Jack Coleman

John MacDonald Coleman (born February 21, 1958) is an American actor who has played the role of Steven Carrington in the 1980s prime time soap opera Dynasty (1982–1988), Noah Bennet in the science-fiction drama series Heroes (2006–2010), State Senator Robert Lipton on The Office (2010–2013), and United States Senator William Bracken on Castle (2012–2015). Early life and education Coleman was born February 21, 1958, in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. He is a sixth-generation descendant of Benjamin Franklin. He attended Solebury School in Solesbury Township, Pennsylvania, and Duke University, where he decided to pursue acting as a career. After graduating from Duke in 1980, he attended Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut. Career Coleman's first major role was in Days of Our Lives, where he appeared from 1981 to 1982 as the character of Jake Kositchek (aka The Salem Strangler). He also made an appearance on Celebrity Bullseye. In 1982, he joined the cast of Dynasty when he took over the role of Steven Carrington, one of the first gay characters on American television. Coleman played the role until the end of the show's eighth season in 1988.