John Gleeson Connolly

Perhaps the most aptly titled "master of all trades" in the whole tradition of acting, John Gleeson Connolly split his time between acting on screen and working as a contractor for his own construction company, Connolly and Sons. Born in Minnesota, Connolly attended Oberlin College and eventually traveled to New York City, where he landed his first job as an espresso machine mechanic. He would work in New York for the next several years, learning carpentry, plumbing, and the electrical trade in between appearances on shows like "New York Undercover" (Fox, 1994-98) and "Law and Order" (NBC, 1990-2010). In 2004, Connolly and his wife, author Samantha Peele, relocated to Los Angeles, where Connolly continued to act even as he opened and expanded his own contracting and construction company. He would make a memorable appearance as Lt. Alabama Cobb in "xXx: State of the Union" (2005), and gave an acclaimed performance in a 2010 production of Tennessee Williams' "Orpheus Descending" at L.A.'s Theatre/Theater. In addition to appearances on shows like "Criminal Minds" (CBS, 2005-) and "Psych" (USA, 2006-2014), Connolly also took on the prestigious role of Hugh Hefner on the series "Masters of Sex" (Showtime, 2013-).