He is known for playing the role of Jack Deveraux on the NBC Daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives (1987 to present).

In 2012, he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role on Days of Our Lives.

His sisters got him involved in acting when they joined junior theater classes and workshops in Iowa, eventually bringing him along.

During his college years, Ashford worked as a street performer in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and joined the Ragamuffin Magic and Mime Company.

[3][6] Ashford was cast on The Hamptons, a 1983 summer replacement series, but he had to turn down the job because he was still under contract with One Life to Live.

[1][7] In 1987, Ashford joined the cast of the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, playing Jack Deveraux.

[9] In 1991, he and Melissa Reeves won a Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Super Couple: Daytime.

[11] Ashford played Jack Deveraux in the Days of Our Lives television film One Stormy Night (1992).

[1] Ashford played Whitey in the romantic comedy film Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998).

[21] He stayed on Days of Our Lives until October 2003, when Jack was murdered by a serial killer called The Salem Stalker.

[25] In 2004, Ashford returned to Days of Our Lives when it was revealed that The Salem Stalker's victims, including Jack, were alive and being held captive on a tropical island.

[31] In July 2008, Ashford played Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh.

[32][33] In July 2009, he played Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls at the Wells Fargo Pavilion in Sacramento.

[34][35] From February to June 2010, he played Bill Austin in the North American tour of Mamma Mia!.

[36][37] The final performances were cut short due to security concerns with the G20 Summit in Toronto, which was held nearby.

[40] He began playing the role of Steve Jensen on the web series The Bay, co-starring with his former Days of Our Lives castmate Mary Beth Evans.

[46] He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work on Days.

[35] Ashford starred as Coach Loren DeJong in Winning Favor (2012), a film based on the true story of a group of friends in Iowa who became basketball players.

[54] Ashford and his former Days co-star Deidre Hall guest starred on the web series Dating in the Middle Ages.

[63] Ashford met singer-actress Christina Saffran in 1985, when he auditioned for the World Peace Festival, a production she was choreographing.

Ashford's father was born in Canada, which made him and his siblings eligible to become Canadians without relinquishing their American citizenship.

[66] Ashford met actress Lana Buss when they played the title roles in a stage production of Antony and Cleopatra in 2011.