Editing Alexis Denisof

{{short description|American actor (born 1966)|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Alexis Denisof
| image        = Alexis Denisof May 2015.jpg
| imagesize    =
| caption      = Denisof at the May 2015 [[Phoenix Comicon]]
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1966|2|25}}
| birth_place  = [[Salisbury, Maryland]], U.S.
| website      =
| occupation   = Actor
| alma_mater = [[London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art]]
| years_active = 1986–present
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Alyson Hannigan]]|October 11, 2003}}
| children     = 2
}}

'''Alexis Denisof''' (born February 25, 1966) is an<!--awards and nominations don't belong here--> American actor, primarily known for playing [[Wesley Wyndam-Pryce]] in the television series ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and its [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]] ''[[Angel (1999 TV series)|Angel]]''. He also had a recurring role on ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]''. His wife, [[Alyson Hannigan]], starred in both ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''How I Met Your Mother''.

==Early life==
Denisof was born in [[Salisbury, Maryland]],<ref name="metacritic">{{cite web |title=Alexis Denisof |url=http://www.metacritic.com/person/alexis-denisof |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date= August 13, 2015}}</ref> the son of Christiana Taylor and Gerald Denisof.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/alexis-denisof/bio/189437 |title=Alexis Denisof |website=TV Guide |access-date=October 27, 2014}}</ref> He moved to [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], when he was three years old. He attended [[Highline College]], where his mother was head of the drama department. After graduating from [[St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire)|St Paul's School]] in [[Concord, New Hampshire]] at the age of 17, he moved to [[London]], England, where he lived and worked for several years.<ref name="IGN">{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/02/11/interview-with-alexis-denisof?page=1 |title=Interview with Alexis Denisof |last=P. |first=Ken |date=February 11, 2003 |website=[[IGN.com]] |access-date=March 16, 2013}}</ref> Denisof is listed as an Alumnus of the [[London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art]] in 2017-18 'LAMDA Review of the Year'.<ref name="LAMDA">{{cite web |url=https://www.lamda.ac.uk/sites/default/files/lamda_review_of_the_year_17-18_interactive.pdf |title=LAMDA Review of the Year |date=January 1, 2018 |website=www.lamda.ac.uk |access-date=October 3, 2023}}</ref>

==Career==
Beginning his career in the film industry, Denisof was the fight director for a stage production of ''[[Hamlet]]'', and in 1991 was the fight director for the BBC's ''The Other Side'', ''Romeo and Juliet'', and ''The Soul's Dark Night''.<ref name="BEDLAM">{{cite web |url=http://www.betsyda.com/denisof/adacting.html |title=Alexis Denisof: Performing Credits |date= March 8, 2001 |website=Bentley's Bedlam |access-date=April 24, 2012}}</ref> His first lead role was alongside Sir [[Christopher Lee]] in the feature film ''Murder Story'' (1989) where he played an investigative reporter. One of his first known works in television was on the arcade version of the video for "[[Got My Mind Set on You#George Harrison version|Got My Mind Set On You]]" by [[George Harrison]]. In 1995, he landed a small part in the 1995 film ''[[First Knight]]'', appearing as one of Arthur's round table knights in multiple scenes with [[Sean Connery]] and [[Richard Gere]].<ref name="metacritic"/> 
[[File:Buffy The Vampire Slayer cast.jpg|thumb|left|250px|(From left to right) [[Tom Lenk]], [[Emma Caulfield]], Denisof, [[Alyson Hannigan]], [[Anthony Stewart Head]], [[Joss Whedon]], [[Michelle Trachtenberg]] at the ''Buffy'' cast party, April 18, 2003]]
His best-known character, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, was introduced in 1999 in the third season of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' as Buffy's replacement [[Watcher (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Watcher]]. Originally, Wyndam-Pryce was supposed to be killed off in the season 3 finale but, due to Whedon's surprise at how well he fit into the series, Denisof was given the choice about his character's fate and chose for him to live. As a result, Wyndam-Pryce later arrived as a motorcycle-riding rogue demon-hunter in season one, episode 10 of ''[[Angel (1999 TV series)|Angel]]'', and was an official main cast member from episode 11 on, effectively replacing the character [[Allen Francis Doyle|Doyle]]. Wyndam-Pryce appeared in 100 out of the 110 episodes of the series.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

