J. August Richards

A steady run of TV leads and recurring roles, including Deathlok on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Council of Dads.

After the show

After five seasons as Charles Gunn, Richards moved straight into legal dramas. He played Assistant District Attorney Billy Desmond on NBC’s Conviction (2006) and starred as Marcus McGrath on TNT’s Raising the Bar (2008 to 2009). Guest roles followed on The Mentalist, Warehouse 13, Arrow and Grey’s Anatomy, where he played a young Richard Webber in flashbacks.

In 2013 Joss Whedon cast him in the pilot of ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. before his role was revealed: Mike Peterson, who became the cyborg Deathlok. He recurred in seasons one and two and returned for season five. He also recurred on Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce (2014 to 2016).

Richards was a series regular on three network dramas in quick succession: Notorious (2016) as Bradley Gregorian, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World (2017 to 2018) as Deputy Nathan Purcell, and NBC’s Council of Dads (2020) as Dr. Oliver Post. He later recurred on HBO Max’s Generation (2021) and played Victor Dashkov on Peacock’s Vampire Academy (2022).

On February 12, 2021, two days after Charisma Carpenter’s statement about Joss Whedon’s conduct on Buffy and Angel, Richards wrote to her on Twitter: “Sending you my love, @allcharisma. I know the feelings of vulnerability and fear that come with speaking your truth. As I said to you yesterday, I am here for you, however you need me.”

Lately

Richards guest-starred on The Rookie: Feds in 2023 and appeared in three episodes of CBS’s Fire Country in 2025 as attorney Bruce Meriwether. In 2026 he appeared as Jeff in two episodes of The Madison.

Off screen

Richards came out publicly as gay in April 2020. He married Joshua Gbor on September 1, 2023.