Stewart was born in Diana, West Virginia,[2] the son of Margie and Charles Regnall Stewart. His father was a high school physical education teacher as well as a former pastor of the First Baptist Church in Webster Springs and Holly River Baptist Church, and is now pastor at the Redeeming Grace Baptist Church in Webster Springs. His mother is a sixth grade teacher at Webster Springs Elementary.[3] Stewart first attended West Virginia Wesleyan College, then transferred to West Virginia University, where he studied business.[4] After graduating from WVU, he moved to New York City to pursue acting.[5]
Acting career
Early career
Stewart got his start doing local theater at the Landmark Theatre in Sutton, West Virginia, and eventually moved to New York City to study at the T. Schreiber studios.[2] He was a company member of the 13th Street Repertory Theatre. He continued his theater in Los Angeles, performing in Light Bulb and Beacon alongside Robert Forster and Brooke Shields.[2]
Stewart appeared as an extra in The WB series Dawson's Creek episode "To Green, With Love". In 2003 he filmed a pilot for a Western for ABC entitled Then Came Jones.[6] In the pilot he played the character of Bill Jenkins.
Stewart later appeared as Sean Cleary in the CSI episode "Bad to the Bone", which aired on April 1, 2004. That same year, he also appeared in a commercial for Levi's 501 Original jeans.[7] Stewart also had a recurring role in Criminal Minds as Detective William LaMontagne Jr., SSA Jennifer "JJ" Jareau's boyfriend and later, husband.
In 2017, Stewart starred as Solotov on the second season of the USA Network thriller drama Shooter.[12]
On February 26, 2018, it was announced that Stewart would join as a series regular in the second season of Netflix's The Punisher.[13] Stewart joined alongside cast member Alexa Davalos, who is Stewart's wife in real life.
Stewart's directorial and writing debut was the 2013 film The Hunted. He co-produced the film along with The Collector producers Brett Forbes and Patrick Rizzotti. The found footage film revolves around Jake (Stewart) and Stevie (Ronnie Gene Blevins) who want their own TV show. In an attempt to grab the media's attention, both Jake and Stevie head to the dense, secluded woods in West Virginia, armed with only their bows and a camera, to find the biggest guy they can. However, as the sun sets over the mountains, they soon realise they are not alone in the woods and something supernatural is hunting them instead. The film screened at TIFF[19] and eOne Films have since picked up the North American distribution rights.[citation needed]
Personal life
In 2007, Stewart married Deanna Brigidi. They have two children: daughter Ryan Justine (b. 2008) and son River Jacob (b. 2010). They separated in 2014 and divorced in 2016.