The end of the series in 2004 saw a lag in Denisof's career. Save for appearing in three episodes of the hit series ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'', as the goofy philandering Sandy Rivers, Denisof would not work as much as he used to for the next several years. During this time he appeared in several stage productions, including ''[[Rope (play)|Rope]]'' at [[Chichester Festival Theatre]]'s Minerva Theatre with [[Anthony Head]], who played Wesley's predecessor [[Rupert Giles]] on ''Buffy''.  Denisof was among 200 actors considered for the role of James Bond in ''[[Casino Royale (2006 film)|Casino Royale]]'', but lost out to [[Daniel Craig]]. Later, in 2008, he appeared in season 2 of ''[[Private Practice (TV series)|Private Practice]]'' as a man named Daniel, a bigamist who has two pregnant wives who don't know about each other.<ref name="bio">{{cite web |title=Exclusive: Angel Alum Brings Double Trouble to ABC's Practice |url=http://www.tvguide.com/news/alexis-denisof-angel-34726/ |first=Matt |last=Mitovich |date=October 27, 2008 |website=TV Guide |access-date=February 24, 2015}}</ref> In 2009, he appeared in four episodes of Joss Whedon's ''[[Dollhouse (TV series)|Dollhouse]]'' as Senator Daniel Perrin.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Alexis Denisof starts shooting 'Dollhouse': Please play a suit-wearing badass |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2009/08/05/alexis-denisof-dollhouse |first=Mandi |last=Bierly |date=August 5, 2009 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date= February 24, 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Alexis Denisof TIFF 2012.jpg|Denisof at the [[2012 Toronto Film Festival]]|thumb]]
In 2011, Denisof reprised his recurring role as Sandy Rivers in ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]''; he ultimately appeared in 10 episodes in total, and his last appearance was in the episode "[[Gary Blauman]]". In a season 1 commentary, creators [[Craig Thomas (screenwriter)|Craig Thomas]] and [[Carter Bays]] speculated that Denisof was initially reluctant to take the role back in 2006 because he feared it was just charity work on account of his wife, Hannigan, playing a main character on the show. They went on to state that he was not aware, until they actually told him, that they were huge fans of his work dating back to his time on ''[[Angel (1999 TV series)|Angel]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=How I Met Your Mother: 'Buffy's' Danny Strong, Alexis Denisof to guest |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2010/12/how-i-met-your-mother-buffys-danny-strong-alexis-denisof-to-guest.html |first=Vlada |last=Gelman |date=December 16, 2010 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date= February 24, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title='How I Met Your Mother' Reunites Cast Spouses as End Draws Near |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/how-i-met-your-mother-689115 |first=Michael |last=O'Connell |date=March 17, 2014 |magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |access-date=February 24, 2015}}</ref>

Since 2011, Denisof has been relatively active. He played a voice role in the animated DC film ''[[Justice League: Doom]]''. He was featured in the majority of episodes in the AOL webseries ''Little Women, Big Cars''. He was then cast as a lead in [[Bryan Singer]]'s new webseries ''[[H+: The Digital Series]]''. He then reunited with [[Joss Whedon]] for two different film projects. The first was a minor role in the summer blockbuster ''[[The Avengers (2012 film)|The Avengers]]'', as The Other, a servant of the character [[Thanos]], and a cohort of Loki. The second was the lead male role in a [[Much Ado About Nothing (2012 film)|modern version]] of Shakespeare's ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'', which premiered at the [[Toronto Film Festival]], to positive reviews from critics. The film was released worldwide in June 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title=Interview: Alexis Denisof & Amy Acker on Much Ado About Nothing |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zaki-hasan/interview-alexis-denisof_b_3408382.html |first=Zaki |last=Hasan |date=August 8, 2013 |website=[[The Huffington Post]] |access-date=February 24, 2015}}</ref>

In August 2013 he was cast in the third season of NBC's ''[[Grimm (TV series)|Grimm]]'' as a recurring character named Viktor Albert Wilhelm George Beckendorf.<ref>{{cite magazine |title='Grimm': Alexis Denisof Makes His Royal Debut |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/grimm-alexis-denisof-makes-his-665220 |first=Philiana |last=Ng |date=December 12, 2013 |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date= February 24, 2015}}</ref> In 2014, Denisof reprised his role as The Other in ''[[Guardians of the Galaxy (film)|Guardians of the Galaxy]]''. In the same year he began starring in the [[MTV]] television series ''[[Finding Carter]]'' as David Wilson.<ref name="trailer0611">{{cite web |title=Video: MTV Debuts the Trailer for Its Highly Anticipated New Drama Series, 'Finding Carter' |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/video/2014/06/11/video-mtv-debuts-the-trailer-for-its-highly-anticipated-new-drama-series-finding-carter-584013/20140611mtv02/ |website=The Futon Critic |access-date=June 12, 2014 |date=June 11, 2014 |quote="Finding Carter" stars Kathryn Prescott as "Carter Stevens" (''Skins''), Cynthia Watros as "Elizabeth Wilson" (''Lost''), Anna Jacoby-Heron as "Taylor Wilson", Alexis Denisof as "David Wilson" (''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''/''Angel'') and Zac Pullam as "Grant". The series also features Milena Govich as "Lori", Meredith Baxter as "Grandma Joan" (''Family Ties''), Robert Pine as "Grandpa Buddy" (''CHiPs''), Eddie Matos as "Kyle", Alex Saxon (''The Fosters'') as "Max", Jesse Henderson as "Gabe" and Stephen Guarino as "Toby".}}</ref> As of 2018, Denisof starred in the web series ''I Love Bekka & Lucy'' as Glenn, and was nominated for a [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series]], his first such nomination.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldderby.com/article/2018/alexis-denisof-i-love-bekka-and-lucy-buffy-emmys-news-846295713/ |title=Alexis Denisof ('I Love Bekka and Lucy') could become the first 'Buffy' alum to win an acting Emmy |first=Sam |last=Eckmann |date=24 July 2018 |website=[[Gold Derby]] |access-date=4 August 2018}}</ref>

