Why You Recognize Law & Order Guest Star Jesse Metcalfe, Who Played a Police Sergeant
Law & Order's latest guest star Jesse Metcalfe, who played Sgt. Danny DeLuca in the "Folk Hero" episode, has previously starred in everything from a soap opera to an action film.
There was a new face helping chase down the killer on the latest episode of Law & Order.
With Detective Jalen Shaw (Mehcad Brooks) out sick, Sgt. Danny DeLuca, played by guest star Jesse Metcalfe, stepped in to help apprehend an elusive shooter who took out one of the health insurance industry’s most powerful executives in the show's “Folk Hero" episode, which debuted on March 20, 2025.
DeLuca joined forces with Detective Vincent Riley (Reid Scott) as the two men ran down every lead, quite literally, before they were able to take suspect Ethan Weller (Ty Molbak) into custody.
And if the determined sergeant looked familiar, there’s good reason for that, as Metcalfe has appeared on TV and in film for more than two decades.
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The actor grew up in Connecticut, playing sports in the public schools he attended, he said on the Renaissance Man podcast in 2023 of what he described as a “pretty idyllic childhood.”
Metcalfe added on the podcast that he caught the acting bug after seeing 1985's The Breakfast Club at the movie theater with his dad, and later studied acting at New York University.
Read on to find out what you may have seen Metcalfe in before his Law & Order guest role.
What has Jesse Metcalfe appeared in?
You may recognize Metcalfe from anything from his early days as the hot gardener on Desperate Housewives to his more recent turn in the 2021 action film Fortress, in which he starred alongside Bruce Willis and Chad Michael Murray.
The actor got his big break when he landed the role of Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald on the NBC soap opera Passions, which debuted in 1999. Metcalfe became a household name several years later after starring as heartthrob John Rowland on the hit comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives. He parlayed his success on that show as the crush-worthy gardener into landing the titular role in the 2006 teen cult comedy flick John Tucker Must Die.
Later on, Metcalfe played Christopher Ewing in the 2012 revival of Dallas, before starring in 2016's God’s Not Dead 2, and in the TV romance series Chesapeake Shores. Many may also recognize Metcalfe from his numerous holiday movies and his role as retired detective Jeff Jackson in the A Martha’s Vineyard Mystery TV film series.
Metcalfe’s other recent acting credits include the 2023 film On a Wing and a Prayer, and a one-episode appearance on the limited series V.C. Andrews’ Dawn that same year.
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What character did Jesse Metcalfe play on Law & Order?
On Law & Order's Season 24 episode “Folk Hero,” Metcalfe played Sgt. Danny DeLuca, one of the first members of the NYPD to show up at the scene after a health insurance executive was gunned down on the street in Midtown Manhattan.
DeLuca found himself in the right place at the right time to help Det. Riley chase down suspect Ethan Weller, who fled on foot.
Weller — whom viewers would later learn was seeking revenge after his cancer-stricken mother was denied treatment by her insurance company that her doctor believed would have extended her life — proved to be a worthy adversary, repeatedly slipping through the two law enforcement officers’ grasp. Their pursuit was made even more complicated after those supporting the brazen killer took to the streets of Manhattan wearing camouflage jackets similar to the one Weller wore during the shooting in order to thwart the police.
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Riley and DeLuca were finally able to take Weller into custody just as he attempted to shoot the CEO of another large health insurance corporation.
In court, Weller’s defense attorney made the controversial argument that Weller was preventing future deaths by killing the executive, since he and the insurance company he worked for were known to deny health coverage claims. The suspect's fate was left hanging in the balance at the end of the episode as the screen faded to black just before the jury’s verdict was read.
In one scene from the episode, District Attorney Nicholas Baxter (Tony Goldwyn) and Executive Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) debated whether their newest murder case, which Baxter called "the biggest story in America," was a slam dunk, as public sentiment seemed to be favoring the shooter.
To catch all the Season 24 drama, watch Law & Order on Thursdays at 8/7c p.m. or stream episodes on Peacock after they become available the next day.
