A tall (6'2"), dark-haired, blue-eyed actor, Josh Hopkins spent several years working on stage honing his craft before landing TV and film roles that have played off his good looks and versatility. The son of a former Republican Congressman, he was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, where he was a basketball star in high school. After training in voice and theater at Auburn University, Hopkins returned to his home and joined the Actors Theatre of Louisville. In 1994, he made his Broadway debut as an understudy for Kyle Chandler in the revival of "Picnic". That same year, he filmed his first movie role in the little-seen "Parallel Sons", which wasn't released until two years later. 1997 proved a banner year for the actor. He hosted the four-part TV series "Street Smarts" for Kentucky Educational Television and landed a featured role as one of the recruits alongside Demi Moore in "G.I. Jane". The following year, he joined the regular cast of the Fox series "New York Undercover" but what should have been his big break was overshadowed by the show's contract disputes with stars Malik Yoba and Michael DeLorenzo and the network soon pulled the plug on production.

Following a turn as a college football player accused of harassment in the NBC movie "Silencing Mary" (1998), Hopkins portrayed Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in the TNT original "Pirates of Silicon Valley" (1999). Next, he scored a recurring role as a potential rival for the heroine's hand in the romantic comedy-drama "Jack & Jill" (The WB). For several episodes that aired in 2000, Hopkins played Matt Prophet, a TV newscaster who romanced Amanda Peet's Jacqueline 'Jack' Barrett much to the consternation of Ivan Sergei's David 'Jill' Jillefsky. Later that year, the actor had a small role as a helicopter rescuer in "The Perfect Storm", a part that was overshadowed by the special effects and somewhat confusing editing. Hopkins was seen to much better effect as an egotistical actor who falls for a journalist (Famke Janssen) in the sprightly romantic comedy "Love & Sex". He was also tapped for a featured role in the John Woo-directed "Windtalkers" (2002).

Hopkins was set to return to the small screen as a private investigator hired to track the woman with whom he was having an affair in a Fox series titled "Fling" but the network pulled the plug on production after only seven episodes. Instead, the actor was asked to join the cast of the long-running Fox series "Ally McBeal" beginning in the fall of 2001, playing attorney Raymond Millbury, a potential love interest for the title character.