Editing Scott Bakula (section)

==Career==
Bakula moved to [[New York City]] in 1976. He made his professional debut in the 1977 national tour of the musical ''[[Shenandoah (musical)|Shenandoah]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scott Bakula – Broadway Cast & Staff |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/scott-bakula-30719 |access-date=October 6, 2023 |website=Internet Broadway Database |archive-date=December 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208094734/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/scott-bakula-30719 |url-status=live }}</ref> He made his [[Broadway (theater)|Broadway]] debut in 1982 as an understudy in the short-lived musical ''[[Is There Life After High School?]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Is there life after high school? – Broadway Musical – Original |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/is-there-life-after-high-school-4171 |access-date=October 6, 2023 |website=Internet Broadway Database}}</ref> The following year, he appeared as baseball legend [[Joe DiMaggio]] in ''[[Marilyn: An American Fable]]'', which only ran 17 performances.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marilyn – Broadway Musical – Original |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/marilyn-4239 |access-date=October 6, 2023 |website=Internet Broadway Database |archive-date=January 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120043750/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/marilyn-4239 |url-status=live }}</ref>  He received a shared Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Ensemble Acting for his performance in the 1985 [[Off-Broadway]] production of ''Three Guys Naked from the Waist Down'';<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scott Bakula – Broadway Cast & Staff |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/scott-bakula-30719 |access-date=October 6, 2023 |website=Internet Broadway Database}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=April 2025}} he would later appear in its [[Pasadena Playhouse]] production.<ref name="universalbio">{{Cite web |title=Scott Bakula Biography |url=http://www.scifi.com/quantum/castcrew/bakulabio.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712042430/http://www.scifi.com/quantum/castcrew/bakulabio.html |archive-date=July 12, 2006 |publisher=Archival [[Universal Television]] official biography via [[Quantum Leap (1989 TV series)|Quantum Leap]] official site (Sci Fi Channel)}}</ref> The success of ''Three Guys'' Off-Broadway brought him attention, and when his next show, the musical ''Nightclub Confidential'', which co-starred his wife Krista Neumann, moved to Los Angeles, he moved there at the urging of his California agent, Maggie Henderson, and his New York agent, Jerry Hogan. As Bakula recalled in 2000:
{{quote|I call [Henderson] up and said I got a show, I'm gonna be out there, I'm coming out in January. So it'll work out because it's time for [[television pilot|pilot]] season and I'll be doing something so people can come and see me. ... And then I coincidentally had done a Disney Sunday Night [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] movie that was gonna come out some time in the winter. It was the time to go. Came out here on [[New Year's Day]], 1986. The show I did turned out to be a big hit out here. It got me a lot of attention out here and I jumped onto [[sitcom|the TV sitcom]] ''[[Designing Women]]'' in the beginning and was able to do that pilot&nbsp;... and things kind of took off.<ref name="unexpurgated-p3">"Complete, Unexpurgated Transcript", p. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060714034204/http://www.scifi.com/quantum/castcrew/bakulaint2c.html 3]</ref>}}

He was cast in two short-lived series: ''[[Gung Ho (TV series)|Gung Ho]]'' and ''[[Eisenhower & Lutz]]''. During a Hollywood writers' strike in 1988, he returned to New York to star in ''[[Romance/Romance]]'' on Broadway,<ref name="unexpurgated-p3" /> which ran from May 1, 1988, to January 15, 1989.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Romance / Romance – Broadway Musical – Original |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/romance--romance-4505 |access-date=October 6, 2023 |website=Internet Broadway Database |archive-date=March 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220330/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/romance--romance-4505 |url-status=live }}</ref>  For his performance as Alfred Von Wilmers and Sam, he was nominated for the 1988 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scott Bakula – Broadway Cast & Staff |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/scott-bakula-30719 |access-date=October 6, 2023 |website=Internet Broadway Database |archive-date=December 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208094734/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/scott-bakula-30719 |url-status=live }}</ref>  Afterward, he landed the lead role opposite co-star [[Dean Stockwell]] in the [[science fiction]] television series ''[[Quantum Leap (1989 TV series)|Quantum Leap]]'' (1989–1993). Bakula played time traveler Dr. [[Samuel Beckett (Quantum Leap)|Sam Beckett]], who was trapped by a malfunction of his time machine to correct things gone wrong in the past.<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Connor |first=John J. |date=November 22, 1989 |title=Review/Television; An Actor's 'Quantum Leap' Through Times and Roles |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/22/arts/review-television-an-actor-s-quantum-leap-through-times-and-roles.html?scp=7&sq=Quantum%20Leap&st=cse |access-date=August 12, 2010 |work=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=December 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220143339/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/22/arts/review-television-an-actor-s-quantum-leap-through-times-and-roles.html?scp=7&sq=Quantum%20Leap&st=cse |url-status=live }}</ref> His performance in the show earned him a [[Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Award]] (along with three nominations) and four [[Primetime Emmy Awards|Primetime Emmy Award]] nominations for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series|Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series]], as well as five consecutive [[Viewers for Quality Television]] Awards for Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000836/awards?ref_=nm_awd |title=IMDb |website=[[IMDb]] |access-date=March 17, 2019 |archive-date=August 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803094324/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000836/awards?ref_=nm_awd |url-status=live }}</ref>

