Brian Hallisay

From Wall Street to the Burbank spotlight

Brian Hallisay didn't start out on a film set. Before the television cameras, he spent his days analyzing financial statements in Wall Street offices. Cornell University gave him a degree in Economics and History that seemed to chart his future. But in 2005 he decided numbers weren't for him and moved to Los Angeles to try his luck at acting.

His early steps were modest, with small roles in shows like Strong Medicine and The Inside. He had no industry connections or classical dramatic training. So he used his image as the all-American boy next door to break into the procedural drama circuit.

His first stroke of luck came in 2008.

That year he landed the role of Will Davis in Privileged. The CW series aimed to attract a teen audience, and Hallisay fit the mold of the wealthy heartthrob. The show lasted only one season, but it helped California casting directors start remembering his name. In television, sometimes all it takes is a well-timed cancellation to move on to a project with a bigger budget.

The Jennifer Love Hewitt Factor

In 2012, his professional career collided permanently with his private life. Hallisay joined the cast of The Client List to play Kyle Parks, the husband who leaves the lead character. What started as a supporting job turned into a real relationship with Jennifer Love Hewitt. The chemistry between them was obvious, and the American tabloid press found in them a stable couple far from the usual scandals.

And the gamble paid off.

The couple married in 2013 in a private ceremony shortly before the birth of their first daughter. Since then, Hallisay has kept a very low media profile. He prefers to let his characters do the talking rather than make statements on the red carpet. That doesn't mean his career stalled after starting a family, though. In 2014, he worked under Clint Eastwood in American Sniper, playing Captain Gillespie.

Appearing in an Oscar-nominated film usually changes how a television actor is perceived. But Hallisay chose to keep working in the small-screen format.

Darkness in Prime Time

In 2018, he regained the attention of the general public with a turn toward much darker characters. In the series 9-1-1, he played Doug Kendall, an abusive husband who stalked his on-screen wife's character in real life. It was a risky move for his public image. Audiences were used to seeing him in likable roles, but here he showed an aggressive side that made viewers uncomfortable.

His character's storyline wrapped up in 2019 after several high-tension episodes. That role helped him move beyond the "boy next door" parts that had defined his first decade in Hollywood. Afterward he took part in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, voicing one of the characters, which showed that his vocal range was also a valuable asset.

Hallisay manages his time with a calm that is rare in the entertainment industry.

In 2023, he returned for the seventh season of 9-1-1 in flashback scenes. His contract with the studio 20th Television keeps him tied to occasional appearances, depending on the script's needs. The actor lives in Los Angeles and schedules his shoots so they don't interfere with raising his three children. His profile with the actors' union currently lists a weight of 82 kilograms and a height of 1.88 meters.