Born March 1, 1967 in Fort Worth, TX to parents Arthur Eads, a former district attorney, and Vivian Eads, a school superintendent, Eads grew up in the town of Belton, TX and was a star football player during his days at Belton High School. After graduating from high school in 1985, Eads went on to study marketing at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta's Texas Epsilon Chapter. Graduating in 1990, Eads went on to work as a copy machine salesman before quitting his job in order to pursue his dream of acting. Relocating to Los Angeles in 1994, Eads began to audition for film and television roles.
Making his screen debut in the less than memorable “Dust to Dust” (1994), Eads began to build a resume. He made his television debut the following year in an episode of “Strange Luck” (FOX, 1995-96) and went on to land a co-starring role on the short-lived Aaron Spelling drama “Savannah” (The WB, 1996-97); though his character was killed in the pilot, Eads appeared in subsequent shows during flashbacks and returned to the series in the second season, portraying in typical soap fashion, his character's mysterious twin. Eads went on to land roles in two television movies – “The Ultimate Lie” (USA, 1996) and ABC's “Crowned and Dangerous” (1997). Becoming an increasingly familiar face to television viewers, in 1997, Eads landed a guest-starring role on the hit medical drama, “ER” (NBC, 1994- ), as the charming paramedic who threatens to woo Julianna Margulies away from George Clooney. Eads was featured in three episodes of the series.
The actor continued to make his mark on the small screen, appearing with a featured role in the NBC supernatural thriller “The Spring” (2000), before landing his first regular role on the short-lived CBS sitcom “Grapevine” (2000), portraying Thumper Klein, a womanizing sportscaster. Unfortunately for Eads, the series was pulled from the air after only five episodes.
Eads luck quickly changed when he landed the role of Nick Stokes on the crime drama “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (CBS, 2000- ) – the career break he had been hoping for. Portraying the strong-willed and charismatic forensic investigator alongside show co-stars William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger, Eads and his co-stars quickly found themselves a part of the top-rated show on television. Debuting in the top ten in its first season, “CSI” went on to win three Emmy Awards and become the number one show in the country by its third season.
A household name with the success of “CSI,” Eads began getting offers for more prominent roles. He went on to appear on a number of TV movies while working regularly on the series, including the comedy “Just a Walk in the Park” (ABC Family, 2002) with Jane Krakowski, the football flick “Second String” (TNT, 2002) alongside Jon Voight, and the western “Monte Walsh” (TNT, 2003) with Tom Selleck. Landing his first major leading role in 2004, Eads portrayed legendary daredevil Evel Knievel in the TNT bio-pic of the same name, “Evel Knievel.”
Though Eads’ career was at a high point, highly-profiled conflict soon arose on the set of “CSI.” During salary negotiations on the hit series, Eads and co-star Jorja Fox were fired after reportedly failing to show up on set for the first day of shooting during the series’ fifth season. Eads later issued a public apology, claiming that his absence from work was due to oversleeping, not salary disputes. He and Fox were immediately hired back on and continued with the series.