John Beasley

John Beasley plays Barton Ballentine on TV Land's newest original sitcom, The Soul Man, premiering on Wednesday, June 20, at 10pm ET/PT. The show revolves around Reverend Boyce 'The Voice' Ballentine (played by Cedric 'The Entertainer'), an R&B superstar-turned-minister who relocates to St. Louis with his family to preach in his fathers church.

Though he didnt start acting until he was an adult, Beasley has become a veteran actor with many television, film and theater credits to his name. He is best known in television for his role of Irv Harper and the narrator on the popular WB series Everwood, which ran for five seasons. Since the success of Everwood, Beasley has made many guest star appearances in shows such as CSI: Miami, NCIS, Harrys Law and Detroit 187, and most recently had a recurring role on the HBO drama series Treme. Additional television appearances include Boston Legal, Judging Amy, Millennium, CSI and Brewster Place, in which he co-starred alongside Oprah Winfrey.

John is certainly not a stranger to the silver screen as well, having appeared in over 38 films. His feature film credits include Walking Tall with Dwayne The Rock Johnson, The Generals Daughter with John Travolta, Rudy, The Sum of All Fears, The Mighty Ducks, and The Apostle opposite Robert Duvall.

In addition to appearing on television and in films, Beasley has performed in several theater productions, gracing the stages of Goodman Theatre in Chicago, The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Beasley was recognized for his achievements in 2009, winning the Independent Reviewers of New England Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in August Wilson's Fences at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston.

John considers one of his most notable successes to be the founding and creation of the John Beasley Theater, located in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. The theater is a demonstration of his love for the performing arts beyond his own acting pursuits, an acknowledgement of the enlightenment and excitement that theater provides, and most importantly, a recognition that there are limited theater opportunities for children and adults in underserved communities in Omaha. Through educational opportunities, the theater helps Omaha residents develop their interests and talents in various disciplines of the performing arts and establish a feeling of respect towards all people.