Chris Carmack
Carmack in May 2008
Born	James Christopher Carmack (1980-12-22) December 22, 1980 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actor, singer, model
Years active	2000–present
Spouse	Erin Slaver ​ ​ (m. 2018)​
Children	2

James Christopher Carmack (born December 22, 1980) is an American actor, singer, and former fashion model. He is known for his roles in three popular television shows—the teen drama series The O.C. (2003–2004) as Luke Ward, the country music drama Nashville as Will Lexington (2012–2018), and the medical drama Grey's Anatomy (2018–present) as Dr. Atticus Lincoln.

Carmack has also appeared in films, including The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations, Into the Blue 2: The Reef, Love Wrecked, Beauty & the Briefcase and Alpha and Omega.

Early life and education

Carmack was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Derwood, Maryland. He has a brother and a sister. As a young boy, he enjoyed participating in all types of sports: baseball, basketball, football, and wrestling. Carmack was also a longtime counselor at Seneca Creek Day Camp, known for singing the original "Rocko the Lazy Moth" and "Ode to Salpino" among other favorites. At Magruder High School, however; his attentions turned to theater and he began working on three productions per year, on-stage and off, in addition to competing in numerous drama festivals.

Career

After graduation, Carmack attended New York University to pursue an arts degree at the Tisch School. He left NYU after he was discovered by John Yannella, a modeling scout, and decided to have a go at the profession. His looks were exactly what Bruce Weber was seeking for Abercrombie & Fitch. The other catalogs and editorials that he has worked for include: Lord and Taylor, Macy's, Target, Who.A.U, Elle France, Nautica, Guess?, and Cosmogirl.

After two years in New York City, Carmack decided to move to Los Angeles and immerse himself in acting. He is best known by global audiences as Luke on the first season of The O.C., but did not continue because producers could not guarantee him airtime in the upcoming year.^[1] In 2005, Carmack became a model for Ezra Fitch, a limited upscale label sold at Abercrombie & Fitch.

In 2006, Carmack starred in the film Lovewrecked with Amanda Bynes and Jonathan Bennett and decided to hone his acting skills in the theaters of New York and London.

From March 16 to May 21, 2006 Carmack starred in the Off-Broadway production of Entertaining Mr. Sloane at the Laura Pels Theatre. The play, directed by Scott Ellis, also featured Tony Award nominees Alec Baldwin and Jan Maxwell.

In 2006 Carmack made his London stage debut in a rare revival of Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke, a play that hadn't been performed in London for 55 years. Carmack starred opposite Rosamund Pike and was directed by former Royal Shakespeare Company artistic director Adrian Noble. It played the Apollo Theatre from October 21 – November 25, 2006, failing to complete its scheduled run.

Carmack portrayed Susan Delfino's cousin Tim in the television show Desperate Housewives for one episode.

Carmack portrayed Sam Reide, the main character of the film The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations, the third film in The Butterfly Effect film franchise, released in theaters in January 2009. He also made his first voice role in Alpha and Omega, which was released in theaters in September 17, 2010,^[2] and reprised his role as Garth in Alpha and Omega 2: A Howl-iday Adventure,^[3] being one of the few actors from the original to appear in at least one sequel.

In 2013, Carmack was cast in the ABC drama series Nashville as Scarlett and Gunnar's neighbor Will, a sexy and charming country singer and guitar player.^[4][5] Carmack's character initially appeared to be a womanizer and a potential threat to Scarlett and Gunnar's relationship, but it was revealed that the character is gay, and trying to protect his image as a heterosexual country music heartthrob. Carmack appeared in the final six episodes of the season, and was promoted from a recurring role to a series regular for season 2.^[6]

In 2018, Carmack was cast as Dr. Atticus "Link" Lincoln on the ABC hit medical drama Grey's Anatomy.^[7]

In 2019, Carmack made his Hollywood Bowl debut playing the role of Rapunzel's Prince in the show Into the Woods.

Personal life

Carmack announced his engagement to Erin Slaver on March 2, 2016.^[8] They married on October 20, 2018. Their first daughter was born in August 2016,^[9] and a second daughter was born in May 2022.^[10]

Filmography

Theater credits

Discography

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Chris Carmack.

• Official website
• Chris Carmack at IMDb