David Anders

David Anders is one of the supporting actors of Once Upon a Time, portraying the role of Dr. Whale.

Early life
David Anders Holt was born in Grants Pass, Oregon, to parents Dr. Tony and Jeri Holt. Anders is the youngest of four children; his three older siblings include a biological brother (Arik), an adopted brother (Jason), and an adopted sister (Maili).

Anders began acting in school plays at a young age, but spent most of high school days playing sports, such as basketball and tennis. When he was a senior in high school, at 17, he played Philip the Apostle in a regional theater production of Jesus Christ Superstar. When he was 18, Anders won the part of George in his high school's production of Our Town. Following that, he went on to portray Freddy Eynsford-Hill in a production of My Fair Lady.

Career
After moving to Los Angeles, he took the stage name of David Anders, due to another actor using the name David Holt. In 2001, Anders took a role playing a high school senior in the Olsen twins' series So Little Time. Later in 2001, Anders landed the role of Julian Sark in Alias. Originally a guest star, Anders was made a series regular and lasted until 2006. Before his acting debut in Alias, Anders worked at The Gap and taught tennis. Between 2001 and 2006, while working on Alias, Anders made guest appearances on television shows such as Charmed, CSI and Grey's Anatomy. Anders also worked in independent films, and was involved in several plays. In 2002, he played in the independent film The Surge. In December 2001, he appeared in The Source magazine, in an ad for the rapper Canibus, in which Anders doubles as Eminem. In 2005, Anders joined the cast of Beautiful, an Off-Broadway rock musical, as the lead. Beautiful was shown during the New York International Fringe Festival. In the same year, he participated in the film Circadian Rhythm. In 2006, Anders worked on the horror film Left in Darkness, alongside actress Monica Keena''.

In 2007, Anders played the role of ELI in the film of the same name, ELI. He went on to be cast in a regular role in the second season of NBC's hit Heroes as Adam Monroe/Takezo Kensei, a character with the ability to regenerate. Anders was once again asked to use his British accent from Alias, despite being an American actor. He also worked on two other movies: Into the Blue 2: The Reef and The Revenant. He also guest-starred in the eighth and final season of 24, and in the TV series The Vampire Diaries in 2010 and 2011. As of late 2011, Anders has a recurring role on ABC's Once Upon a Time.

Philanthropy
In 2006, David became a part of Alias and Heroes co-star Greg Grunberg's band, Band from TV. He sings main vocals alongside Bonnie Somerville. Other than Grunberg, Hugh Laurie on keyboards and James Denton on guitar are also a part of the project. The band's main goal is to raise money for major charities. According to Grunberg, they "charge an incredible amount of money to play corporate events, but if it's all going to charity, then it's worth every dime". However, Anders is no longer a member of the group.