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Jesse Metcalfe played teenage gardener John Rowland on Desperate Housewives
The show, which premiered in 2004, lasted eight seasons, but Metcalfe appeared on four
Metcalfe reflected on the rumored drama between the show’s lead actresses during a panel on Saturday, Aug. 9
When it comes to his time on Desperate Housewives, Jesse Metcalfe was just happy to have a job.
The actor portrayed teenage gardener John Rowland, who had an affair with Eva Longoria’s Gabrielle Solis, on the soap opera. Metcalfe reflected on his time in the ABC series during a panel at the Southfork Experience: Dallas Panel: The Ewing Heirs on Saturday, Aug. 9.
The show premiered in 2004, lasting eight seasons, with stars like Longoria, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, and Nicollette Sheridan, who exited from the series after season 5 due to issues with creator Marc Cherry.
Ron Tom/ABC
Jesse Metcalf on ‘Desperate Housewives’
When asked about talk of behind-the-scenes drama between his female costars, Metcalfe said he ultimately focused on work more than anything.
“I was just happy to have a job. I went through an entire pilot season, I didn’t book anything, and I tested for Desperate Housewives, which was a recast, right at the end of that pilot season and ended up booking it,” Metcalfe said.
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Having the opportunity to work alongside the group of women was something Metcalfe was “very grateful” for.
“I was just kind of riding the wave, you know, because that show really broke me and I had everything coming at me and I was just enjoying it,” he added.
“Matter of fact, there’s a lot of stories about all the drama on that set between some of our lead females. And I was like, I was oblivious to it, basically, you know, because I was just so thrilled to be on a show and just so in the moment,” he continued.
ABC/MOSHE BRAKHA
Cast of ‘Desperate Housewives’
In 2020, Metcalfe told Variety that his time on the show was “everything I thought it would be and more.”
“For someone with minimal acting experience that grew up in a small town in Connecticut, being a working actor, making the money I was making, living the lifestyle I was living — it was exciting. It was very fulfilling,” he said.
However, Metclafe also told i-D in 2021 that he was “definitely caged” by the role after facing “pressure” to film a lot of his scenes without a shirt on.
“The industry tends to think if you look a certain way that’s all you have to offer,” he said at the time.
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Noam Galai/Getty
Jesse Metcalfe visits the SiriusXM Studios on July 23, 2025 in New York City
Still, he noted that the years following his exit from the show in 2009 were very formative.
“It definitely built character. I had to really look within and figure out who I really was because that’s the foundation,” he added.
While there is a Desperate Housewives reboot, called Wisteria Lane, in the works, Metcalfe said at the panel he doesn’t “know if they’re going to use any of the original cast.”
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