Jay Harrington

About

Biography

Filmography

Biography

Jay Harrington was an actor known for his roles on sitcoms, though he also took on quite a few stage and film parts during his career. He was best known for his starring roles as the eponymous Ted in the satirical cult favorite "Better Off Ted" (ABC 2009-10) and in the single camera legal comedy "Benched" (USA 2014). Harrington was born on November 15, 1971 in the affluent suburb of Wellesley, Massachusetts. He studied theater at Syracuse University, pursuing acting after graduation. His first roles were bit parts in small TV shows in the late 1990s. His first lead film role was in the straight-to-video "Octopus" (2000), a marine horror movie. His big TV break came with a recurring part in "The Division" (Lifetime 2001-04), a crime drama about a group of female cops that also starred Jon Hamm for a time. After that, Harrington landed a large number of recurring and starring roles, though these rarely lasted for more than a year. In 2009 he landed the lead in "Better Off Ted," as the human resources director of a humorously soulless corporation. Though the show was critically acclaimed, its ratings were poor, and it was cancelled after two seasons. In 2014, he landed another leading TV role alongside Eliza Coupe in the legal comedy "Benched," the story of a prosperous attorney forced to become a public defender.