The charming and brutal actor Jeffrey Morgan for many years sought recognition, and became famous already in adulthood. The series “Supernatural” and “Anatomy of Passion” helped him in this. After a series of successful film work since 2016, Jeffrey once again shines on television as the villain Nigan from the popular Walking Dead franchise.
Biography: family and choice of life path
The full name of the actor is Jeffrey Dean Morgan. He was born on April 22, 1966 in Seattle, Washington. Jeffrey was the only child of Sandy and Richard Dean Morgan. Among his ancestors, the Scots mainly predominate. In 1984, he graduated from Lake Washington High School and enrolled at Scagit Valley College.
Since childhood, Jeffrey dreamed of becoming a professional athlete, playing football and basketball. He was the captain and main star of the school basketball team. In college, a talented guy also got a place in the national team, but remained out of work when he seriously injured his knee. Then Jeffrey decided to study graphic design. Then he founded his own design company in Seattle, and also successfully developed his artistic and literary talents.
A trip to a friend in Los Angeles forever changed his life. Morgan decided to stay in this city and went to acting classes. Soon he joined a crowd of aspiring actors roaming the auditions in the hope of getting a job. A talented, charismatic guy was quickly noticed, and in the early 90's he got his first roles.
Way to success
In 1991, in the film "Angel in Red, " Jeffrey's acting debut took place. Then there was a couple of episodic roles in films that did not hit the box, but were released directly for home viewing. However, the main work of Morgan for a long time remained series. He was the hero of one or more episodes in popular television projects:
- “Military Legal Service” (1995);
- “Sliders” (1996);
- “In an instant” (1996);
- The Burning Zone (1996-1997);
- Cool Walker: Texas Justice (2000);
- Ambulance (2001);
- The Angel (2002);
- “CSI: Crime Scene” (2003).
For many years, Jeffrey was waiting for his finest hour. At some point, even his manager and good friend ceased to believe in the actor. He broke the contract with Morgan just a day before he was offered the role of John Winchester - the father of the protagonists of the series Supernatural. Jeffrey played in the project for two seasons. This was enough to be remembered and loved by the audience, and representatives of the film industry finally saw in him a serious acting potential.
Actor career
In 2006, Morgan successfully passed tests for the medical series "Anatomy of Gray." He was taken on the role of Denny Duckett, the beloved heroine of Katherine Heigl, whom he met as a patient in the cardiac surgery department. During the second season, the audience enthusiastically watched the development of their relationship, treatment and a desperate struggle for the life of Denny.
Another successful project of Morgan of that time is the series "Datura", where he played the husband of the main character in two episodes. It is noteworthy that in all three projects that made him popular, Jeffrey's characters died. But the actor himself, on the contrary, as if born again and was ready to move on, conquering new heights of cinema.
In 2007, he was approved for the key role in the new series Correspondent from the creators of Anatomy of Passion, but the project was postponed for several reasons. But Morganu began to receive interesting offers from the world of cinema. In 2007, he played the small but important role of musician William Gallagher in the romantic melodrama PS I Love You. For the credibility of the on-screen image, Morgan learned to play the guitar under the direction of singer Nancy Wilson in just a week. His partner in the film was two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank. They met for the second time in 2011 on the set of the thriller "Trap", where Jeffrey appeared in the image of a maniac obsessed with the heroine Swank.
In 2008, he received a major role in the drama Days of Anger. And although the film was coolly received by critics and viewers, Morgan's work deserved high marks. He was attracted by director Zack Snyder, who was looking for actors in his new project “Keepers” - an adaptation of the comics of the same name. He approved Jeffrey for the role of the Comedian - a crime fighter and defender of people, fanatically devoted to his mission. By the way, this did not end his immersion in the world of superheroes. Losers (2010) is another adaptation of the famous comic book series in which Morgan had a major role. And more recently - in 2016 - he again starred with Snyder in the movie “Batman vs. Superman: At the Dawn of Justice”, where he played Bruce Wayne's father.
In addition to the films mentioned above, over the past decade, Jeffrey Morgan's acting baggage has accumulated many worthy works. These are the memorable supporting roles in such films as “Storming Woodstock” (2009), “Shanghai” (2010), “Elusive” (2012), “Peace, Love and Misunderstanding” (2012). The actor also boasts an impressive list of major roles in the following films:
- Fields (2011);
- Courier (2012);
- The Casket of Curse (2012);
- “Salvation” (2014);
- The Desert (2015);
- “Speed: Bus 657” (2015);
- “Psychics” (2015).
Having firmly established himself as a movie star, Morgan does not forget about television. In 2012-2013, he was the central character in the series Magic City, which was closed after the second season. Also played lover Julianne Margulis in the seventh season of the series “Good Wife” (2015-2016). Finally, in 2016, Jeffrey's next high point on television came. As a special guest since the sixth season, he has been taking part in the television adaptation of The Walking Dead comics. The actor managed to endow his hero - the ruthless and authoritarian Nigan - with a special charm and make the audience favorite. For this work, he received the Saturn Award in the nomination "Best Guest Star in the Series."
