# Christopher Gorham
**Christopher Gorham** (born 1974) is an American actor and director from [Fresno, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/fresno-california), best known for playing earnest, often awkward characters on television since the late 1990s, including Harrison John on *Popular*, Henry Grubstick on *Ugly Betty*, and the blind CIA agent Auggie Anderson on *Covert Affairs*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/) He is also a series director and has voiced [The Flash](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-flash) in DC's animated [Justice League](https://www.edgepedia.org/justice-league) films.[2](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/bio)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher David Gorham, born 1974 in Fresno, California[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0330913/) |
| Training | B.A. in Theater Arts from UCLA, after Roosevelt High School of the Arts in Fresno[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/) |
| Breakout roles | Harrison John on *Popular* (The WB, 1999-2001); Henry Grubstick on *Ugly Betty* (ABC, 2006-2010)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/) |
| Signature role | August "Auggie" Anderson, a blind CIA operative, on *Covert Affairs* (USA Network, 2010-14)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/) |
| Voice work | The Flash in six DC Universe Animated Original Movies, from *Justice League: War* (2014) to *Justice League Dark: Apokolips War* (2020)[4](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/film) |
| Directing | Feature directorial debut *We Love You, Sally Carmichael!* (2017), which he also starred in[2](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/bio) |
| Current series | Travis Fraley on *Sheriff Country* (CBS, 2025) and recurring as Scott on *Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage* (CBS, 2024)[2](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/bio) |
## Early life and education
Gorham grew up in Fresno, California, where his father was a certified public accountant and his mother a school nurse.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/) He has described himself as a middle-class kid with no industry connections, saying in a later interview that he "was not a nepo baby who understood the business."[5](https://july-magazine.com/articles/christopher-gorham) As a teenager he loved role-playing games, math, and teaching ballroom dancing, and he began acting young, winning praise for grade-school stage performances and a top prize at an international talent contest while attending Roosevelt High School of the Arts.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/) In fourth grade he played the Mad Hatter in *Alice Through the Looking Glass* and won that year's best-actor award, an honor he says was usually reserved for sixth graders.[6](https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/20100720_Christopher_Gorham_sees_success_for_his_CIA_analyst_on_USA_s__Covert_Affairs_.html)
After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Theater Arts, he began appearing in episodic television and occasional films. His first feature was [Danny Boyle](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-boyle)'s romantic comedy *A Life Less Ordinary* (1997).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/)
## Early television career
His first taste of series television did not go well: he was fired from *Push*, a 1998 drama about aspiring Olympic athletes, which was canceled after three episodes. By then he had landed a recurring role on *Party of Five* as Elliot, the boyfriend of [Jennifer Love Hewitt](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-love-hewitt)'s character who realizes he is more attracted to a man, a portrayal that earned him critical attention and the respect of many viewers in the queer community during the 1997-98 season.[6](https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/20100720_Christopher_Gorham_sees_success_for_his_CIA_analyst_on_USA_s__Covert_Affairs_.html) Guest appearances followed on youth-oriented series including *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* and *Saved by the Bell: The New Class*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/)
**Series regular work.** In 1999 he debuted as a series regular on the high-school comedy *Popular*, playing the "nerd" Harrison John, including a storyline in which the character suffered from leukemia. On that show he met castmate Anel Lopez, whom he married in 2000.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/) After *Popular* ended, he was top-billed in the feature *The Other Side of Heaven* (2001) as missionary John Groberg, then led a run of short-lived series: the science-fiction show *Odyssey 5* on Showtime, the UPN cult favorite *Jake 2.0* (2003-04), in which he played the title character, a government worker who develops super powers, and the hospital drama *Medical Investigation* (2004-05).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/) The sitcom *Out of Practice* (CBS, 2005-06), despite a cast including [Henry Winkler](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-winkler), Stockard Channing, Ty Burrell, and [Jennifer Tilly](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-tilly), was pulled from the schedule after 14 episodes.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/)
## Ugly Betty
In 2006, former *Jake 2.0* producer Silvo Horta cast Gorham on his new series *Ugly Betty* as Henry, the dorky but sweet accountant at the fictional Mode magazine and a love interest for Betty Suarez ([America Ferrera](https://www.edgepedia.org/america-ferrera)).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/) The role brought him his largest audience to that point. He joined the cast as a regular in the third season, but the writing staff ultimately parted Betty and Henry; Gorham left as a regular during that season and made brief reappearances until the character said farewell near the end of the fourth season.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/)
While still on *Ugly Betty* he played a very different character, serial killer Henry Dunn, on the CBS murder-mystery *Harper's Island* (2009), a single-season series with at least one victim per episode that failed to find an audience.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/)
