Charles Esten

Charles Esten
Esten in 2016
Born
Charles Esten Puskar III

(1965-09-09) September 9, 1965 (age 58)
Other namesChip Esten
Alma materCollege of William and Mary
Occupations
  • Actor
  • musician
  • comedian
Years active1988–present
Spouse
Patty Hanson
(m. 1991)
Children3
Websitecharlesesten.com

Charles Esten Puskar III (born September 9, 1965), also known professionally as Charles Esten, and (when appearing as himself on improvisation shows or hosting) as Chip Esten, is an American actor, musician and comedian.

Esten played the role of country singer Deacon Claybourne on the drama Nashville from 2012 to 2018, which subsequently kickstarted his own musical career. He also played Ward Cameron on the teen drama series Outer Banks. He appeared in the improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? as a series regular between 1999–2005 and returned with guest appearances from 2017–2020.

Early life

Esten was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and moved to Alexandria, Virginia at age nine, after his parents divorced. He and his younger sister were raised by their mother.

His late father, Charles, was a prominent local businessman and business partner of former Pittsburgh Steelers center Ray Mansfield.

Esten is a 1983 graduate of Alexandria's T.C. Williams High School, where he played football for the Titans a decade after the events of the film Remember the Titans. He has noted in several interviews that his Nashville costar Hayden Panettiere appeared in the film as the daughter of his real-life coach. He then attended his parents' and sister's alma mater, the College of William and Mary, where he was a member of Theta Delta Chi fraternity and graduated with a degree in economics in 1987. At William and Mary, he was the lead vocalist in the local band "N'est Pas" from 1985–88. Following graduation, Esten moved to the United Kingdom to make his theatrical debut, playing the title role in the musical Buddy in the early 1990s.

Esten's first television appearance was in December 1988 as a contestant on the NBC game show Sale of the Century (under the name Chip Puskar). He won over $32,000 in cash and prizes in five episodes (December 13-19); he later sold his prizes.

Career

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

In 1992, Esten made his debut on Whose Line Is It Anyway? in the fourth series and "won" the episode. He subsequently appeared in more episodes later the same year when the show did a run in New York City. At the time, the show needed a second specialist improvisational singer to fill in for Mike McShane.

Esten made his final appearance in the UK edition in 1994 before moving back to the US. Although appearing on stage and screen thereafter, his 1999 return to Whose Line Is It Anyway? — in the show's American format with Drew Carey as host — established him as a regular "fourth contestant" on the show. Due to his singing abilities, he was often paired with series regular Wayne Brady on musical games. Although he did not return as a regular when the show was revived in 2013 and only appeared as a special guest during the 13th and 14th seasons (as he was one of the main cast members of Nashville), he eventually returned as a fourth seater in season 15.

Other comedy work

Following his return to Whose Line Is It Anyway, Esten made a guest appearance as himself with fellow regular cast members from the show Wayne Brady, Greg Proops and Brad Sherwood on The Drew Carey Show. In 2003, he hosted a semi-scripted semi-improvised comedy mini series called On the Spot. Between 2004–06, he was a member of the touring group Improv All-Stars and recurring cast member on Drew Carey's Green Screen Show.

In 2011, he was a regular on Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza on GSN. Esten and fellow former Whose Line Is It Anyway stars Greg Proops, Ryan Stiles and Jeff Davis regularly teamed up and tour around the country doing live improv under the name Whose Live Anyway?. In April 2014, Esten ceased work with Whose Live Anyway? due to his role in Nashville, and was replaced by Joel Murray.[citation needed]

Film appearances

In 2001, Esten appeared in Billy Crystal's TV movie 61* as Kevin Maris, the son of legendary New York Yankees slugger Roger Maris. He had small roles in three Kevin Costner movies, The Postman, Thirteen Days as downed U-2 pilot Major Rudolf Anderson, and Swing Vote.

Esten also starred in a public service video, Riding Straight, produced for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's curriculum, Motorcycle Rider Course: Riding and Street Skills (MRC:RSS), in which he portrayed a surfer dude, a snuff-dipping hick, and a concerned friend in a bar.

