约翰·霍普斯金，John Hopkins--Hoppy to his friends--was born in London and majored in English at the University of Leeds from 1993 to 1996. as an undergrad, he joined the university's drama group and appeared in several plays, ultimately winning the "Sunday Times" student-actor award for his performance in "A Short Play About Sex and Death." With his thespian credentials thus bolstered, Hoppy was admitted to the London Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, from which he graduated in 2001. Almost immediately, he was recruited by the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company, with which he performed his first repertory season, from 2001 to 2002. Around this time, his looks encouraged television offers and, after minor roles in "Love in a Cold Climate" and "Trial and Retribution 7," he was offered and accepted the role for which he is best known to non-theater goers, as Sergeant Scott in the increasingly labored but popular British whodunit television series Midsomer Murders (1997). Give Hoppy his due: he left the show after the 2004-2005 season and was back with the Royal Shakespeare Company for its 2006-2007 season in both London and Stratford-upon-Avon.