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Subtle Sexuality

Subtle Sexuality

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Matthew
Ashford
as Jack Deveraux
Matthew Ashford portrays the off-centered hero Jack Deveraux on NBC's "Days of our Lives."

Ashford was born in Davenport, Iowa, the fifth of eight children. When he was a junior in high school the Ashfords moved to Virginia. There, he excelled in theater and decided to continue his education in the performing arts. In order to put himself through college Ashford claimed many professions, such as construction worker and singing waiter. After graduating from North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, N.C., he moved to New York City and quickly landed a role on the ABC daytime drama "One Life to Live."

Ashford appeared in the feature films "Species and Bonfire of the Vanities." Other small screen credits include the daytime dramas "General Hospital" and "Search for Tomorrow," as well as guest appearances on "Charmed" and "Friends." However, Ashford's acting capabilities are not limited to the screen, as he is an active member of the Interact Theatre Company in Los Angeles. Some of his favorite stage roles include "The Wolf" and "The Little Prince" in Sondheim's "Into the Woods, "Count Carl Magnus" in Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" and "Bernard Nightingale" in "Arcadia."

Ashford met his wife Christina while appearing in The World Piece Culture Festival. "I played a foot soldier in George Washington's army in a dance piece called Valley Forge Ballet," he recalls. "I'm not a dancer, but they needed actors who moved well. Christina was a dancer and the co-choreographer." It was during a 1987 trip to Los Angeles with the Festival that Ashford won the role of Jack Deveraux on "Days of our Lives," where he stayed until1993.

The role of Jack Deveraux remains Ashford's favorite role; he returned to "Days" in 2000. "Jack allows me to do everything that I would never get away with in real life," he professes. He never gives up when he wants something, and it's very liberating as an actor to have no boundaries."

After Ashford's younger daughter Emma was diagnosed with the rare form of infant eye cancer, he became a spokesperson for Retinoblastoma International, an organization the Ashfords were instrumental in forming. Emma is now in remission from the disease. Ashford and Christina live in Burbank, CA with Emma and her big sister, Grace. His birthday is January 29.