Desperate Housewives star was ‘never OK with’ being ‘hottest man on TV’

James Denton played Mike Delfino in the Golden Globe-winning Noughties show

Teri Hatcher and James Denton in Desperate Housewives (Abc-Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock)

James Denton, the actor who played Mike Delfino in Desperate Housewives, has reflected on his character in a rare interview about the show.

The star, who is now 58, played the love interest of Teri Hatcher’s character Susan for eight seasons between 2004 and 2012. The show followed the lives of suburban American families on the fictional Wisteria Lane.

During an appearance on Australia’s The Morning Show last week, Denton was asked by host Larry Emdur: “Are you OK with the ‘hottest man on TV’ title?”

.“No, I was never OK with it,” Denton replied. “I spent most of my career playing bad guys until Housewives. I had never been hunky. I was happy to be there, don’t get me wrong, but it was uncomfortable. It follows me forever, that shirtless shot in the front yard.”

He added: “I got the scene and spat out the pizza and threw the beer down, went straight to the gym and I still didn’t get into very good shape.”

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Denton also said a “downside” of playing Delfino was the struggle to land more serious roles after Desperate Housewives.

“I had trouble getting seen for anything that was a suit and tie role or maybe a politician. Anything like that that wasn’t blue-collar, I had a little trouble right after Housewives,” he said. “But you’ll never hear me complain.”

Desperate Housewives, which won three Golden Globes over the course of its run, also starred Felicity Huffman (Lynette), Marcia Cross (Bree) and Eva Longoria (Gaby).