With only a handful of film and TV appearances under his belt, this Canadian actor seduced viewers---and his costar Anne Heche---as a hunky biologist on
Men in Trees, a quirky dramedy about a relationship coach stranded in Alaska. Although conceived as a vehicle for Heche, the unknown Tupper shot to fame on the series. Prior to
Trees, Tupper had honed his acting skills in theater and appeared in a handful of little-seen indies (
Loudmouth Soup,
Invisible). But while
Trees constituted his big break, it also prompted his big breakup. In November 2006, he split from his wife, and in January of the following year, gossip rags linked Tupper with Heche, who had recently separated from her husband. By March 2009, the pair had a son, Atlas. That same year, Tupper landed a regular role on the medical drama
Mercy, which lasted just one season. In his spare time, Tupper plays guitar and supports charitable causes, including Cure Duchenne (a muscular-dystrophy disorder).
James Tupper Fast Facts:
- Lived on a coffee farm in East Africa and studied Swahili after high school.
- Worked as a carpenter between acting gigs.
- Acted in several off-Broadway plays, including An Actor Prepares and After the Rain.
- Made his big-screen debut with a small role in the comedy Joe Dirt.
- Cowrote and starred in Loudmouth Soup in 2005, a fully improvised movie that was filmed in one night.
- James Tupper Relationships:
- James Tupper - Father
- Atlas Heche Tupper - Son
- Anne Heche - Significant Other
- Katherine Mayfield - Wife (separated)
- College:
- Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ (MFA in Theatre Arts)