---
name: "Charles Esten"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/charles-esten"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "9 September 1965"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 82
updated: "2026-09-17T01:59:50.769674+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Charles Esten

Actor. Born 9 September 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 9 September 1965, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- **Active:** 2006–2011
- **Also known as:** Chip Esten, Charles Esten Puskar III

## Biography

Charles Esten, also credited as Chip Esten, is an American actor, musician and comedian. Born Charles Esten Puskar III in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he graduated from the College of William and Mary with a degree in economics. He made his stage debut in the West End musical *Buddy* as Buddy Holly.

Esten is known for playing Deacon Claybourne in the series *Nashville* (2012–2018) and Ward Cameron in *Outer Banks* (2020–). He appeared as a recurring performer on the US version of *Whose Line Is It Anyway?* and has credits including *Enlightened* (2011) as Damon Manning, *The Office*, *The Mentalist*, *Star Trek: The Next Generation* and *Star Trek: Voyager*, *ER*, *Thirteen Days* (2000) and *The Postman* (1997).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, charlesesten.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Enlightened* (2011), Fi1m 84, as Damon Manning — [page](https://film.one/tv/enlightened.md)
- *Big Love* (2006), Fi1m 79, as Ray Henry — [page](https://film.one/tv/big-love.md)

## Also known for

- *The Mentalist* (2008), Rick Bregman
- *Outer Banks* (2020), Ward Cameron
- *Married... with Children* (1987), Lonnie
- *NCIS: Los Angeles* (2009), John Cole / Ethan Stanhope
- *The Postman* (1997), Michael
- *Star Trek: Voyager* (1995), Dathan
- *Thirteen Days* (2000), Maj. Rudolf Anderson
- *Jessie* (2011), Morgan Ross

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/charles-esten