and accolades to his quickly growing list of achievements, including one of the leads in the world premiere of
Flesh and Blood, performing in and composing the music for
The Night Hank Williams Died, and his portrayal of Kentucky preacher "C.C. Showers" in
The Diviners - which gained him a nomination for a Best Actor
Joseph Jefferson Award (Chicago's only theater award). After moving to
Los Angeles, Denton continued to perform on stage, usually during hiatus from whichever TV series to which he was attached at the time. Several plays and independent films in which Denton has appeared, have been written by his friend, Mike Petty. For example, "In Walked Monk", in which Denton played the role of "Steven" during the summer of 1999 and Locked Up Down Shorty's", in which he played the role of "Danny", during the summer of 2001.|alt=|leftDenton has appeared in several films, including:
That Old Feeling (1997),
Face/Off (1997), and
Primary Colors (1998). He has appeared in various television shows, including:
Sliders,
Dark Skies,
Two Guys and a Girl,
Ally McBeal,
The West Wing, and
JAG, and has had recurring roles in
The Pretender,
Philly,
The Drew Carey Show and
Reba. In 2003, he portrayed the lead role of Special Agent John Kilmer in the short-lived crime thriller series
Threat Matrix. In 2004, Denton began portraying
Mike Delfino on
ABC's comedy-drama television series
Desperate Housewives. The show was well received by viewers and critics and it won multiple
Primetime Emmy,
Golden Globe and
Screen Actors Guild Awards. From the
2004–05 through the
2008–09 television seasons, its first five seasons were rated amongst the top ten most-watched series. In 2007, it was reported to be the most popular show in its demographic worldwide, with an audience of approximately 120 million and was also reported as the third most watched television series in a study of ratings in twenty countries. Since first appearing in
Desperate Housewives, Denton continued to appear in numerous films, including:
Assumption (2006),
Beautiful Dreamer (2006),
Undead or Alive (2007),
Custody (2007),
Tortured (2008) and
All-Star Superman (2011). Denton also appeared in
Dale Watson's music video for "Justice for All" (2007) and
Phil Vassar's music video for "
Bobbi with an I" (2009). Denton portrayed Dr. Sam Radford, a starring role on
Hallmark Channel's fantasy comedy-drama television series
Good Witch. The series follows a mother-daughter duo's magical journey as they welcome Dr. Sam Radford (Denton) and his son to town.
The New York Times called the series "a gentle, sentimental prime-time fable set in an idealized Middle American small city (not an angsty suburb), is the show you find your parents or grandparents watching when you come home for a visit." In 2019, the show was one of the network's most popular original series, and the
Good Witch closed season five in first place among household ratings on Sundays. The success of the series lifted the Hallmark Channel to be the highest-rated and most-watched cable network on the weekends. In 2018, he made a guest appearance as Navy Captain Deckard on
CBS' television series
NCIS: New Orleans, in the episode "Checkmate, Part 2". In January 2024, Denton was announced as a contestant in the
13th season of
dance competition television series Danse avec les stars, the French version of
Dancing with the Stars. He sustained an injury early in the competition and was unable to compete in two performances.
Other ventures performing in November 2018, (left to right:
Sendhil Ramamurthy,
Adrian Pasdar,
Jesse Spencer, Denton,
Bob Guiney,
Cristine Rose,
Jon Lovitz) Denton plays guitar in the charity cover band
Band from TV along with
Hugh Laurie,
Teri Hatcher, and
Greg Grunberg, among others. and pictorials for
Entertainment Weekly, People, US Weekly and
Life & Style. Denton has appeared in television commercials for
Buick and
Ford Warriors in Pink. Denton modeled for
Daniel Hechter's 2012 Spring/Summer
advertising campaign. ==Personal life==