He is best known for his roles as Julian Sark on Alias, as Adam Monroe on Heroes, as John Gilbert in the TV series The Vampire Diaries, as Victor Frankenstein / Dr. Whale on ABC's Once Upon a Time, and as Blaine "DeBeers" McDonough on iZombie.

When he was a senior in high school, at 15, he played Philip the Apostle in a regional theater production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Later in 2001, he landed the role of Julian Sark in Alias; originally a guest star, Anders was made a regular and lasted until 2006.

Between 2001 and 2006, while working on Alias, Anders made guest appearances on television shows such as Charmed, CSI and Grey's Anatomy.

[citation needed] In 2005, Anders joined the cast of Beautiful, an Off-Broadway rock musical, as the lead.

He was then cast in a regular role in the second season of NBC's hit Heroes as Adam Monroe/Takezo Kensei, a character with the ability to regenerate.

[3] As of late 2011, Anders had a recurring role as Victor Frankenstein (as well as his Storybrook version Dr. Whale) on ABC's Once Upon a Time.

Hugh Laurie (House) on keyboards and James Denton (Desperate Housewives) on guitar were also part of the project.

[citation needed] In 2015 Anders appeared in a video promoting Stop-Attack, an app that aims to raise awareness and end domestic abuse.