"Virgin River" ostensibly follows Mel Monroe, a woman played by Alexandra Breckenridge, who moves to a small town (opens in new tab) to escape her tumultuous past, but her new life is even more dramatic and complicated than her years in L.A. She discovers that it may be even more dramatic and complicated than the years she spent in L.A. Most important of all: the dashing Jack Sheridan, played by Martin Henderson.

Jack is a local bar owner and former Marine. He may be Mel's destiny. His gunshot wound, the burning down of his house, the custody battle with his ex-girlfriend Charmaine over the twins, the residual trauma from his military service, the list goes on and on. Jack is played to perfection by Martin Henderson, who perfectly captures what we expect from a small-town Hollywood romantic protagonist: gruff on the outside, surprisingly sensitive on the inside. Here's everything you need to know about the man behind the bar.

46-year-old Henderson was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and after graduating from Westlake Boys High School, he immediately decided to pursue an acting career instead of furthering his education. at age 13, Henderson began appearing in local productions, but in 1997, when he was in his early 20s, he took his talent overseas to the United States

In a 2017 interview (opens in new tab), he described how difficult his first few years in Hollywood were, and how the typical starving artist's struggles were compounded by strict US immigration laws, which meant that projects Henderson was not paid for his work, and he was even detained at LAX. However, Henderson was greatly motivated by the success of his good friend Heath Ledger, who supported Henderson financially for a time with the money he earned from The Patriot.

Nevertheless, after Ledger's death in 2008, Henderson left the U.S. for a time and later told the New Zealand media (opens in new tab) of Ledger: "He was a great actor and a great friend. This great talent and a great career in a short period of time. It was a shock to see it end the way it did. For me, existentially, it was like, 'What am I doing here?'" He eventually decided to return to the United States.

Outside of acting, Henderson spends his time traveling, sailing, and playing with his dog, as evidenced by his very active Instagram (opens in new tab). He is also an avid chef. He documents the process of making homemade granola and goes on thrilling (virtual) sourdough-making trips with Breckenridge.

Prior to her appearance in Virgin River, Henderson was best known for her two-year stint on Grey's Anatomy. In a storyline eerily reminiscent of the new storyline in Virgin River, Henderson played Dr. Nathan Riggs, a cardiothoracic surgeon who begins a relationship with Dr. Meredith Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo, but the relationship is soon ruined by the arrival of her missing fiancé. Art vaguely imitates art.

Prior to that, Henderson appeared regularly on the Australian shows Big Sky and Sweat in the late 1990s, and has since appeared in American series such as Off the Map and The Red Road. He has also appeared in many films, including "Everest," "Miracle from Heaven," and "The Ring. Horror movie fans will remember his turn in "The Ring" for its uniquely horrific ending (if you haven't seen it, you should...). But Henderson's absolute best role was as one of the romantic leads in Britney Spears' forever iconic "Toxic (open in new tab)" music video. Obviously.

Sadly for those looking for a new Kiwi boyfriend, Henderson appears to be happily married. He officially started dating Aisha Mendes on Instagram last April, and since then the two have shared lots of photos of their romantic trips across the U.S. and Mexico.In January 2021, they were in the same hotel in Oakland (open in new tab) where COVID-19 was a huge epidemic for several weeks in quarantine.

Interestingly, Henderson's love life last made headlines in 2012 (open in new tab) when he was identified as a "younger man" dating Demi Moore, who had broken up with Ashton Kutcher. Years later, he admitted that it was "not fun" to have to deal with the tabloid uproar over Moore's every romantic relationship." I feel for her," he said at the time, adding, "I feel for anyone who has a level of celebrity that makes it impossible to live a normal life."

By all accounts, Henderson seems to love his role as Jack Sheridan and being part of Virgin River. He regularly posts excited updates from the set of the show, and of course, bakes sourdough bread with his co-stars, but also says so in almost every interview he's given about the series.

"It's especially refreshing and romantic in an era when so much of what we see on television, especially on cable and streaming, tends to continue pushing the envelope toward darker and more sinister subject matter," Henderson told Entertainment Weekly. 'When I read this, I thought it was a great idea to play a wholesome character, and I'm glad I did. People still want goodness. I feel honored to be able to bring that into people's homes now."

He has also said in multiple interviews that he is very involved with Jack the person and reacts strongly to what Jack does. For example, when it turns out that Jack has an ex-wife, "I almost spit out my coffee when I read that in the script," Henderson told TVLine (open in new tab). "Like most viewers, and certainly like Mel, I was shocked and confused. I called Tenny and said, 'He was married.' I was angry on Mel's behalf. Why didn't he share something so relevant?"

And as for Mel and Jack's (thankfully temporary) breakup in season 3, Henderson said he had strong feelings about it." Given that I had to play that scene, I explored this extensively and was very resistant to the idea. Personally, I couldn't believe that a man who spends so much time hitting on women and is so in love with them would be so scared in these other situations. But the writers insisted that they wanted this moment," he told TV Insider. (Open in new tab)

Complaints aside, Henderson clearly loves his character and the relationship between Jack and Mel. In a 2019 conversation with Robin Carr, author of the original Virgin River book series (opens in new tab), Henderson deeply thanked her for creating the character of Jack. He also praised the strength of the relationship at the core of the show, saying his own respect for Breckenridge overlaps with that of Jack and Mel. 'Friendship is basically built on that,' he said. 'So I think the love and romance that's there is, in a way, the driving force of the show, and it's born out of pure friendship.'