From 1993 to 1995, he played Peter Hunt, a reporter and occasional love interest on the sitcom ''[[Murphy Brown]]''. In 1995, Bakula appeared on the cover of ''[[Playgirl]]''. He played the titular Mr. Smith in the sole season of ''[[Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1996 TV series)|Mr. & Mrs. Smith]]'' in 1996. He voiced Danny Cat in the animated film ''[[Cats Don't Dance]]'' (1997). He played the aging veteran pitcher Gus Cantrell in ''[[Major League: Back to the Minors]]'' (1998), the final movie in the ''[[Major League (film)|Major League]]'' trilogy. He also played Jim Olmeyer, the same-sex partner of [[Sam Robards]]' Jim Berkley, in the film ''[[American Beauty (1999 film)|American Beauty]]'' (1999).

Bakula played [[Jonathan Archer]], captain of Earth's first Warp 5 interstellar starship, on ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' from 2001 to 2005. In 2006, he reprised the role of Archer for the ''[[Star Trek: Legacy]]'' [[Personal computer|PC]] and [[Xbox 360]] video games as a [[voice-over]].

Bakula starred in the musical ''[[Shenandoah (musical)|Shenandoah]]'', a play which also provided his first professional theatrical role in 1976, at [[Ford's Theatre]], in 2006. Bakula is heard singing "Pig Island" on [[Sandra Boynton]]'s children's CD ''Philadelphia Chickens'', which is labeled as being "For all ages except 43." Scott Bakula said that he might be starring as Sam in a ''[[Quantum Leap (1989 TV series)|Quantum Leap]]'' film as stated in ''TV Guide Magazine'' along with [[Dean Stockwell]]. At Comic Con 2010, he announced that a script was being worked on and that while he would be in the movie, he would not have the main role.<ref name="newleap">{{Cite web |title=Scott Bakula says Quantum Leap movie is in the works |url=http://trekmovie.com/2010/08/07/scott-bakula-says-quantum-leap-movie-is-in-the-works}}</ref>

Bakula performed various songs from his career for a one-night-only performance entitled ''An Evening with Scott Bakula'' at Sidney Harman Hall on January 18, 2008, as a benefit for the restoration of the historic Ford's Theater.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 5, 2007 |title='An Evening with Scott Bakula' at Ford's Theatre Jan.18 |url=http://dc.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=23499 |access-date=November 17, 2012 |publisher=DC.BroadwayWorld.com |archive-date=May 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528070930/http://dc.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=23499 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bakula had three appearances in 2008. He appeared as Atty. Jack Ross in an episode of ''[[Boston Legal]]'', [[List of Boston Legal episodes#Glow In the Dark|"Glow in the Dark"]], which aired on February 12, 2008, on the ABC network.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Daily News Releases |url=http://abcmedianet.com/assets/pr/html/012808_10.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531060832/http://abcmedianet.com/assets/pr/html/012808_10.html |archive-date=May 31, 2008 |access-date=November 17, 2012 |publisher=Abcmedianet.com}}</ref> From March 4&nbsp;– April 20, he starred as Tony Hunter in the world premiere of ''Dancing in the Dark'' at The Old Globe in [[San Diego, California]]. ''Dancing in the Dark'' is based on the movie ''[[The Band Wagon]]'' (1953).<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Dancing in the Dark'' |url=http://www.theoldglobe.org/_pdf/pr/2008/Dancing%20in%20the%20Dark%20Cast%20Announced.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210134322/http://www.theoldglobe.org/_pdf/pr/2008/Dancing%20in%20the%20Dark%20Cast%20Announced.pdf |archive-date=February 10, 2012 |access-date=November 17, 2012}}</ref> Bakula appeared as the character Chris Fulbright in the five-episode run of the [[Tracey Ullman]] sketch comedy series ''State of the Union'' on Showtime.

[[File:38th Annual Saturn Awards - Scott Bakula (14158575614) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Bakula at the [[Saturn Award]]s, 2012]]
Bakula appeared in the dark comedy film ''[[The Informant (2009 film)|The Informant!]]'' (2009) as Brian Shepard, an FBI agent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=''The Informant'' opening |url=http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1315316/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528131014/http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1315316/ |archive-date=May 28, 2008 |access-date=April 10, 2008}}</ref> In April 2009, he began a recurring role on the television series ''[[Chuck (TV series)|Chuck]]'' as [[Stephen J. Bartowski]], the eponymous character's long-lost father. From July 31 to August 2, 2009, he starred as Nathan Detroit in three performances of ''[[Guys and Dolls]]'' at the [[Hollywood Bowl]]. Beginning in December 2009, Bakula began appearing as Terry, one of the three lead characters in TNT's hour-long comedy/drama ''[[Men of a Certain Age]]''.

