Why Colter Shaw From Tracker Looks So Familiar
New procedurals emerge every year, and they can start to seem like the same thing over and over again — but it's a testament to Justin Hartley's talent that his new CBS show "Tracker" feels familiar yet enthralling. Based on the novel "The Never Game" by Jeffery Deaver, the series follows professional "tracker" Colt Shaw, played by Hartley, who roams the United States searching for targets, helping out both law enforcement and random people for pay. He's flanked by his loyal associates Teddi and Velma Bruin (Robin Weigert and Abby McEnany), who help him find both cases and targets, as well as his tech guru Bob Exley (Eric Graise) and his legal expert Reenie Greene (Fiona Rene).
So where have you seen Hartley before he started starring on "Tracker?" The Illinois native has been a small-screen staples for a few decades at this point, appearing on everything from daytime soaps to heightened primetime dramas to Emmy-nominated shows; here's why he looks so familiar.
Smallville (2006-2011)
The DC universe drama "Smallville" ran for ten years and ten seasons on The WB and The CW (after the former merged with UPN in 2006), and thanks to its sprawling cast, it's forgivable to forget that Justin Hartley played a vital role on the show. Specifically, Hartley plays Oliver Queen — better known as superhero The Green Arrow — and after joining the show in Season 6, he kept returning and was eventually made a main character for Seasons 8 through 10. (He also directed one episode, Season 10's "Dominion," and wrote another in Season 9 titled "Sacrifice.")
A close friend of Clark Kent (Tom Welling) — though the two sometimes find themselves at odds — Oliver is both a businessman and superhero, serving as CEO of his family's company Queen Industries and leading the group of crimefighters known as the Justice League. He often challenges Clark's beliefs about the "right" way to be a superhero, and Oliver can be a little more brash and arrogant than his friend, but they work beautifully as a team. During the series finale, Clark officiates the long-awaited wedding between Clark and Lois Lane (Erica Durance), himself married to Lois' cousin Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack).
Revenge (2013-2014)
In the fall of 2011, the deliciously campy vengeance tale "Revenge" began airing on ABC and become an immediate hit, retelling a modern version of Alexandre Dumas' famous novel "The Count of Monte Cristo." The show, led by Emily VanCamp as Emily Thorne — a woman looking to exact revenge upon wealthy families in the Hamptons who pretends she's just a random new person new to the luxurious beachfront town — ran for 89 episodes and 4 seasons, and though Justin Hartley only appeared in 13 episodes, he certainly made an impression as Patrick Osbourne.
Patrick, as audiences learn, is the long-lost son of Emily's primary nemesis Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe), though he was conceived under horrifying circumstances. Early in Victoria's life, she experiences multiple situations where she comes close to being sexually assaulted, and when she is assaulted by Jimmy Brennan (Brett Cullen) years before the main narrative, she learns she's pregnant with a baby boy — Patrick. After moving to Paris to study, Victoria leaves a young Patrick with nuns and he's eventually adopted ... but he becomes a major part of the narrative during Season 3 when he helps Victoria with a blackmail scheme. When he learns the truth about his parentage, things take a much more tragic turn, which we won't spoil here.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
The Young & The Restless (2014-2016)
As the third actor to play Adam Newman, Justin Hartley brought his characteristic charm and talent to "The Young and the Restless" in 2014, joining the long-running soap opera as the established character (following both Chris Engen and Michael Muhney). From 2014 to 2016, Hartley played the devious, cunning Adam, earning the actor a nomination for outstanding lead actor in a drama series at the Daytime Emmys in 2016.
Hartley — who took over from Muhney after multiple controversies allegedly led to his firing — began his time as Adam explaining, in classic soap-opera fashion, that he had multiple surgeries to reconstruct his facial features after faking his death, being taken care of now by Kelly Sullivan's Sage Warner. Again, this is a soap opera, so chaos ensues from there; some of Adam's plotlines involve him impersonating a man named Gabriel, trying to claim an inheritance, an attempts to adopt a child. When Hartley left the series behind in 2016, Mark Grossman, who's still playing the role as of this writing, took over as Adam.
This Is Us (2016-2022)
Aside from "Tracker," there's no question that Justin Hartley's most high-profile role to date is as Kevin Pearson on the beloved NBC family drama "This Is Us." Created by Dan Fogelman ("Tangled," "Crazy, Stupid, Love."), the show focuses on the Pearson family, led by Rebecca (Mandy Moore) and Jack (Milo Ventimiglia), and utilizes constant flashbacks to give audiences the fullest possible picture of both the parents and children. In the 1980 timeline, Kevin, his sister Kate (Chrissy Metz), and their triplet Kyle — who tragically dies while the other two were born prematurely — struggle to survive as Jack and Rebecca also adopt a young baby named Randall (played in adulthood by Sterling K. Brown), who was abandoned by his father (Ron Cephas Jones) at a fire station the very same day that Kevin and Kate were born.
So what do you need to know about Kevin? In the present-day timeline, he's a successful actor on a sitcom called "The Manny" and living in Los Angeles, but he leaves the show on his 36th birthday (the day the show begins), angry at what he regards as low-quality writing and sick of being typecast. He tries to become a more "serious" actor by working on Broadway, landing in New York, and his career takes off for a while ... until he suffers a major injury on a project that causes a serious addiction to both his medication and alcohol. "This Is Us" is characterized by its relatable storylines — both good and bad — and Kevin's story of sobriety is an inspiring, heartfelt one performed beautifully by Hartley.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).