## Covert Affairs and Auggie Anderson
Gorham found his signature role in 2010 on [USA Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/usa-network)'s *Covert Affairs*, starring opposite [Piper Perabo](https://www.edgepedia.org/piper-perabo) as August "Auggie" Anderson, a former Special Ops commando blinded during a mission in Iraq who now serves as a CIA analyst and mentor to the neophyte agent Annie Walker.[6](https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/20100720_Christopher_Gorham_sees_success_for_his_CIA_analyst_on_USA_s__Covert_Affairs_.html) The series debuted strongly with 4.9 million viewers.[6](https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/20100720_Christopher_Gorham_sees_success_for_his_CIA_analyst_on_USA_s__Covert_Affairs_.html)
The portrayal was built on extensive research. Because the show was produced in Toronto, Gorham contacted the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), whose trainer taught him sighted-lead technique, cane use, and practical navigation for the pilot; he continued consulting with blind people and disability advocates through the show's five-season run.[7](https://theflickcast.com/2010/07/06/%E2%80%98covert-affairs%E2%80%99-debriefing-part-1-christopher-gorham/) He was later awarded the CNIB's Seeing Beyond Vision Loss: Special Achievement Award for the role.[2](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/bio) Executive producer [Doug Liman](https://www.edgepedia.org/doug-liman) credited him with "transforming Auggie from a blind guy to a guy who among other things happens to be blind," and Gorham himself called the character "such a positive portrayal of a disabled veteran on television."[6](https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/20100720_Christopher_Gorham_sees_success_for_his_CIA_analyst_on_USA_s__Covert_Affairs_.html) In a second-season episode, Auggie's backstory was shown when Gorham briefly played the character sighted, before he lost his sight in the mission in Iraq.[8](https://www.tvguide.com/news/covert-affairs-gorham-1035353/)
His *Covert Affairs* work extended behind the camera: he directed episodes including "Man in the Middle" (313), "River Euphrates" (414), and "Starlings of the Slipstream" (512), and produced and directed the Auggie-centered season four webisode prequel *Covert Affairs: Sights Unseen*.[2](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/bio)
## Film, voice work, and directing
Gorham's independent features include lead roles in the romantic comedy *My Girlfriend's Boyfriend* (2010) opposite [Alyssa Milano](https://www.edgepedia.org/alyssa-milano) and the comedy *Answer This!* (2010), plus appearances in *The Ledge* (2011) and [Regina King](https://www.edgepedia.org/regina-king)'s *One Night in Miami...* (2020).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/) • [4](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/film) In animation he voiced Barry Allen, The Flash, in six serialized [DC Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-universe) animated films, from *Justice League: War* (2014) through *Justice League Dark: Apokolips War* (2020).[4](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/film)
His feature directorial debut was the family comedy *We Love You, Sally Carmichael!* (2017), written by Daryn Tufts, in which he also starred alongside [Jack McBrayer](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-mcbrayer), Bitsie Tulloch, and Paula Marshall; the entire film was shot in 13 days.[2](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/bio) • [9](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/directing)
## Recent work
Gorham joined Netflix's *The Lincoln Lawyer* in 2022 as defense client Trevor Elliott and appeared on *Insatiable*, both for the streaming service.[2](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/bio) In 2024-25 he played Scott, Mandy's boss and ex-boyfriend, on the Chuck Lorre CBS comedy *Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage*, and joined the Korean Disney+ and Hulu limited series *Tempest* as Ethan, a mercenary, alongside Gang Dong-won, Jun Ji-hyun, and John Cho.[2](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/bio) • [10](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/tempest-hulu-cast/) He stars in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced CBS drama *Sheriff Country* (2025), a *Fire Country* spinoff, as Travis Fraley, the lawyer ex-husband of Morena Baccarin's Sheriff Mickey Fox; filming two CBS series at once, he shuttled between the drama's sets and the sitcom in Los Angeles.[2](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/bio) • [11](https://scifivision.com/scifivision/interviews/7348-christopher-gorham-balances-family-drama-in-sheriff-country-sitcom-fun-in-georgie-mandy-s-first-marriage)
Gorham has been married to actress Anel Lopez Gorham since January 22, 2000; the couple has three children.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0330913/)
## References
1. [Christopher Gorham – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/christopher-gorham/)
2. [About Christopher Gorham, official biography](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/bio)
3. [Christopher Gorham, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0330913/)
4. [Film – Christopher Gorham, official site](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/film)
5. [Christopher Gorham, July Magazine](https://july-magazine.com/articles/christopher-gorham)
6. [Christopher Gorham sees success for his CIA analyst on USA's 'Covert Affairs', The Philadelphia Inquirer](https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/20100720_Christopher_Gorham_sees_success_for_his_CIA_analyst_on_USA_s__Covert_Affairs_.html)
7. ['Covert Affairs' Debriefing, Part 1: Christopher Gorham, The Flickcast](https://theflickcast.com/2010/07/06/%E2%80%98covert-affairs%E2%80%99-debriefing-part-1-christopher-gorham/)
8. [A Covert Affairs Sight to Behold: Auggie's Blind Past Revealed, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/news/covert-affairs-gorham-1035353/)
9. [Directing – Christopher Gorham, official site](https://www.realchrisgorham.com/directing)
10. [The 'Tempest' Cast: Your Guide to the Hulu K-Drama, Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/tempest-hulu-cast/)
11. [Christopher Gorham Balances Family Drama in Sheriff Country & Sitcom Fun in Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, SciFi Vision](https://scifivision.com/scifivision/interviews/7348-christopher-gorham-balances-family-drama-in-sheriff-country-sitcom-fun-in-georgie-mandy-s-first-marriage)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Go to G*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license