Jim Pirri

After working in theatre, Jim Pirri began appearing in films toward the end of the '80s, which in turn led to guest-starring roles on both television dramas and sitcoms. His first recurring character was Asher Roth, the intriguing boyfriend of Marlee Matlin's assistant district attorney in the series "Reasonable Doubts"; in one storyline, Asher starts off trying to kidnap a man who turns out to be a Nazi, and he and the assistant D.A. work together to send him back to Israel. This role led to "Valley of the Dolls," a prime-time soap opera based on the novel by Jacqueline Susann. While the series aired only in 1994, it has since earned marks as a guilty viewing pleasure, and Pirri himself gained significant exposure as Jean-Claude, a race car-driving Lothario. Throughout the latter '90s and into the '00s, he alternated between comedy, drama, and action, the common denominator often being his characters' supposed way with the fairer sex. He played a smoldering federal agent and love interest (of Lois Lane) in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," and a diner cook and self-proclaimed Casanova in "Union Square," which marked his first co-starring role on a sitcom.