Jeffrey Nordling Bio
Jeffrey Richard Nordling (born March 11, 1962) is an American actor whose career has spanned television, film, and stage since the late 1980s. Born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, he has built a reputation as a versatile performer capable of moving between network dramas, prestige cable series, and feature films. He is best known to audiences for his portrayals of Jake Manning on Once and Again, FBI agent Larry Moss on 24, and Nick Bolen on Desperate Housewives, along with his more recent role as Gordon Klein in Big Little Lies. Across more than three decades of work, Nordling has appeared in projects ranging from family sports films to serious political dramas and small-screen thrillers.
Early Life and Background
Jeffrey Richard Nordling was born on March 11, 1962, in Ridgewood, New Jersey, to Robert George Nordling and Lois Nordling. He grew up in Washington Township before his family moved to Saddle River, New Jersey. Nordling attended Ramsey High School, where he graduated in 1980. His upbringing in northern New Jersey placed him within reach of both the metropolitan New York arts community and the broader cultural life of the East Coast, which helped shape his early interest in performance.
After finishing high school, Nordling enrolled at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1984. He then continued his training at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, completing a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1987. His formal education in the arts provided a foundation in classical training that would later inform his approach to television and film roles. Nordling is of Swedish descent through his family name, a heritage that has occasionally surfaced in biographical writing about him.
Path to Acting
Following his graduate studies at Southern Methodist University, Nordling transitioned into professional acting in 1988. His early work focused on guest appearances and supporting roles across prime-time television, allowing him to develop a steady on-screen presence while building relationships with casting directors and showrunners. By the mid-1990s, he had begun to secure more prominent parts in both television movies and feature films, marking his move from stage training into mainstream Hollywood work.
One of his first widely recognized roles came with the 1996 Disney family sports sequel D3: The Mighty Ducks, in which he portrayed Coach Ted Orion, a former NHL professional turned hockey coach. The film gave Nordling visibility with younger audiences and demonstrated his capacity to balance lighter material with more dramatic projects. The same period saw him appear in the 1997 TV movie Soul Mates alongside Kim Raver, as well as in serious television films such as the HBO adaptation And the Band Played On, in which he played Gaëtan Dugas, a key figure in Randy Shilts’s book about the early years of the AIDS epidemic. These early projects helped establish his range and reliability as a character actor across genres.
Jeffrey Nordling Career
Early Career (1988–1998)
After launching his career in 1988, Nordling spent the early years of his professional life taking on small and recurring roles in television series and made-for-TV movies. He appeared in productions including Sex and the City and the historical drama The Pentagon Papers, gradually moving up from guest spots to more substantive parts. His portrayal of Gaëtan Dugas in the HBO film And the Band Played On brought him critical attention and demonstrated his willingness to engage with difficult subject matter.
In 1996, Nordling joined the cast of D3: The Mighty Ducks as Coach Ted Orion, expanding his audience reach with a family-friendly sports film. He also appeared in the 1997 television movie Soul Mates and, in 1999, portrayed original Apple investor Mike Markkula in the TNT film Pirates of Silicon Valley. By the end of the decade, these projects had positioned him as a dependable supporting actor capable of working across comedy, drama, and historical adaptation.
Breakthrough (1999–2002)
Nordling achieved wider recognition when he was cast as Jake Manning, the ex-husband of Sela Ward’s character, on the ABC drama Once and Again. The role ran from 1999 to 2002 and remains one of the performances for which he is most widely remembered. The show’s blend of family drama and romance allowed him to play a complicated, emotionally layered character over multiple seasons.
During this same period, Nordling continued to build his television resume with guest appearances and recurring parts, including work on Sex and the City as Capote Duncan. His growing visibility on Once and Again helped him secure additional opportunities in cable and network television, including his well-known later role as FBI agent Larry Moss in the seventh season of the Fox thriller 24. He also starred alongside Courteney Cox in the FX series Dirt during its 2007–08 run, playing Brent Barrow, a role that further demonstrated his comfort with morally complex characters in edgy cable programming.
Later Career (2009–Present)
In the 2009–10 television season, Nordling joined the cast of Desperate Housewives as Nick Bolen, a series regular and the on-screen husband of Drea de Matteo’s character. The Bolen family arc was discontinued after a single season, but the role added another high-profile credit to his résumé. The same year, he starred as 9/11 hero Tom Burnett in the television film Flight 93, a performance that connected him to one of the most widely discussed events of recent American history.
From 2011, Nordling held a recurring role on the ABC medical and crime drama Body of Proof, playing Todd Fleming, the ex-husband of Dana Delany’s lead character, until the show’s cancellation. He went on to appear in HBO’s Big Little Lies as Gordon Klein, contributing to a critically acclaimed ensemble that helped the series reach a wide global audience. His career across these years reflects a consistent ability to anchor recurring roles in major network and prestige cable productions while continuing to take on selective film and television movie work.
Notable Works and Milestones
Among Nordling’s most recognizable works are his long-running role as Jake Manning on Once and Again, his portrayal of FBI agent Larry Moss on 24, his turn as Nick Bolen on Desperate Housewives, and his performance as Gordon Klein on Big Little Lies. His earlier appearance in D3: The Mighty Ducks introduced him to a wide family audience, while his work in Flight 93 and And the Band Played On highlighted his capacity for grounded, dramatic storytelling. Together, these roles trace a career marked by steady craft and consistent presence on American television.
Jeffrey Nordling Family
Jeffrey Nordling was raised by his father, Robert George Nordling, and his mother, Lois Nordling, in northern New Jersey. His family heritage includes Swedish roots, reflected in the Nordling surname. Public information about his immediate family remains limited, with most verified details focusing on his parents, his early New Jersey upbringing, and his later household life.
Personal Life
Nordling was married to Francia T. Dimase, with the couple later divorcing. Public records indicate that he is a father of three children, although details about his family life beyond these basics remain private. He has generally kept his personal and family life out of the spotlight, focusing public attention instead on his professional work across television and film.