John Asher

As the son of two thespians, actor-writer-director John Asher was literally born into show business. His television debut didn't come until 1990, however, with a bit part on the prime time soap opera "Beverly Hills, 90210." Four years later, he had his first lead role when Asher played nerdy malcontent Gary Wallace on the science-fiction comedy series "Weird Science," taking up where Anthony Michael Hall left off in the 1985 film of the same name. After five years, the show went off the air. One year later, Asher married actress Jenny McCarthy, whom he directed in several films, including the poorly-received Kirk Douglas comeback dramedy "Diamonds." Unfortunately, the next project on which Asher and McCarthy worked together was an outright disaster. Written by McCarthy herself, the scatalogically-fixated comedy "Dirty Love" was universally panned, a commercial flop and--to add insult to injury--released the same month the couple filed for divorce. Along with filming music videos for artists including singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow and the pop-punk band Sum 41, Asher subsequently helmed seven episodes of the teen drama "One Tree Hill." His sporadic acting credits include a memorable guest appearance on the crime show "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" as director Zack Putrid, a jokey take on musician-filmmaker Rob Zombie. He also played a younger version of Donald Sutherland in the 2000 drama "Space Cowboys."