Rob Estes

Vital Stats:
Birth Name: Rob Estes
Born: July 22, 1963
Birth Place: Norfolk, Virginia
Nationality: American

Bio:
A handsome leading man of the All-American variety, Rob Estes has achieved TV stardom with his roles as homicide detective Chris Lorenzo in "Silk Stalkings" and as restaurant owner Kyle McBride on "Melrose Place". Originally considering a career in stunt work, Estes attended USC to learn the film business. Instead of behind the scenes work, however, he landed in front of the camera.

One of his first roles was in "Have You Tried Talking to Patty?", a 1986 "CBS Schoolbreak Special", in which he had one line as the boyfriend of the best friend of the heroine.

Estes' first real break came soon after when he was cast as Glenn Gallagher on the NBC daytime drama "Days Of Our Lives". At first, his character was having a non-intimate romance with Jennifer Horton, scion of the core family, but things did heat up after awhile. Between working on "Days" and "Silk Stalkings", Estes busied himself with TV-movies, such as "Student Exchange" (ABC, 1987) and guest appearances on episodes of such series as "The Young Riders" and "Simon and Simon". "Silk Stalkings", in which his character was able to display heroics and humor, put Estes in a different category. CBS, in particular, was hot for his services, and cast the actor as the new "noir detective" Mike Hammer in "Come Die With Me: A Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Mystery" (1994), but the network dropped its plans to make additional TV movies.

In 1996, he played the younger boyfriend of Beverly D'Angelo who then takes up with D'Angelo's daughter in "Secret Temptation" (CBS). Although he had appeared on "Melrose Place" as a guest star in prior seasons, he became Kyle McBride on a weekly basis in 1996, joining the series which had featured his real-life wife, Josie Bissett.

Estes has attempted unsuccessfully to start a big screen career. He had a small role in "Uninvited" (1988) then graduated to the lead in the independent drama "Trapper County War" (1989). Other credits include "Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge" (1989), as one of the terrorized teens, and "Aces: Iron Eagle III" (1992), as a flyer under the tutelage of Louis Gossett Jr. More ...

Rob Estes did not move to Los Angeles to become an actor. Originally from Michigan, he simply followed his mother here when he was 12, as any 12-year-old would do. It wasn't until college that he got involved in acting.

Best known for his roles as Sgt. Chris Lorenzo on Silk Stalkings and Kyle on Melrose Place, Estes begins a regular role this fall on NBC's Providence, where he will play John, an Eastern-influenced physical therapist who becomes Melina Kanakaredes' love interest.

Estes is very pleased with the positive environment on the set of Providence. "From the producers to the writers to the actors, everybody is really intelligent and wants to make a really good piece, and there's total lack of ego," he says. He admits that in real life he's actually a lot like his character on Providence. "Like John, I'm very unorganized. And like John, I'm in a relationship with someone who's very organized," he says, referring to his wife of eight years, actress Josie Bissett. "And thank God. I mean if she didn't do it, it would be really bad," he says laughing.

Estes hasn't always confined his talents to the small screen. Having always loved doing theatre, several years ago Estes auditioned for the Tennessee Williams play The Rose Tattoo at the Hudson Theatre. After being rejected during two auditions due to his Melrose Place association, he finally got the role. Estes, however, was uncomfortable with the way he looked compared to how his character (Mangia Cavallo) was supposed to look, so he started going around Santa Monica dressed as the character. He was made up to look messy and dirty and wore mismatched, extremely outdated clothes. "I had big fake ears made by the guy who does Star Trek, because I wanted to be something other than what I was." The ears, he says, made him look very much like Prince Charles.

He walked into restaurants unrecognized, and people definitely treated him differently. "They felt sorry for me, and I felt they were much more readily available," he explains. "It was an experience I really enjoyed. In TV, a lot of the time you don't really get to spend a lot of time preparing for characters." A recent father, Estes says his career choices will now be heavily swayed by his son, Mason Tru, who's just over a year old. However, having done some directing on the sets of Silk Stalkings and Melrose Place, Estes expresses interest in doing more of it in the future. "Directing takes a lot. And for me, I find I'm best at it when it's a project I really care about, and I really care about things that I help build. I would also like to do film and some more TV, but I would like for it to be a show that I really have a say in.

For the last four years I have stepped onto shows that have already existed, and I'm really interested in making something from the ground up, and seeing how that goes."

Starring Roles

Melrose Place (1992) - Kyle McBride (seasons 5 - 7)
Silk Stalkings (1991) - Lieutenant Chris 'Sam' Lorenzo (1991-1995)
Days of Our Lives (1965) - Glenn Gallagher
Home of the Brave - Jack Briggs