Whose Line Is It Anyway? In 1992, Esten made his debut on the UK improvised comedy show
Whose Line Is It Anyway?; the show was looking to add more specialist improvisational singers in addition to
Mike McShane. After winning his first episode, he made subsequent appearances on the show's fourth series, which was part-filmed in
New York. After making his final appearance in the UK edition in 1994 he moved back to America and focused on stage and screen before debuting on the show's
American iteration, hosted by
Drew Carey, in 1999. He became a regular cast member on the show, often paired with series regular
Wayne Brady on musical games. Although Esten did not feature on the show when it was revived in 2013 due to his commitments on
Nashville, he eventually returned as a regular improviser in season 15.
Other comedy work Following his return to
Whose Line Is It Anyway, Esten made a guest appearance as himself with fellow regular cast members from the show
Wayne Brady,
Greg Proops and
Brad Sherwood on
The Drew Carey Show. In 2003, he hosted a semi-improvised comedy mini series called
On the Spot. Between 2004–06, he was a member of the touring group
Improv All-Stars and recurring cast member on ''
Drew Carey's Green Screen Show''. In 2011, he was a regular on ''
Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza on GSN. Esten and fellow former Whose Line Is It Anyway
stars Greg Proops, Ryan Stiles and Jeff Davis regularly teamed up and tour around the country doing live improv under the name Whose Live Anyway?
. In April 2014, Esten left Whose Live Anyway?
due to his role in Nashville
, and was replaced by Joel Murray but later became a recurring member with the rest of the cast members during tours once Nashville'' had ended.
Film appearances In 2001, Esten appeared in
Billy Crystal's TV movie
61* as Kevin Maris, the son of legendary
New York Yankees slugger
Roger Maris. He had small roles in three
Kevin Costner movies,
The Postman,
Thirteen Days as downed
U-2 pilot Major
Rudolf Anderson, and
Swing Vote.
Television Esten has appeared as a guest star in various TV series, including
Married... with Children,
The New Adventures of Old Christine,
Star Trek: The Next Generation,
Star Trek: Voyager,
ER,
NCIS: Los Angeles,
Jessie,
The Mentalist, and
The Office. From 2012 to 2018, he was part of the main cast of
Nashville, starring as Deacon Claybourne. He has also contributed to the
soundtracks as both a singer and songwriter. He co-wrote "
I Know How to Love You Now" with
Deana Carter, which was featured in the
season 3 premiere. Starting in 2020, he was one of the stars of the Netflix series,
Outer Banks, playing Ward Cameron. In 2013, he appeared as a celebrity contestant on
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and won $500,000 for his charity. In 2017, Esten was cast in a series of television and radio advertisements as Carl Hardee Sr., the fictional founder of the
Carl's Jr. and
Hardee's fast food chains. On July 9, 2018, it was announced that Esten was cast in a recurring role in the TNT thriller
Tell Me Your Secrets.
Music On July 25, 2018, Esten was awarded the Guinness World Records title of "The most consecutive weeks to release an original digital single by a music act". He was presented with the certificate following a performance of his single, Halfway Home, on NBC's
Today. His #EverySingleFriday project was announced via his Twitter page July 1, 2016 and ran from July 15th of that year through July 21, 2017. Over the course of 54 weeks Esten delivered a new single each Friday, which he himself wrote or co-wrote. Artists featured throughout the project include
Ashley Campbell,
Colin Linden, Steve Mandile of
Sixwire,
Sarah Siskind, Karla Davis, and Miss Jackie Wilson. Esten is a frequent performer on the
Grand Ole Opry. His 100th performance was celebrated with his appearance on the program on July 20, 2018. On February 4, 2023, Esten filled in as host of the Saturday live performance segment of the
Grand Ole Opry, his first appearance in that role. On May 15, 2019, it was announced that Esten had signed with APA's concert division for music representation. He continues to tour across the U.S. and Europe, performing his original music. In 2023, Esten announced the release of "One Good Move", the debut single from his upcoming debut studio album, set for independent release later in the year. "Love Ain't Pretty" was released as the second single from the album, later revealed to be set for release on January 26, 2024. ==Personal life==