Trevor Goddard Biography

During his school days, Trevor Goddard had helped form a punk band named 'The Belsen Horrors' (inspired from a track of the popular punk rock band 'Sex Pistols'). Initially, he was the drummer of the band, but later he also started providing the vocals. After the band broke up in 1978, he began playing drums for another local punk band called 'The Vamp' (1979-80). He later became a professional boxer, playing in the light heavyweight category for about five years, during which he registered an impressive record of 58-1-1. He was reportedly invited to fight in the US, and during a trip to the country, he decided to stay back and try his luck in acting.

His first few roles included acting in a series of beer commercials, followed by a few cameo appearances on several television series, such as 'Tour of Duty' (1989), 'The Commish' (1992), 'Silk Stalkings' (1992-1994), 'Baywatch' (1993), and 'Renegade' (1992-1995). Following a small role in the direct-to-video film 'Inside Out' in 1992, he was cast as the main villain Keefer in the action movie 'Men of War' (1994), which also starred Dolph Lundgren and Charlotte Lewis. He achieved a career breakthrough in 1995 when he got to play the villain Kano in the film adaptation of 'Mortal Kombat'. His performance was so realistic in the movie that future versions of the video game character Kano were modeled after him. Thanks to the popularity of his roles in the previous two films, he bagged several television and film roles in the following years. However, he became a household name only after appearing as Lt. Commander Mic Brumby on the television series 'JAG' from 1998 to 2001. Following an uncredited role in the action heist film 'Gone in 60 Seconds' (2000), he appeared in his final film role, playing a pirate in the 2003 fantasy film 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'.

Trevor Joseph Goddard was born on October 14, 1962, in Croydon, London, England, to Eric and Clara Goddard. He was raised in Bromley, Kent, where he attended Ravensbourne School on Hayes Lane. He was a very athletic child who played football and cricket, and also enjoyed running. Since he was very passionate about music and boxing, he went on to play the drums for some rock bands and participated in professional light heavyweight boxing.

He married actress Ruthann McCarthy in 1991, and had two sons with her. After his death, it was revealed that he was in the process of getting a divorce from his wife, and was in an on-and-off relationship with another woman, who sought to distance herself from him due to his drug abuse and refusal to seek professional help.

Trevor Goddard's girlfriend found his body in his home in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, on June 7, 2003. Two conflicting stories about his death emerged: one stated that he committed suicide due to his ongoing divorce proceedings and custody battle over his two children; while another report claimed that he had a long history of abusing prescription drugs and cocaine. His agent ruled out suicide claims, stating that the talented actor was fit and happy, and was hopeful of a positive resolution of the custody battle. He also denied any knowledge of Goddard's drug addiction struggle, and claimed that the actor was on prescription drugs due to the injuries he had sustained while boxing and also during filming on set. After Goddard's autopsy report came, the coroner ruled out the suicide angle, stating that the actor died from accidental overdose of heroin, cocaine, temazepam and vicodin.

During his acting career, Trevor Goddard successfully passed himself as an Australian national, born in Perth, which even seemed to confuse the media. In fact, the Associated Press referred to him as an Australian in their coverage following his death. However, his father, a retired detective chief inspector in London’s Metropolitan police, revealed that the actor was actually English, and had assumed the new identity to bag the role of Lt. Commander Mic Brumby on 'JAG'.