Matthew Ashford

Matthew Nile Ashford, born January 29, 1960, in Davenport, Iowa, is an American actor and producer. The sixth of eight children, he has three sisters and four brothers, and is of Irish descent. His father worked as a civil engineer and his mother as an executive secretary. His sisters introduced him to acting through junior theater classes and workshops in Iowa. When Ashford was thirteen, his family relocated to Fairfax, Virginia, where he attended Hayfield Secondary School and performed in school productions as well as local theater. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theater from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. During his college years, he worked as a street performer in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and was a member of the Ragamuffin Magic and Mime Company.

Following his graduation, Ashford moved to New York City. In 1982, he was cast as Drew Ralston on One Life to Live, remaining with the show until the character was killed off in 1983. He subsequently joined a touring production of The Member of the Wedding, co-starring with Esther Rolle. In 1984, he was cast as Cagney McCleary on Search for Tomorrow, a role he held until the series was cancelled in December 1986.

Ashford joined the cast of the NBC daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives in 1987, taking on the role of Jack Deveraux, a character previously played by James Acheson. Originally written as a villain, Jack was redeemed after Ashford assumed the part and was paired romantically with Jennifer Horton, played by Melissa Reeves. In 1989, Ashford received a Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villain. He and Reeves together won a Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Super Couple: Daytime in 1991, followed by awards for Best Love Story and Best Wedding in 1992. He also earned a Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Comic Performance. Ashford reprised Jack Deveraux in two Days of Our Lives television films, One Stormy Night in 1992 and Night Sins in 1993. He departed the series in September 1993 when producers chose not to renew his contract.

In 1995, Ashford was cast as Tom Hardy on General Hospital, a part he won without an audition, with his first airdate on February 17 of that year. The role had previously been played by David Wallace. That same year, he appeared in the science fiction film Species. He left General Hospital in 1997 and subsequently guest starred on Pacific Blue, Charmed, and Providence. His film credits from this period include the romantic comedy Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998), in which he played Whitey, and the action film Paper Bullets (1999), in which he played Ron. He also guest starred on Burke's Law and Quantum Leap.

Ashford returned to Days of Our Lives as Jack Deveraux beginning February 6, 2001, following an announcement of his return in December 2000. That same year he appeared on Broadway in Mamma Mia! and guest starred on Dharma & Greg. In 2003, he guest starred as himself on Friends. Jack was written out of Days of Our Lives in October 2003, killed by a serial killer storyline known as The Salem Stalker. Later that year, Ashford joined One Life to Live on a recurring basis, debuting December 10, 2003, as Stephen Haver, a college professor revealed to be a serial murderer called the Music Box Killer. The character was killed off and Ashford left the show in February 2004. He returned to Days of Our Lives in 2004 as part of a storyline revealing that The Salem Stalker's victims had been held captive on a tropical island, and departed again on September 21, 2006.

Ashford's stage work continued alongside his television career. In September 2006, he played Senator Fipp in Urinetown at the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles. In May 2007, he played Mike in No Strings at the Freud Playhouse in Los Angeles, co-starring with Scott Bakula. In July 2008, he played Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh, and in July 2009 he played Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls at the Wells Fargo Pavilion in Sacramento. From February to June 2010, he played Bill Austin in the North American tour of Mamma Mia!, with the final performances cut short due to security concerns surrounding the G20 Summit in Toronto. In September 2012, he played Franklin Hart Jr. in the musical 9 to 5 at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine, co-starring with Sally Struthers.

In 2010, Ashford began playing Steve Jensen on the web series The Bay, co-starring with his former Days of Our Lives castmate Mary Beth Evans. He also serves as a producer on the series, which has received multiple Daytime Emmy Awards. In 2017, he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting or Guest Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for his work on The Bay. In April 2011, he starred as the male lead in Antony and Cleopatra at the Mesa Arts Center, co-starring with Lana Buss.

Ashford returned to Days of Our Lives with a first airdate of September 23, 2011, and received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for that work in 2012. He was dismissed from the role in April 2012 along with three other actors, with his last airdate on August 15, 2012. His film credits from this period include Fuzz Track City (2012), Bad Blood (2012), and Winning Favor (2012), in which he starred as Coach Loren DeJong in a film based on the true story of a group of friends in Iowa who became basketball players. He also appeared in the television film The Good Mother (2013).

Ashford made further returns to Days of Our Lives, appearing as the ghost of Jack in a 2016 episode and again in December 2017. In November 2018, it was announced he would rejoin the series as a regular cast member, with Jack returning from the dead in the New Year's Eve episode. In 2020, he guest starred on NCIS. He left Days of Our Lives in March 2023 and returned on a recurring basis in 2024. His role as Steve Jensen on The Bay continued through 2023. Additional film credits include Chronicles of an Exorcism (2008), on which he also served as a producer, The Historian Paradox (2011), and The Fuzz, in which he played Valentine. Across his career, Ashford has accumulated five Soap Opera Digest Awards.