Who Is Jon Tenney? All About the Actor Who Plays Carrie’s New Love Interest on And Just Like That
On the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) is finally dipping a toe into the dating pool. In episode 7, Carrie sat down to a very awkward dinner date with another recently widowed New Yorker, Peter who's played by veteran actor Jon Tenney (and then in episode 9, she called off their second date... but maybe there's still a future for them?).
Tenney could be considered one of those “that guy” character actor whose name you may not know, even though you know you've seen him somewhere before. And that's understandable, as he's actually a TV veteran with loads of impressive credits to his name.
So as we raise a cosmo to Carrie—we really do want her to find love again!—we couldn’t help but wonder: Who is Jon Tenney? Exactly where have we seen him before, and why is he on And Just Like That? Although few specifics have been shared about his character heading into his AJLT debut, here’s everything we know about Carrie Bradshaw's new man on the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That, as well as the actor who gets to play him, Jon Tenney.
Who does Jon Tenney play on the SATC reboot, And Just Like That...?
On episode 7, Carrie peeped Peter's pic on a dating app, where she learned that he's 53, a teacher and a widower. Later on, the two sat down to dinner at a schmancy restaurant, and given Carrie's reluctance to be on a date at all, she suggested they order some drinks. Cut to the two of them spilling out of the restaurant together later that night in happy, drunken hysterics—and then, cue the puke!
The very next night, Carrie unexpectedly spotted Peter at a fundraising auction (where she was up for bid as a "sex writer") that was emceed by Herbert Wexley (Christopher Jackson).
While AJLT still hasn't progressed Carrie and Peter's relationship much further—in episode 9, she shows up for their second date only to let him down in person—there is photographic evidence that Peter will still become Carrie's love interest. On October 20, an AJLT scene filmed on location in New York City featured the two of them kissing at the doorstep of Carrie's old apartment. The scruffy Tenney is in a sport coat and jeans—a bit more casual than Big’s trademark bespoke suits—and Carrie is in a pink satin jacket and long patterned skirt. Definitely looks like date night attire!
In another scene, they look lovingly into each other’s eyes outside Dante, a West Village restaurant. Tenney is dressed-down in a jacket, jeans and boots, while she’s a bit more playful in a sheer blouse, lace skirt, dark blue heels and fun bright-pink bag. In another scene, he’s again wearing the jacket-jeans combo, while Carrie is wearing a long, patterned skirt and crop top with decorative purple flowers woven in her hair. A daytime scene, this one’s a little more difficult to figure out what’s going on. It does seem that Tenney's character’s look is in stark contrast to hers, which could mean he’s a grounding influence to her sometimes flighty persona.
Is Jon Tenney in Major Crimes?
Yes! Although you may not know the name, Tenney has been acting in Hollywood for decades, and you’ve probably seen him on a TV show or two. His most recent longest-running role was on the police drama Major Crimes, which ran for six seasons from 2012 to 2018 on TNT. Major Crimes was a spin-off of that network’s hit show The Closer, which starred Kyra Sedgwick as the head of a Los Angeles Police Department crime unit and ran from 2005 to 2012. Tenney was on that show as well, playing FBI liaison to the LAPD Fritz Howard.
After Major Crimes, Tenney had a recurring role on ABC’s Scandal from 2014 to 2016, playing Vice President Andrew Nichols, who is later murdered by Kerry Washington’s character, Olivia Pope.
What is Jon Tenney's role on Major Crimes?
In Major Crimes, Jon Tenney continued playing his character from The Closer, Special Agent Fritz Howard, who then leaves the FBI to become Deputy Chief of the LAPD Special Operations Bureau in season 3. Major Crimes focuses on the new head of the LAPD’s fictional Major Crimes Division, Sharon Raydor (Mary McDonnell), who takes over from Sedgwick’s Closer character, Brenda Johnson. Fritz had also married Brenda during that series; in Major Crimes, he’s still married to her, although Sedgwick never appears on screen.
