Gilmore Girls Actor David Sutcliffe: The Most Hated Man in Stars Hollow

If you watch Gilmore Girls, odds are, you hate the character of Christopher Hayden, Rory Gilmore's father and rival to Luke Danes for the affection of Rory's mother Lorelai. You might think of him as a bad father and one of the biggest obstacles in the Lorelai and Luke romance. Or, maybe you're like me, part of the minority of fans who really like Christopher and find him sympathetic. Either way, chances are you've formed some opinion of this character. He's not one most people are ambivalent about. But, what do you know about David Sutcliffe, the actor who plays him?

David Sutcliffe was born in 1969 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and grew up in Ontario. He attended the University of Toronto, where he majored in English Literature and was active in sports. In a way, sports led him to his career as an actor. A back injury he suffered while playing varsity basketball forced him to quit the team and a career in athletics. While he sat out basketball he got cast in plays written by his college roommate. The acting bug took hold of him.

After college, he went to New York and started acting in commercials. He began series work with a guest spot on the show Forever Knight. He went on to have guest roles in shows like CSI, CSI: Miami, and Providence, as well as television movies. Sutcliffe has also done some feature film work, including a small part in the Diane Lane film, Under the Tuscan Sun.

In 2001, David Sutcliffe got the role he is probably best known for, the part of Christopher Hayden on Gilmore Girls. Although his character had been mentioned before, it wasn't until midway through the first season that he made an appearance on the show. That appearance was only supposed to be for one episode, but it grew into an important recurring role. Christopher has shown up periodically in every season, except the fourth. His absence during that season coincided with Sutcliffe's co-starring role in the short lived sitcom I'm With Her. Christopher came back in season 5, and in season 7 married Lorelai.