Charles Esten

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 ABC/CMT drama Nashville from 2012 to 2018, which subsequently kickstarted his own musical career. He also played Ward Cameron on the Netflix 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.