Ironically, like Big, Tenney’s Fritz Howard has a heart attack, right after assuming the Deputy Chief position. But he doesn’t die—his doctor tells him to reduce stress and change his diet, and he has to wear a pacemaker. Like the devoted officer he is, he refuses to go on disability leave.
Was Jon Tenney in Longmire?
Yes, Tenney was in one episode of the modern Western series Longmire, which ran from 2012 to 2017 and starred Robert Taylor as Sheriff Walt Longmire. Longmire aired on A&E for three seasons before being picked up by Netflix for seasons 4 through 6, and Tenney appeared as a guest star in the Season 6 episode, “Running Eagle Challenge,” playing an FBI agent (again) who assists the sheriff on a case.
Who did Jon Tenney play in Tombstone?
Longmire wasn’t Tenney’s first Western: Way back in 1993, he had a role in the now-classic Western Tombstone. The flick follows notorious real-life lawmen, outlaws and gunfighters including Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, and depicts the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral, with an all-star cast including Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Powers Boothe, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton and more.
So who did Tenney play in Tombstone? He may be a bit unrecognizable behind that handlebar mustache, but he was the crooked Sheriff Behan. Behan turns out to be allied with the outlaw Cowboy gang, the enemies of Wyatt Earp (Russell), his brothers, and friend Doc Holliday (Kilmer).
Who is Jon Tenney's wife?
Since 2012, Tenney has been married to Leslie Urdang, a film producer and theater executive. Also a former professional dancer and graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Urdang co-founded the New York Stage and Film institute, a non-profit that helps actors, storytellers and musical artists develop their crafts.
Previously, from 1994 to 2003, Tenney was married to actress Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives, Lois & Clark), who hasn’t spoken well of their marriage in interviews over the years, or in her memoir Burnt Toast. “I put myself through a lot of torture in struggling for so many years," she told British paper The Mirror in 2005. "I finally had to decide that I needed to put myself first because I wasn't going to survive if I stayed.”
According to Hatcher, their marriage lacked intimacy. “From the beginning, our marriage was probably more defined by friendship,” she told Vanity Fair in 2006, revealing that they didn’t even have sex on their honeymoon (a little TMI, maybe?). For his part, Tenney has been much less forthcoming. “She’s the mother of my daughter, so obviously, I wish her the best,” he told Vanity Fair through a spokesperson.
Related: And Just Like That, We Compiled the 60 Best Sex and the City Quotes
Who is Jon Tenney's daughter?
The daughter Tenney referenced is 24-year-old Emerson Tenney, whose mom is Teri Hatcher—who also let loose some of the details on their daughter's conception. “I know exactly when Emerson was conceived, because we had sex once that year, on Valentine’s Day,” she told Vanity Fair (Emerson’s birthday is November 10). Probably more than we needed to know!
Emerson graduated from Brown University in 2020 with a literary arts major (she posts some of her poems to her Instagram), ran the New York City marathon with her mom in 2018, and has done charity work. Despite having actor parents, and having done animation voice work as background characters in Planes and Coraline, it doesn’t seem that she plans to pursue an acting career. And although her parents didn’t have a great marriage, it does seem that they are great co-parents, as Emerson is close with both of them.
What is Jon Tenney's net worth?
Tenney’s net worth is reportedly about $6 million. Hatcher also wrote in Burnt Toast that she resented having to give half of her lucrative earnings to Tenney in the divorce, but his later role on the long-running Closer/Major Crimes franchise no doubt added to his wealth. And although he’s not a household name, the 59-year-old has been a working actor in Hollywood since the late 1980s, with small roles on everything from Murphy Brown and Brooklyn South to Kristin, The Newsroom and Brothers & Sisters. In addition to Tombstone, film roles have included Fools Rush In, The Stepfather, Green Lantern and the indie I See You.
Does Jon Tenney have a brother?
Yes. While fans seem to Google this question a lot, there's not much info online about Tenney’s siblings—although his Twitter bio notes that he is both a brother and uncle, and he's posted Instagram pics of his siblings (two brothers and a sister).