Television

Esten has appeared as a guest star in various TV series, including Married... with Children, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, ER, NCIS: Los Angeles, Jessie, The Mentalist, and The Office.

From 2012 to 2018 he was part of the main cast of Nashville, starring as Deacon Claybourne. He has also contributed to the soundtracks as both a singer and songwriter. He co-wrote "I Know How to Love You Now" with Deana Carter, which was featured in the season 3 premiere. Starting in 2020, he was one of the stars of a very popular Netflix series, Outerbanks, playing the main villain (Ward Cameron).

In 2013, Esten appeared as a celebrity contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and won $500,000 for his charity.

In 2017, Esten was cast in a series of television and radio advertisements as Carl Hardee Sr., the fictional founder of the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast food chains.

On July 9, 2018, it was announced that Esten was cast in a recurring role in the TNT thriller Tell Me Your Secrets. According to TVLine, "The drama follows three characters with equally disturbing backstories: Emma (played by American Horror Story‘s Lily Rabe) once faced down a dangerous killer, John (Legion‘s Hamish Linklater) is a former serial predator in search of redemption, and Mary (Private Practice‘s Amy Brenneman) is a grieving mother determined to find her missing daughter. Per the synopsis, 'As each of them is pushed to the edge, the truth about their pasts and motives grows ever murkier, blurring the lines between victim and perpetrator.'"

Music

July 25, 2018, Esten was awarded the Guinness World Records title of "The most consecutive weeks to release an original digital single by a music act". He was presented with the certificate following a performance of his single, Halfway Home, on NBC's Today. His #EverySingleFriday project was announced via his Twitter page July 1, 2016 and ran from July 15th of that year through July 21, 2017. Over the course of 54 weeks Esten delivered a new single each Friday, which he himself wrote or co-wrote. Artists featured throughout the project include Ashley Campbell, Colin Linden, Steve Mandile of Sixwire, Sarah Siskind, Karla Davis, and Miss Jackie Wilson.

Esten is a frequent performer on the Grand Ole Opry. His 100th performance was celebrated with his appearance on the program on July 20, 2018. On February 4, 2023, Esten filled in as host of the Saturday live performance segment of the Grand Ole Opry - his first appearance in that role.

On May 15, 2019, it was announced that Esten had signed with APA's concert division for music representation. He continues to tour across the U.S. and Europe, performing his original music.

In 2023, Esten announced the release of "One Good Move", the debut single from his upcoming debut studio album, set for independent release later in the year. "Love Ain't Pretty" was released as the second single from the album, later revealed to be set for release on January 26, 2024.

Personal life

Esten is married to Patty Puskar (née Hanson), whom he met in college. They have three children. The family moved to Nashville after Esten was cast as a series regular on Nashville.

Esten is national chairman for the annual Light the Night Walks, a fundraiser benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). His daughter is a leukemia survivor.

