Blessed with handsome, yet unremarkable features and a genial Midwestern charm that ideally suited him to the small screen, charismatic Everyman Scott Bakula gained a dedicated cult following as Dr. Sam Beckett, the time-traveling, identity-shifting protagonist of the humanistic sci-fi series "Quantum Leap" (NBC, 1989-93). He caught the acting bug as a small child, split his time between plays and athletics in high school, and left the University of Kansas to pursue community theater in his native St Louis before relocating to NYC in 1976. Work in regional and Off-Broadway productions preceded
