American actor and screenwriter Jack Coleman was born on February 21, 1958 in Easton, Pennsylvania. A sixth-generation grandson of Benjamin Franklin, he graduated from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina in 1980. He then took further training acting at the National Theater Institute. His first television role came in 1981, when he played the role of Jake Kositchek in the daytime soap Days of our Lives. He then became a regular on the primetime soap Dynasty, where he played Steven Carrington, the younger son of Blake (John Forsythe) and Alexis Carrington (Joan Collins), who later reveals his homosexuality. After guest roles in other television shows such as Glitter and The Colbys, he made his film debut in 1988, on the Australian independent film The Pursuit of Happiness.
In 1992, Coleman starred in the short-lived fantasy series Nightmare Caf?, where he played the sarcastic but good-hearted cook Frank Nolan. This was followed by a long list of credits in television movies, including Angels in the Endzone, Last Rites and Replacing Dad, as well as feature films, including Time Under Fire and Spawn. He also had guest roles in programs such as Diagnosis Murder, Touched by an Angel, The Net, Becker and According to Jim.
In 2004, Coleman got his first major television role in twelve years, when he starred in the miniseries Kingdom Hospital. He played the role of Peter Rickman, a comatose painter who discovers the past and future of the hospital where he is confined. Two years later, this was followed by another high-profile television role: that of Noah Bennet in the television series Heroes. His character is a businessman who actually tours the world investigating superhuman phenomena, and claims to assist them in learning how to use their powers. He is the father of Claire (Hayden Panettiere), who also has superhuman powers; he can be overprotective of her, though, and sometimes uses his resources to negative effect to protect her.
After hist stint on Heroes, Coleman appeared on the TV movie Rock the House, as well on The Mentalist and House.
-If Jack could have a super power, it would be to be able to fly.
-As a child, Jack used to read comics, particularly Spider-Man.
-Jack was among one of the first actors to portray the role of a gay person on television.
- I am blind as a bat and I wear contact lenses because the vision they afford is much better. So I wear contacts and then I have to wear reading glasses. My eyes have been bad - I come from bad eyesight on both sides of my family.
-I always thought invisibility would be cool, but then I was invisible for most of the '90s.
(About life on the "Heroes" set)
-There's always plenty of shenanigans. If you've ever been around Greg Grunberg there are always shenanigans. It's a fun set.