Cody Kasch

Though he has been acting roughly since birth, Cody Kasch received his first big break and major press blitz as Zach Young, the creepy teenager who held his neighbor Susan (Teri Hatcher) hostage at gunpoint on the ABC hit drama/comedy "Desperate Housewives" (2004-12).

Born Aug. 27, 1987 in Camarillo, CA, the young actor grew up in Ojai and Los Angeles in a large family of actors and musicians. His parents, Taylor and Jodi Kasch, founded the Flying H Theater Company where Kasch and his five siblings first honed their acting skills. It was at the tender age of one that he appeared in his first film, "Behind God's Back" (1988), and shortly thereafter, starred in the feature film "Show and Tell." Kasch also appeared onstage in several productions, including "The Outsiders," "The Wizard of Oz" and "Oliver." But it was his performance in the play, "God's Country" that first impressed a casting agent enough that the young actor was immediately signed and landed a national television commercial. After that, television work came quite regularly, with one-time guest spots on shows like "ER" (NBC), Nash Bridges (CBS), and "The Practice" (ABC), all in 2000.

That same prolific year, Kasch landed his biggest break to date when cast opposite John Goodman on the highly touted FOX sitcom, "Normal, Ohio." Despite high hopes, the series was cancelled after only seven episodes. Never one to let these things get him down, Kasch continued to keep busy, making a string of primetime guest appearances on "Boston Public" (FOX) and "NYPD Blue" (ABC) in 2002, as well as on "Boomtown" (CBS) in 2003.

Kasch's already impressive credits expanded by one, when in 2004, he tried out for the role of troubled Zach Young, a bespeckled teen whose very existence was central to this new show's sometimes dark undertones. On a lark, the teen wore glasses, a comb-over and tucked-in polo to his audition and nailed the part. "Desperate Housewives" premiered to unimaginable success in the fall of 2004. In 2005 and 2006, he and his "Housewives" cast mates won a SAG Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

In keeping with his penchant for portraying scary teenagers, he used his time off from "Housewives" to guest star on "Law and Order: SVU" (2005) as a young Nazi. A voice over actor as well, Kasch lent his golden tones to audio books such as Huck Finn, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Peter Pan.

Between acting gigs, Kasch played bass in the local LA blues band, Brother, along w/ real life siblings, Max and Dylan. Intense media coverage of a May, 2005 arrest for allegedly smoking pot in N.Y.C. (Kasch maintained his innocence) gave him a taste of his new fame's downside, as well as conveyed the utter import of anything attached to "Desperate Housewives."