With his chiseled features and athletic frame, Mabius made an auspicious film debut as the pretty but vacant object of a tween girl's affection in the 1995 dark comedy Welcome to the Dollhouse. An immediate underground favorite, he racked up credits in a number of indie films while appearing in TV-movies and guest spots, often portraying rage-filled youths. He raised his profile with a supporting part as a closeted high-school jock in the 1999 teen-oriented hit Cruel Intentions, and his career continued to gain mainstream momentum as the title character in The Crow: Salvation. In the 2000s, he made a string of low-rent action and horror flicks, notably the modest hit Resident Evil, which showcased his physique over his talent. Mabius then turned his attention to the small screen and quickly landed more challenging roles: a lesbian's resentful ex-husband on The L Word, an unscrupulous high-school dean on The O.C., and a star-making turn as Daniel Meade, a spoiled skirt chaser who began to question his empty life on the delightfully campy dramedy Ugly Betty. His good looks continued to get noticed with this high-profile role, and he made People's Sexiest Men Alive issue in 2006. His turn as a fashion-industry insider on Ugly Betty also gave him some unusual opportunities, like the chance to be guest editor for a day at Cosmopolitan. However, in real life, Mabius lives a life that is very far from the limelight of Hollywood and very different from that of a metropolitan fashion-magazine editor, preferring to live with his wife and kids in a small Massachusetts town and do carpentry and woodworking when he's not acting.