Linden Ashby (Sheriff Stilinski)

Clarence Linden Garnett Ashby III (born May 23, 1960), best known as Linden Ashby, is an American actor and martial artist, well known for his role as Johnny Cage in the Mortal Kombat (film). He also made an appearance as a commander in the box office success, Iron Man 3, and as Van Wilder's father in National Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman Year.  Ashby was born in Atlantic Beach, Florida, the son of Eleanor, a civic organizer, and Garnett Ashby, a pharmaceuticals manufacturer.  Ashby graduated from The Bolles School, a private school located in Jacksonville, Florida. He attended Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, but dropped out his junior year to pursue an acting career. Ashby studied acting at Neighborhood Playhouse in New York.  One of his first roles was as Lance Reventlow, the only son of Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton (played by Farrah Fawcett) in the Golden Globe-winning miniseries Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story. He was on Melrose Place as Dr. Brett Cooper for one season in 1998. He first appeared on Melrose Place in the first season in 1993 as Jo's husband Charles Reynolds, in the episodes "Peanut Butter and Jealousy" and "Single White Sister". He played Cameron Kirsten on The Young and the Restless from 2003 to 2004. He also began playing the role of Paul Hollingsworth on Days of Our Lives in March 2008. Ashby is married to actress Susan Walters. The couple met on the set of the ABC television series Loving in 1983, where she was a regular and he was filming a guest appearance. They have two daughters, Aaliyah Grace (born 1991) and Savannah Elizabeth (born 1992). Ashby has been a student of martial arts on and off since he was 21 with a lot of time off and studied Karate, Tae Kwon Do and Kung Fu. Linden has admitted to previously suffering panic attacks before auditions which threatened to shorten his career.