Desmond Harrington
2003 onwards: Move into television
### 2003 onwards: Move into television

Following his headline appearance as Det. Jimmy McCarron on the second season of *[L.A. Dragnet](/wiki/Dragnet_%28franchise%29%23L.A._Dragnet_%282003%29 "Dragnet (franchise)#L.A. Dragnet (2003)")* (2003–2004\), Harrington starred on the short\-lived [ABC](/wiki/American_Broadcasting_Company "American Broadcasting Company") sitcom *[Sons \& Daughters](/wiki/Sons_%26_Daughters_%282006_TV_series%29 "Sons & Daughters (2006 TV series)")* (2006\), which drew attention for its use of [improvisation](/wiki/Improvisation "Improvisation") and absence of a traditional [laugh track](/wiki/Laugh_track "Laugh track"). He then joined the cast of the [Showtime](/wiki/Showtime_%28TV_network%29 "Showtime (TV network)") crime thriller series *[Dexter](/wiki/Dexter_%28TV_series%29 "Dexter (TV series)")* in its [third season](/wiki/Dexter_%28season_3%29 "Dexter (season 3)"), playing ["Joey" Quinn](/wiki/Joey_Quinn "Joey Quinn"), a smart\-mouthed detective. During his five years on the show (2008–2013\), he was nominated on four occasions—along with his co\-stars—for the [Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble](/wiki/Screen_Actors_Guild_Award_for_Outstanding_Performance_by_an_Ensemble_in_a_Drama_Series "Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series"). Between 2009 and 2012, Harrington played the recurring role of Jack Bass, an irresponsible businessman, on [the CW](/wiki/The_CW "The CW")'s *[Gossip Girl](/wiki/Gossip_Girl_%28TV_series%29 "Gossip Girl (TV series)")*.

In March 2012, Harrington guest\-starred in the [season three premiere](/wiki/The_Gunfighter_%28Justified%29 "The Gunfighter (Justified)") of the [neo\-Western](/wiki/Contemporary_Western "Contemporary Western") drama series *[Justified](/wiki/Justified_%28TV_series%29 "Justified (TV series)")*, playing Fletcher "the Ice Pick" Nix. In his review of the episode for *[Entertainment Weekly](/wiki/Entertainment_Weekly "Entertainment Weekly")*, [Ken Tucker](/wiki/Ken_Tucker "Ken Tucker") commented, "In a very nice performance utterly unlike anything he does on *Dexter,* Harrington let his hair get all bed\-heady and spoke in a mumble\-mouth drawl as he set up his favorite sadistic game: He lays a gun on a table, and has someone count down from 10\. At "1," you're invited to reach for the gun, but that's when Ice Pick earns his nickname: He pulls out an ice pick, stabs your hand to the table, picks up the gun, and shoots you". Next, Harrington featured in a small but pivotal role in [Christopher Nolan](/wiki/Christopher_Nolan "Christopher Nolan")'s *[The Dark Knight Rises](/wiki/The_Dark_Knight_Rises "The Dark Knight Rises")* (2012\), co\-starred as [Alan Shepard](/wiki/Alan_Shepard "Alan Shepard")—the first American astronaut to travel to space—in the [CBS](/wiki/CBS "CBS") miniseries *[The Astronaut Wives Club](/wiki/The_Astronaut_Wives_Club "The Astronaut Wives Club")* (2015\), and appeared as Jack, a lecherous photographer, in [Nicolas Winding Refn](/wiki/Nicolas_Winding_Refn "Nicolas Winding Refn")'s critically divisive [arthouse](/wiki/Art_film "Art film") thriller, *[The Neon Demon](/wiki/The_Neon_Demon "The Neon Demon")* (2016\).

On the [sixth season](/wiki/List_of_Elementary_episodes%23Season_6_%282018%29 "List of Elementary episodes#Season 6 (2018)") of *[Elementary](/wiki/Elementary_%28TV_series%29 "Elementary (TV series)")* (2018\), a contemporary spin on [Sherlock Holmes](/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes "Sherlock Holmes"), Harrington played Michael Rowan, a serial killer struggling with sobriety. His next role was [Louis Freeh](/wiki/Louis_Freeh "Louis Freeh"), former [head of the FBI](/wiki/Director_of_the_Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation "Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation"), on the [second season](/wiki/Manhunt_%282017_TV_series%29%23Season_2:Deadly_Games_%282020%29 "Deadly Games (2020)") of [Spectrum](/wiki/Spectrum_%28brand%29 "Spectrum (brand)")'s *[Manhunt](/wiki/Manhunt_%282017_TV_series%29 "Manhunt (2017 TV series)")* (2020\).


Is Joey Quinn a main character in Dexter?