After an appearance in an episode of the hit 1980s sitcom Family Ties, Campbell's first prominent role was that of Luke Fuller, Steven Carrington's lover on Dynasty. Campbell appeared in the show's fifth season (1984–85) when Dynasty was the number one show on American television. Following this, he had a regular role as Detective Joey Indelli on the 1986–88 NBC series Crime Story. Campbell was the first choice of the producers of Star Trek: The Next Generation to play the role of William Riker, but lost the role to Jonathan Frakes.[4] Campbell appeared as a guest star during the show's second season, portraying the title character in "The Outrageous Okona".
In 1999 Campbell began his role as Rick Sammler on Once and Again, opposite Sela Ward. The series ran for three seasons until 2002, during which time Campbell received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series. Campbell then had a regular role as Jordan Collier on the sci-fi series The 4400, which aired for four seasons on the USA Network between 2004–2007. In 2005, he had a recurring role in the teen soap The O.C.
In 2012 Campbell played the stern but kindly father in the independent film, Fat Kid Rules the World. In 2000, Campbell was named one of the "World's 50 Most Beautiful People" by People magazine. In 2013, he played Abraham Lincoln in the National Geographic television adaptation of the Bill O'Reilly/Martin Dugard book, Killing Lincoln.[6]
By the end of filming of 1991's The Rocketeer, the 31-year-old Campbell was in a romance with his 20-year-old co-star Jennifer Connelly. They were engaged[10] before they broke up in 1996 after being involved for five years.[11] He now has a Norwegian wife and two children, and they live at her family's farm in Rygge (Moss since 1 January 2020), Norway.[12]
Campbell is a rugby enthusiast, having played for the Virginia Rugby Football Club, Chicago Lions RFC and the Santa Monica Rugby Club.
Campbell has "permanent resident" immigration status in Canada, with an apartment in Vancouver, British Columbia.[13]
Gemini 1986–2011, Canadian Screen Awards 2012–present. Separate awards were presented by gender prior to 2022; a single unified category for best performance regardless of gender has been presented since.