Who is David James Elliott?
David William Smith was born in Milton, Ontario, Canada on 21 September 1960 – his zodiac sign is Virgo, and he holds both Canadian and American nationality. He’s an actor, film producer and director, with close to 100 acting credits to his name, while he’s perhaps still known best for his portrayal of the lead character Harmon Rabb, Jr. in the action crime series “JAG”, created by Donald P. Bellisario, and which also starred Catherine Bell and Patrick Labyorteaux. It follows the life of former Navy fighter pilot Harmon Rabb who’s become a lawyer in the US Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Office, the series aired from 1995 to 2005 and won 15 awards, including three Primetime Emmys, while it was nominated for 17 other awards.
There are today rumors circulating the internet, claiming that David’s retired from acting, however, he’s still highly active in the film industry, and is currently shooting for three upcoming movies: “The Cocksmen”, “Harvest Moon” and “White Cargo”.
Early life and education
David was raised in Milton alongside his two brothers, with him being the middle child, by their father Arnold Smith who was a plumbing and heating wholesale contractor, and their mother Patricia Smith (nee Farrow) who was an office manager.
David grew up being interested mostly in music, and was a member of a rock ‘n’ roll band when he was 16 years old. He studied at Milton District High School, but dropped out a year before he was about to matriculate, wanting to pursue a career as a rock ‘n’ roll musician; when he was 19David realized that his dream wouldn’t come true, and thus returned to high school, matriculating in 1979.
He enrolled at Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto, Ontario from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1982; David then went on to study acting with the Stratford Shakespearean Festival’s Young Company.
Roles in movies
David changed his name to avoid conflict with another actor of the same name – he made his debut film appearance in the 1986 biographical sports drama “The Boy in Blue”, while a couple of his following roles were in the 1986 comedy “Police Academy 3: Back in Training”, the 1986 adventure “The Climb” and the 1987 romantic thriller drama “The Big Town”.
What marked the ‘90s for him was perhaps his portrayal of Mr. MacNamee in the critically acclaimed 1997 comedy drama “Clockwatchers”, written and directed by Jill Sprecher, and which starred Toni Collete, Parker Posey and Lisa Kudrow. It follows four women who are working at the same credit company, and the movie won two of the three awards for which it was nominated.
The year 2000 saw David play Record Store Clerk in the musical drama “Stanley’s Gig”, and he starred as James Dodson in the 2001 drama “Dodson’s Journey”. In 2008, David played the lead character Chief Morgan in the family comedy drama “The Rainbow Tribe”, directed by Christopher R. Watson, and which also starred Grayson Russell and Ed Quinn. The movie follows several children who are spending time at a sleep away camp, and are helping their counselor deal with his emotional problems.
Three of David’s most recent film roles have been in the 2021 sports drama “Heart of Champions”, the 2021 fantasy comedy drama “Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas” and the 2022 thriller “Collide”.
Roles in TV series
David made his debut TV series appearance with his portrayal of Hardy in the 1986 episode “First Day” of the family adventure drama “The Campbells”, and the remainder of the ‘80s saw him appear in an episode or two of a couple of series, such as the adventure comedy drama “Adderly”, the drama “Mariah” and the action science fiction “Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future”.
Between 1988 and 1991, David starred as Nick Del Gado in the drama “Street Legal”, created by Guy Mullally and William Deverell, and which also starred Eric Peterson and C. David Johnson. It follows the lives of several lawyers working in Toronto, and the series won 10 of the 48 awards for which it was nominated. Some of David’s other notable performances in the ‘90s were in the adventure drama “Fly by Night”, the crime thriller drama “The Untouchables” and the romantic drama “Melrose Place”.
In 2006 and 2007, he starred as James Conlon in the mystery crime drama “Close to Home”, created by Jim Leonard, and which also starred Jennifer Finnigan and Kimberly Elise. It follows the life of young and aggressive prosecutor Annabeth Chase, and the series won one of the four awards for which it was nominated.
There of David’s most recent TV series roles have been in the 2019 episode “Chapter 9. An Actor Forgets” of the comedy drama “The Kominsky Method”, 10 episodes of the 2020 sports drama “Spinning Out”, and five episodes of the 2021 sports drama “Heels”.
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Other credits
David sang three songs in three episodes of the series “Jag” between 1998 and 2001; he also directed three episodes of the series – “Lifeline” in 2001, “Take It Like a Man” in 2004 and “There Goes the Neighborhood” in 2004, as well.
He produced the 2001 drama movie “Dodson’s Journey”, and is currently producing the upcoming film “The Cocksmen”.
David’s been featured in numerous documentaries, most recently in the 2005 mini-series “I Love the ‘90s: Part Deux”, the 2006 short video “JAG: An Inside Look” and the 2019 series “The Case That Haunts Me”.
He’s made a guest appearance in a number of talk-shows, such as “The Talk”, “Home & Family” and “Entertainment Tonight”.
Awards and nominations
David won a 2000 TV Guide Award for Favorite Actor in a Drama, for his performance in “JAG”.
He was also nominated for a 2001 TV Guide Award for Actor of the Year in a Drama Series, for “JAG”, and a 2016 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, for “Trumbo” (shared with colleagues).
Love life and wife
Even though David prefers to keep the details of his love life to himself, it’s still widely known that he’s today a married man, as well as a father of two. He exchanged vows with Canadian-born American actress Nanci Chambers in 1992, in a large ceremony attended by many of their friends and family members; Nanci has 10 acting credits to her name, and is probably still known best for her portrayal of Lieutenant Loren Singer in 40 episodes of the series “JAG” between 1997 and 2003.
Nancy gave birth to their daughter Stephanie on 15 March 1993, and their son Wyatt followed on 3 March 2003.
David hasn’t spoken of any other women whom he’s perhaps been with, and as of August 2022, he’s married to Nanci Chambers, and they have two children together.
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Hobbies and interesting facts
In 1996, the magazine “People” ranked David amongst 50 most beautiful people in the world.
Prior to succeeding in the film industry, he worked at a belt factory.
David was physically highly active in his 20s, 30s and 40s, as he had multiple training sessions at the gym every week, and also ran nearly every morning; he still runs the Boston Marathon, wanting to raise awareness of The Salvation Army’s youth programs.
David’s quite active on Instagram, and is today followed by more than 20,000 people on the network, while he’s uploaded close to 600 pictures and videos, the majority of which feature him during his everyday life.
He’s passionate about travelling and has been all around the world, for both work and pleasure.
David has his own favorite actors and actresses, some of whom are Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt and Meryl Streep, while a couple of David’s favorite movies are “Pulp Fiction”, “Fight Club” and “The Fifth Element”.
Age, height and net worth
David’s age is 61. He has short brown hair and brown eyes, his height is 6ft 4ins (1.93m) and he weighs around 190lbs (85kgs).
As of August 2022, David’s net worth’s been estimated at over $15 million.
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