Eric Barrett Winter (born July 17, 1976) is an American actor and former fashion model. He has appeared in the television roles of Rex Brady on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, FBI Special Agent Craig O'Laughlin on the CBS drama series The Mentalist (2010–2012), Dash Gardiner on the Lifetime fantasy-drama series Witches of East End (2013–2014), and Sergeant Tim Bradford on the ABC drama The Rookie. His film appearances include Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) and The Ugly Truth (2009). Early life Winter was born on July 17, 1976, in La Mirada, California. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in psychology. To pay for college, he began modeling, and his career goal, which was to become a doctor, changed as he decided to pursue acting. Career Modeling Before his acting roles, Winter was a model and had some high-profile campaigns, such as one print campaign for Tommy Hilfiger. He appeared in a television commercial with Britney Spears for her fragrance, Curious. Acting Winter played the role of Rex Brady on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives from July 8, 2002, until July 26, 2005. After leaving Days of Our Lives, he had many small roles in television shows, such as CSI; Love, Inc.; Charmed; and Just Legal. He guest-starred on ABC Family's Wildfire for five episodes. His character, R.J. Blake, a bull-rider who dated the character of Dani Davis (played by Nicole Tubiola), was killed in the episode "Heartless", which aired originally on February 28, 2007. Winter also appeared on The Parkers in the episode "The Boomerang Effect". He appeared in an episode of the CBS series The Ex-List, and in the recurring role of Jason McCallister, the brother of Senator Robert McCallister (Rob Lowe) and love interest of Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys) on the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters. Winter was a regular on the short-lived CBS series Viva Laughlin and Moonlight. He appears in the feature films Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) and The Ugly Truth (2009). In 2010, Winter starred as the character Michael Friend, the imaginary friend of Jane (Alyssa Milano) in the Lifetime television movie Sundays at Tiffany's. From 2010 to 2012, Winter appeared in the CBS crime drama The Mentalist as FBI agent Craig O'Laughlin, the boyfriend and later fiancé of Amanda Righetti's character Grace Van Pelt. In 2012, he had a