Christopher Gorham

Boyishly handsome and quietly seductive, this small-screen player became the quintessential crush of dork-loving teens with his nerdy turns on youth-oriented series. He was sweet and sensitive in a recurring role as Jennifer Love Hewitt's sexually confused boyfriend on Party of Five, and he brought those same qualities to his portrayal of an endearing high-school geek on Popular. A former model who studied acting at UCLA, where he met his wife and Popular costar Anel Lopez, Gorham never lacked for work. But the up-and-comer had to wait a while for his breakthrough, appearing in a string of critically lauded but short-lived shows including Odyssey 5, Medical Investigations and Jake 2.0, in which he played the title character, a mild-mannered computer tech suddenly endowed with superpowers. While starring on yet another flop, the sitcom Out of Practice, Jake 2.0 creator Silvio Horta approached him about appearing on his new show Ugly Betty. Out of Practice getting canceled was Gorham's lucky break since it allowed him to take a recurring role as the plucky heroine's unrequited accountant love on Betty. Viewers became so invested in their mutual crush that he was upgraded to series regular for the campy dramedy's second season.