Uniform Decision, as seen in eXtra

Elliott salutes re-enlisting of 'JAG' at new network

by David Brian Waldon

David James Elliott had faced plenty of acting challenges, but his best performance may have been last spring. That's when he found out that his TV show, the U.S. Navy-themed drama "JAG" had been canceled by NBC.

"I had four days left shooting the last episode when we got the word, so I had to keep my spirits up for that," Elliott says. "And I was so exhausted, too…I was just looking for a holiday at that point."

As it turns out, Elliott's vacation was shorter than he thought it would be. Almost as soon as NBC dropped "JAG," CBS and ABC tried to revive it. In the end, the series set sail for CBS, where it can finally achieve the form executive producer Donald P. Bellisario first created.

"[NBC] wanted "Top Gun,' and Don wanted 'A Few Good Men' and 'Top Gun,'" Elliott, who plays Navy lawyer Lt. Commander Harmon Rabb on the series. "He wanted people stories framed in action, with the Navy and the world as a backdrop."

Playing a disciplined U.S. sailor has meant plenty of lessons for Toronto native Elliott. "There are all these little dances that one has to learn to carry oneself with military bearing," he says. "It was interesting, and it's ongoing; there are all theses new things I have to learn, and it keeps it interesting for me."

The 35-year-old* Elliott was raised in Canada and got most of his acting training north of the border. But he makes no apologies about making success in the States his primary goal.

"I just wanted to be the best actor that I could be, and Hollywood was the place that you had to go to get the work, even if you were going to work in your own country. Everything seems to originate here: All the money's here, all the production people are here, all the writers and directors are here. And if we go to shoot up in the Canadian Rockies on a particular project, it originates from here."

A self-described boring guy, Elliott spends his spare time on the golf course or playing guitar. He also hangs out with his wife, actress Nanci Chambers, and their 3-year-old* daughter Stephanie, who had her own perspective about her dad's career.

" 'You're just my daddy,' she told me. 'You're not him; you're just my daddy. What are you doing on TV? I don't want you to be a hero; I just want you to be my daddy."

Elliott's wife has her own feelings about his rising star; especially his title as one of People magazine's 50 Most beautiful People.

"[She] was quick to point out, 'It doesn't matter what they say in People magazine, you're still taking the garbage out!"