Prior to his role on JAG, David James Elliott was probably best known to television audiences for his recurring role as Terry Parsons, a charming alcoholic sex addict who has an affair with Alison on "Melrose Place," but Elliott credits his one-time gig as Carl the moving guy on "Seinfeld" for opening more doors than all his experience combined. "I had fun playing a furniture mover who dated Julia Louis-Dreyfus' character Elaine," says Elliott. "I had always mad a good living doing dramas, but I learned that if you do a comedy, the whole world can open up." And it has, with JAG.
"I really enjoy my role on JAG," Elliott comments. "It's fun to do an action show, it's fun to do all the day-to-day work an then see the end result. The military's always
Born in Toronto, Canada, Elliott's early interest was in music, not acting. At 19, he was enjoying singing in a rock band when he read King Lear in a theater history class and was encouraged to try his hand at the craft by his teacher. After a lengthy interview process, he was accepted at the prestigious Ryerson Polytechnic Institute (a Canadian arts college comparable to Juilliard) in 1983. Prior to his graduation, he was accepted to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada, where he won the Jean Chalmers Award as Most Promising Actor. Shortly thereafter, he starred in the Canadian Broadcasting Company series "Street Legal" from 1985-88.
In 1990, Elliott moved to Los Angeles and was signed to a development deal with Disney. His resume quickly expanded when he guest-starred on such series as "Doogie Howser, M.D.," "China Beach," "The Hitchhiker" and "Dark Justice." In 1992, he landed a recurring roles as a pro-baseball player opposite Nicollette Sheridan on "Knots Landing" and later that year, he starred in the syndicated series "The Untouchables." Elliott also portrayed the alcoholic husband of Dottie West in the TV movie "Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story," and in the NBC mini-series "Degree of Guilt."
During JAG's recent production hiatus, Elliott completed filming the soon-to-be-released feature film "Clockwatchers," in which he stars opposite Parker Posey, Toni Collette and Lisa Kudrow. He describes the film as "funny, quirky, weird, interesting and topical," and hopes that it will be shown at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
Elliott, who is married, has a three-year-old daughter. In his free time he enjoys playing with his daughter, golfing, fishing, running, writing and watching old movies. He also enjoys competing in marathons which, he says, "is my meditation -- I need it."
