Charles Esten plays Deacon Claybourne on ABC’s “Nashville.”Charles “Chip” Esten built his TV fan base as a recurring improv comic on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” He was quick-witted and fast on his feet — remember those Scenes from a Hat sketches? For “Pick-up lines in a produce aisle,” Esten immediately said: “Cantaloupe tonight?”
But singing was his strong point. Paired with fellow actor Wayne Brady, the duo pulled show-stopping, humorous lyrics from their minds on a moment’s notice that still get thousands of hits on YouTube more than a decade later.
Esten’s singing again on his newest TV role, but the lyrics are much more somber. As alcoholic, commitment-phobic Deacon Claybourne on ABC’s Wednesday night hit “Nashville,” he is the quintessential dramatic antihero.
He’s a guitar player and recovering alcoholic who fell off the wagon when he learned he had a daughter with country star/former love Rayna James (played by Connie Britton), which she had hidden from him for 13 years. The fallout from that bender was a Season 1, finale-worthy car crash that caused the guitarist a career-ending hand injury.
Yet Esten says he still finds humor in his new TV gig.