TV action star – and USA Network’s golden boy – Jeffrey Donovan, who The Los Angeles Times boasted had “charisma to burn,” not unlike a Bruce Willistype, was, in reality, a seasoned Shakespearean stage actor who ended up as one of the most promising up-and-coming actors in years. Frequently alternating from the stage to the screen, it became obvious to TV programmers that Donovan had a penchant for wisecracking and intelligently wacky characters – particularly law enforcement-types. He was also believably brutish when called for, which attracted both male and female viewers alike to shows like “Touching Evil” (USA Network, 2004) and “Burn Notice” (USA Network, 2007- ), as he effectively portrayed gun-wielding, troubled and unpredictable heroes.

In 1996, he appeared on the big screen again – only this time in a barely noticeable role in Barry Levinson’s “Sleepers” alongside Brad Pitt, Jason Patrick and Robert De Niro – as one of the four guards in the all-boys juvenile detention center who winds up murdered. Putting his disdain for soap operas aside, Donovan went on to do other daytime dramas, including “One Life to Live” (Abc 1968- ) and “As The World Turns” (CBS, 1956- ). Other series and TV movies on which he guest appeared were a bit more impressive – “Homicide: Life on the Streets” (NBC, 1993-99) and “Law and Order” (NBC, 1990- ) both in 1995; “Millennium” (FOX, 1996-99) in 1997; two years later on “Spin City” (CBS, 1996-2002); the short-lived “The Beat” (UPN, 2000); “Witness to the Mob” (NBC, 2000); “When Trumpets Fade” (HBO, 1998); and “Critical Choices” (Showtime, 1996). Most notable of all was his recurring role from 1997-99 on “The Pretender” (FOX, 1996-2000), in which he played the role of Jarod’s (Michael T. Weiss) brother.

The dawn of 2007 was equally as fruitful for Donovan, who had a brief stint as a recurring character in five episodes of “Crossing Jordan” (NBC, 2001- ) as William Ivers, a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the morgue. Heating up the small screen again for another NBC Universal nighttime show was “Burn Notice,” Donovan’s most successful TV show to date and one that blazed new trails for his career. Donovan had made such a charismatic, yet dangerous impression on the short-lived “Touching Evil” that USA Network producers did not hesitate to approach the intense steely-eyed actor. Donovan proved to be the ideal candidate to portray a former government agent struggling to piece his life back together. The breezy summer series was anything but a beach, showcasing Michael Westen (Donovan) as a spy who was burned – i.e. blacklisted – unexpectedly by the U.S. government. An actual term used by government agencies to tell spies that they are no longer affiliated with the government, the show centered around Westen’s quest to find out just who ‘burned’ him.’ Using his “MacGyver”-like skills to survive as an agent-for-hire in Miami, Donovan more than held his own opposite screen veteran and cult movie icon, Bruce Campbell. And par for his Method past, Donovan met with government officials in preparation for the role, so as to be as accurate as possible. One of the few critical hits of that summer “Burn Notice” succeeded mainly through sharp writing, amusing Campbell/Donovan chemistry, and the latter’s spot-on cool-as-ice lead performance.