James "Jamie" Thomas Denton, Jr. (born January 20, 1963) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 and television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 actor, best known for playing Mike Delfino

Mike Delfino

Michael "Mike" Delfino is the name of a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor James Denton.- Season 1 :...

 in the television series Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...

.
Denton was born in Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, and grew up in nearby Goodlettsville

Goodlettsville, Tennessee

Goodlettsville is a city in Davidson and Sumner counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Goodlettsville was incorporated as a city in 1958 with a population of just over 3,000 residents; at the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 13,780. Goodlettsville chose to remain autonomous in 1963...

. His father, J.T. Denton (1930–1993), was a dentist

Dentist

A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...

 who had served in the military. His mother, Mary Jean Woolslair Denton, died from breast cancer in 2002.

Denton attended the University of Tennessee

University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

 where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...

 fraternity, majored in television/journalism and earned a degree in advertising.