Filmography

Film performances
Year Work Role Notes
1996 Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom Generic Cap #1 Video game, voice role
1997 The Postman Michael, Abby's Husband
2000 Thirteen Days Maj. Rudolf Anderson
2001 Roots of the Cuban Missile Crisis Major Anderson Video documentary
2002 Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet Bill segment "Twelve Miles to Trona"
2003 Water Under the Bridge Don
Nobody Knows Anything! Conner Fulton
2007 American Family Larry Bogner
2008 1% John Tipton
Swing Vote Lewis (as Charles 'Chip' Esten)
Television performances
Year Work Role Notes
1988 Sale of the Century Self/Contestant 4 episodes (as Chip Puskar)
1989 On the Television various 5 episodes
1990 Scrabble Self/Contestant 1 episode (as Chip Puscar)
1992, 1994 Whose Line Is It Anyway (UK) Self/Performer 5 episodes (as Chip Esten)
1993 Cheers unnamed marine 1 episode
Star Trek: The Next Generation Divok Episode: "Rightful Heir"
1994 Murphy Brown Secretary #67 1 episode
1995–1996 The Crew Randy Anderson Main cast
1996 Star Trek: Voyager Dathan Episode: "Remember"
Diagnosis: Murder Joe Carter 1 episode
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Ethan Press Episode: "Stop the Presses"
1997 JAG Lieutenant Pete 'Pistol' Ayers 1 episode
Married... with Children Lonnie 2 episodes
The Sleepwalker Killing Mark Schall Made-for-TV movie
1998–2000 The Brian Benben Show Chad Rockwell Main cast
1998 Instant Comedy with the Groundlings Self TV series
1999–2005,
2017–2020
Whose Line Is It Anyway (US) Self/Performer Recurring (Seasons 2–8),
Guest (Seasons 13–16) (all as Chip Esten)
1999 Jesse Tad 1 episode
Jack & Jill Nick Seraph 1 episode
The Expendables Ram Made-for-TV movie
Late Last Night Beverly Hills Cop Made-for-TV movie
Providence Ted Shannon 1 episode
2000 Party of Five Luke Recurring role (Season 6)
My VH1 Music Awards Self TV special documentary (as Chip Esten)
2000–2001 The Drew Carey Show Chip / Stall for Time Player #1 2 episodes
2001 Hollywood Squares Self 2 episodes (as Chip Esten)
The Trouble with Normal Carson Episode: "Unconventional Behavior"
61* Kevin Maris ('98) Made-for-TV movie (as Chip Esten)
Drew Carey's Improv All Stars Self/Performer TV special (as Chip Esten)
2002 The Guardian Mark Hanson 1 episode
The Johnny Chronicles Patrick Monroe Made-for-TV movie
Rendez-View Self Episode: "Freak-a-thon"
2003 On the Spot Self/Host Main cast
L.A. Dragnet Carl Savitsky 1 episode
All Grown Up! Made-for-TV movie
Just Shoot Me! Jake 1 episode
Rocket Power Story writer Episode: "A Rocket X-mas"
2004–2005 Drew Carey's Green Screen Show Self/Performer Recurring (as Chip Esten)
2004 NYPD Blue Tim Keating 1 episode
Cold Case John "The Hawk" Hawkins 1 episode
The Magical Gathering Self Made-for-TV movie (as Chip Esten)
2006 The Office Josh Porter Guest (Season 2),
Recurring role (Season 3)
2007 Help Me Help You Willis Episode: "Moving On"
The Winner Gary Episode: "Broken Home"
The New Adventures of Old Christine Joe Campbell 2 episodes
2007–2008 ER Dr. Barry Grossman 4 episodes
2009–2010 Big Love Ray Henry Recurring role (Season 3),
Guest (Season 4)
2009 The Mentalist Rick Bregman 1 episode
The Cleaner Dr. Jake Slovak Episode: "An Ordinary Man"
NCIS: Los Angeles John Cole/Ethan Stanhope 1 episode
2011 Wilfred Nick 2 episodes
Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza Self/Performer Main cast (as Chip Esten)
Jessie Morgan Ross 4 episodes
Enlightened Damon Manning Recurring role
2012–2018 Nashville Deacon Claybourne Main cast
2012 Nashville: The Whole Story Self/Narrator TV special
2013 Nashville: On the Record Self TV special
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Self 2 episodes
2014 Nashville: On the Record 2 Self TV special
2015 Nashville: On the Record 3 Self TV special
2017 CMT Music Awards Self/Host
2020–2023 Outer Banks Ward Cameron Main cast
2020 Country Music Association Awards Self/Presenter
2021 Tell Me Your Secrets Saul Barlow Recurring role

Discography

Singles

Year Single Peak chart
positions
Sales Album
US Country
US
2012 "Undermine" (with Hayden Panettiere)A 35 116 The Music of Nashville: Season 1 Volume 1
"No One Will Ever Love You" (with Connie Britton)A 36 117
2013 "This Town" (with Clare Bowen) 41 The Music of Nashville: Season 2, Volume 1
2017 "Sanctuary" (with Lennon & Maisy) 31
US: 9,000 The Music of Nashville: Season 5, Volume 1
2020 "Strong" (with Jillian Cardarelli)
2023 "One Good Move" TBA
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

This page was last updated at 2024-01-15 09:33 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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