In 2011, Bakula performed a voice cameo in the film ''[[Source Code]]'' as a slight nod to his character on ''Quantum Leap'', with his catchphrase of "Oh, boy."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Meredith Woerner |date=April 4, 2011 |title=Duncan Jones tells us what really happened at the end of Source Code |url=http://io9.com/5788795/duncan-jones-unravels-the-mysteries-behind-source-code |access-date=August 4, 2011 |website=[[io9]] |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719195537/http://io9.com/5788795/duncan-jones-unravels-the-mysteries-behind-source-code |url-status=live }}</ref> and appeared in the feature-length documentary ''[[The Captains (film)|The Captains]]'', which was written and directed by [[William Shatner]], Bakula is interviewed by the original ''Star Trek'' captain about his life and career leading up to his performances as Captain Jonathan Archer in ''Star Trek: Enterprise''. In the movie, Shatner interviews Bakula at his ranch in California where they discuss the pitfalls that come with a career in television.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Exclusive Clips from William Shatner's 'The Captains' |url=http://trekmovie.com/2011/07/18/exclusive-clips-from-william-shatners-the-captains-how-to-watch-doc-for-free-online/ |publisher=Trekmovie.com}}</ref>

In September 2011, Bakula starred in ''Terrible Advice'' by [[Saul Rubinek]] at the Menier Chocolate Factory.<ref>[https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Scott-Bakula-Joins-Menier-Chocolate-Factorys-TERRIBLE-ADVICE-20110811] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808171610/https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Scott-Bakula-Joins-Menier-Chocolate-Factorys-TERRIBLE-ADVICE-20110811|date=August 8, 2018}}, Broadway World announces Scott Bakula joins Terrible Advice Retrieved May 30, 2018.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/oct/02/terrible-advice-menier-review], Guardian Review of Scott Bakula's West End debut in Terrible Advice retrieved May 30, 2018.</ref> In April to May 2012, he guest starred in the last five episodes of ''[[Desperate Housewives]]'' as Bree Van de Kamp's criminal defense lawyer and third husband. In April 2013, he made a guest appearance on ''[[Two and a Half Men]]'' as a sleazy car dealer, Jerry. In August 2013, it was announced Bakula would have a recurring role in the first season of HBO's new series ''[[Looking (TV series)|Looking]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nellie Andreeva |date=August 23, 2013 |title=Scott Bakula Joins HBO's Michael Lannan Dramedy Series, Now Titled 'Looking' |url=https://deadline.com/2013/08/scott-bakula-joins-hbos-michael-lannan-dramedy-series-now-titled-looking-570826/ |access-date=March 9, 2014 |archive-date=November 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116165439/https://deadline.com/2013/08/scott-bakula-joins-hbos-michael-lannan-dramedy-series-now-titled-looking-570826/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He also appeared in the film ''Geography Club'' (2013).

In February 2014, Bakula was cast as the lead in a [[television pilot|backdoor pilot]] for the ''[[NCIS (TV series)|NCIS]]'' spin-off series, ''[[NCIS: New Orleans]]'', which began as a two-part episode of its parent series in the spring season of 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |title='NCIS' scoop: Scott Bakula to star in new spinoff |url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/02/03/scott-bakula-ncis/ |access-date=December 17, 2014 |website=EW.com |archive-date=February 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203214740/http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/02/03/scott-bakula-ncis/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2016 Bakula appeared as a guest judge on the HGTV show ''Brothers Take New Orleans'' with ''[[Property Brothers]]'' hosts Jonathan and Drew Scott.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jonathan and Drew Scott Take on a New Orleans Design Challenge |url=http://www.hgtv.com/design-blog/shows/brothers-take-new-orleans-premiere-sneak-peek |website=hgtv.com |access-date=October 3, 2017 |archive-date=October 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003075111/http://www.hgtv.com/design-blog/shows/brothers-take-new-orleans-premiere-sneak-peek |url-status=live }}</ref>

He made a cameo appearance as himself in the season 12 opening episode of ''[[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]''.

In October 2023, it was announced Bakula would return to the New York stage in the world premiere of ''[[The Connector (musical)|The Connector]]'', featuring music and lyrics by [[Jason Robert Brown]] and book by Jonathan Marc Sherman, and directed by Daisy Prince. The show was performed from January 12, 2024, through March 17 at the [[MCC Theater]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://mcctheater.org/tix/the-connector/#cast-creative |title=The Connector |access-date=April 28, 2024 |archive-date=April 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240428120331/https://mcctheater.org/tix/the-connector/#cast-creative |url-status=live }}</ref>

In August 2024, Bakula played the title role in a production of ''[[Man of La Mancha]]'' in [[Peterborough, New Hampshire]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Scott Bakula Starring in Peterborough Players' Man of La Mancha |date=April 9, 2024 |url=https://www.ledgertranscript.com/arpbBakulaPICS-ml-041124_-54651166 |access-date=May 16, 2024 |archive-date=May 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516134319/https://www.ledgertranscript.com/arpbBakulaPICS-ml-041124_-54651166 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A Message from Scott Bakula and Chelsea Field |url=https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nWentImJv0Q |website=YouTube |publisher=Peterborough Players |access-date=May 16, 2024 |archive-date=May 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516134319/https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nWentImJv0Q |url-status=live }}</ref>