Seth Peterson

Much like the characters he plays, Seth Peterson confesses to a streak of mischief in his youth that faded when he channeled his bad-boy energies into acting, which serves him well in portraying Nate Westen on Burn Notice. Peterson says that like Nate, "I'm a bit of a rascal, although we both have good hearts."

Peterson was born in Harlem and bounced back-and-forth between Brooklyn and Los Angeles in his early years. His father was a high school mathematics teacher, and before becoming a paralegal, his mother was an actress who performed at the Colony Theatre in Echo Park, California. Peterson enjoyed his younger days there so much that he returned to perform there after he left high school.

For 10 years, Peterson studied a variety of acting methods, appeared in local equity-waiver theater and worked part-time jobs to support himself. "I just kept plugging away," he recalls.

This practical approach resulted in Peterson landing guest-star roles in such series as "Arsenio," "Clueless," "Relativity," and "Beverly Hills, 90210" early in his career. Peterson later went on to be a series regular on the NBC hit show "Providence." His feature-film credits include "Godzilla," "Can't Hardly Wait" and the award-winning independent film "Hate Crime." More recently Peterson has recurred on the series "Deadwood" in addition to being a guest player on "The Shield" and "CSI: NY" which reunited him with his "Providence" co-star Melina Kanakaredes.

A poker enthusiast and loyal Los Angeles Lakers fan, Peterson lives in Hollywood with his wife, Kylee, daughter, Fenix, and son, Lennon.