In character as Wisteria Lane’s duplicitous plumber Mike Delfino, actor James Denton uses his time under the sink as a smoke screen for his checkered past. At home, though, the Desperate Housewives hunk is as genuine as it gets: a real-life family guy with an appreciation for simplicity, spontaneity and wide-open spaces. We caught up with him in Los Angeles to dish about family and favorite travel spots—including an unexpected jaunt through the land down under.
You live in Southern California, but you grew up in a different South. How often do you return to your native Nashville—and what are your favorite hometown haunts?
I try to get back once or twice a year, because my brother and sister are still there. We always go down to the river and try to hit Tootsie’s and Robert’s Western World. Most importantly, I have to get to a Sounds (minor league baseball) game at Greer stadium.
We’ve seen you without a shirt on (on television, that is!) so we know that fitness is important to you. What’s your go-to travel workout?
Primarily diet, and I never stop moving. I haven’t been to a gym in months, so there’s no real routine. If I feel like I have to do something, I’ll jump in a hotel fitness center and do 20 minutes of arms and chest and get out of there!
Despite your steamy persona on Desperate Housewives, you have quite the reputation as a family man. What’s your idea of the perfect family vacation?
Just getting the kids (Sheppard, 6; and Malin, 4) somewhere with space to play, where we can sort of relax without having to talk about Housewives. Montana is our favorite place to hide—we love all that space. And the attitude! People couldn’t care less what you do for a living, which is refreshing. We stay up on the mountain as much as we can, so we do a lot of cooking on the grill. But Livingston also has a bunch of good restaurants, including the Second Street Bistro and The Stockman.
Travel has a way of bringing out the absurd. What’s the weirdest experience you’ve ever had on the road?
My wife Erin and I were in Australia to promote “Philly,” and I got the call that the show had been cancelled. We were standing on a street corner in Sydney at a pay phone, and we sort of looked at each other and thought, “What do we do now?”
We ended up having a blast with all of our free time. We spent a few days in Sydney and climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the pouring rain. From there, we went to the middle of the country to Alice Springs, then finished up in Cairns. We even picked up a hitchhiking camel musterer out in the desert. How many people can say they’ve done that?
Mike Delfino seems like he’d be a pretty low-maintenance guy. What might we find in his fictional suitcase and dopp kit? Does this differ much from what we’d find in yours?
He and I are frighteningly alike. I spend about 30 seconds in the hair and makeup trailer, if I go in there at all. A toothbrush will probably get it done.
