Richard William Burgi (born July 30, 1958) is an American film and television actor. His notable roles include two troublesome ex-husbands, that of Amy Brenneman in Judging Amy and Teri Hatcher in Desperate Housewives; the cocky Elite Hunting client Todd in Hostel: Part II and the detective with heightened senses James Ellison on the UPN series The Sentinel.

Biography

Career

Burgi began his career in New York City with work in commercials, which led to regular roles on the daytime soap operas One Life to Live, Days of our Lives, Another World and As The World Turns. He was cast as the lead in the UPN primetime series The Sentinel, which was cancelled after three seasons, leaving key plot issues unresolved; an intense fan campaign convinced the network to film an additional half-season worth of episodes to end the series properly.

Since 2004, Burgi has guest starred on Desperate Housewives playing Karl Mayer, the ex-husband of Susan Mayer played by Teri Hatcher and the father of Julie Mayer played by Andrea Bowen. During his character's story arc, he has also dated Edie Britt and began having an affair with Marcia Cross's character Bree Van De Kamp. His character now has a more prominent role for the sixth season as his affair with Bree continues.