On November 28, 2018, ''[[Deadline Hollywood]]'' reported that Denisof would play the recurring role of Adam Masters in the second season of [[Netflix]]'s ''[[Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV series)|Chilling Adventures of Sabrina]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/11/chilling-adventures-of-sabrina-mckenna-grace-alexis-denisof-jedidiah-goodacre-netflix-1202510075/|title=''Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina'': Mckenna Grace To Guest Star, Alexis Denisof & Jedidiah Goodacre Set For Recurring Roles|last=Ramos |first=Dino-Ray|date=December 28, 2018|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|access-date=November 29, 2018}}</ref> In 2019 he began playing the recurring role of Professor Vardemus in the supernatural television show ''[[Legacies (TV series)|Legacies]]''.

==Personal life==
[[Image:Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof.jpg|thumb|165px|right|Denisof with Alyson Hannigan, April 18, 2003]]
According to the DVD release of ''Angel''{{'}}s season five, three weeks before the filming of the season premiere, Denisof was stricken with [[Bell's palsy]], from which he later recovered. Due to the paralysis of the left side of his face, scenes were structured to not show its effects.<ref name="bio"/>

Denisof married past co-star [[Alyson Hannigan]], who played [[Willow Rosenberg]] in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', on October 11, 2003. The couple live in [[Encino, Los Angeles]].<ref>{{cite news |title='Vampire Slayer' star Alyson Hannigan settles on contemporary lair in Encino |url=http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/hot-property/la-fi-hp-hotprop-20161231-story.html |first=Neal J. |last=Leitereg |date= December 31, 2016 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=January 1, 2017}}</ref> They have two daughters.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://people.com/celebrity/alyson-hannigan-welcomes-a-daughter/ |title=Alyson Hannigan Welcomes a Daughter! |first=Ulrica |last=Wihlborg |date=March 31, 2009 |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] |access-date=August 4, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/alyson-hannigan-welcomes-daughter-keeva-jane-2012126#ixzz1xbvJenq2 |title=Alyson Hannigan Welcomes Daughter Keeva Jane! |first=Justin |last=Ravitz |date=June 12, 2012 |magazine=[[Us Weekly|Us]] |access-date=October 27, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615154206/http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/alyson-hannigan-welcomes-daughter-keeva-jane-2012126 |archive-date=June 15, 2012}}</ref>

==Filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year 
! Title 
! Role
! Note
|-
| 1989
| ''Murder Story''
| Tony Zonis
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1991
| ''Dakota Road''
| Jacob
|
|-
| ''Snow and Fire''
| David
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1995
| ''[[Innocent Lies]]''
| Christopher Wood
|
|-
| ''[[First Knight]]''
| Sir Gaheris
|
|-
| 1996
| ''[[True Blue (1996 film)|True Blue]]''
| Ed Fox
|
|-
| 1998
| ''[[The Misadventures of Margaret]]''
| George
|
|-
| 1999
| ''[[Rogue Trader (film)|Rogue Trader]]''
| Fernando Gueller
|
|-
| 2001
| ''Beyond the City Limits''
| Yuri
|
|-
| 2002
| ''[[Tarzan & Jane]]''
| Nigel Taylor
|Voice<ref name="btva">{{cite web |title=Alexis Denisof (visual voices guide) |url=http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Alexis-Denisof/ |access-date=October 23, 2023 |publisher=Behind The Voice Actors}} A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.</ref>
|-
|rowspan=2| 2011
| ''[[Love, Wedding, Marriage]]''
| Lloyd
|
|-
| ''[[All-Star Superman (film)|All-Star Superman]]''
| Dr. Leo Quintum
|Voice<ref name="btva" />
|-
|rowspan=4| 2012
| ''[[Justice League: Doom]]''
| [[Mirror Master]]
|Voice<ref name="btva" />
|-
| ''[[The Avengers (2012 film)|The Avengers]]''
| The Other
|
|-
| ''Little Women, Big Cars''
| Woody
|
|-
| ''[[Much Ado About Nothing (2012 film)|Much Ado About Nothing]]''
| Benedick
|
|-
| 2014
| ''[[Guardians of the Galaxy (film)|Guardians of the Galaxy]]''
| The Other
|
|-
| 2020
| ''Under My Skin''
| Mike
|
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| rowspan="3"|1994
| ''Romeo and Juliet''
| [[Tybalt]]
|rowspan=2| Television film
|-
| ''Faith''
| Joel
|-
| ''[[Soldier Soldier]]''
| Lt. Bob Steadman
| Episode: "Proud Man"
|-
| rowspan="6"|1997
| ''[[Crime Traveller]]''
|
| Episode "Fashion Shoot"
|-
| ''[[Sharpe's Revenge (TV programme)|Sharpe's Revenge]]''
| rowspan="3"|Lord John Rossendale
|rowspan=4| Television film
|-
| ''[[Sharpe's Justice]]''
|-
| ''[[Sharpe's Waterloo (TV programme)|Sharpe's Waterloo]]''
|-
| ''[[Hostile Waters (film)|Hostile Waters]]''
| John Baker
|-
| ''[[Highlander: The Series]]''
| Steve Banner
| Episode: "Diplomatic Immunity"
|-
| rowspan="2"|1998
| ''Ghost Cop''
| Jonah Blade
| TV pilot
|-
| ''The Orchard Walls''
| Dennis
|rowspan=2| Television film
|-
| rowspan="2"|1999
| ''[[Noah's Ark (1999 film)|Noah's Ark]]''
| [[Ham (son of Noah)|Ham]]
|-
| ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''
| rowspan="2"|Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
| Recurring role ([[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 3)|season 3]]), 9 episodes
|-
| 1999–2004
| ''[[Angel (1999 TV series)|Angel]]''
| Main role, 100 episodes
|-
| 2000
| ''[[Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000 TV series)|Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)]]''
| Richard Shelley
| Episode: "Paranoia"
|-
| rowspan="2"|2001
| ''[[Batman Beyond]]''
| Zander
| Voice, episode: "Curse of the Kobra"<ref name="btva" />
|-
| ''[[The Legend of Tarzan (TV series)|The Legend of Tarzan]]''
| Nigel Taylor, Henry
| Voice, episodes: "The Flying Ace" and  "The New Wave"
|-
| 2006
| ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]''
| Mirror Master
| Voice, episode: "Flash and Substance"<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 2006–2014
| ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]''
| Sandy Rivers
| 10 episodes
|-
| 2008
| ''[[Private Practice (TV series)|Private Practice]]''
| Daniel
| Episode: "Serving Two Masters"
|-
| 2009
| ''[[Dollhouse (TV series)|Dollhouse]]''
| Senator Daniel Perrin
| 4 episodes
|-
| 2012–2013
| ''[[H+: The Digital Series]]''
| Conall Sheehan
| Web series
|-
| 2013
| ''[[Perception (American TV series)|Perception]]''
| Dr. Randall Vetter
| Episode: "Defective"
|-
| 2013–2015
| ''[[Grimm (TV series)|Grimm]]''
| Viktor Chlodwig zu Schellendorf von Konigsburg
| 17 episodes
|-
| 2014–2015
| ''[[Finding Carter]]''
| David Wilson
| 31 episodes
|-
| 2015
| ''[[Robot Chicken]]''
| [[Mr. Peanut]], [[Michael Knight (Knight Rider)|Michael Knight]], Knife Shark Narrator
| Voice, episode: "Cheese Puff Mountain"
|-
| 2017
| ''I Love Bekka & Lucy''
| Glenn
| 11 episodes
|-
| 2019–2020
| ''[[Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV series)|Chilling Adventures of Sabrina]]''
| Adam Masters
| 4 episodes
|-
| 2019–2022
| ''[[Legacies (TV series)|Legacies]]''
| Professor Vardemus
| Recurring role, 9 episodes
|-
|2023
|''[[How I Met Your Father]]''
|Sandy Rivers
|Episodes: "Ride or Die" and "Shady Parker"
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Alexis Denisof}}
* {{IMDb name|219206}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/celebrity/alexis-denisof/#cast=finding-carter|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819100849/http://www.mtv.com/celebrity/alexis-denisof/#cast=finding-carter|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 19, 2014|title=Alexis Denisof profile|website=[[MTV]]}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denisof, Alexis}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century American male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Maryland]]
[[Category:Male actors from Washington (state)]]
[[Category:American expatriate male actors]]
[[Category:American expatriates in England]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male stage actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American people of French descent]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Russian descent]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Salisbury, Maryland]]
[[Category:St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni]]
[[Category:Highline College alumni]]