Davenport took a gap year after attending Cheltenham College. A director from Theatr Clwyd in Wales was impressed by his performance in a summer drama course and asked Davenport to work for him. He performed bit parts in Hamlet, where he became friends with Rhys Ifans.[citation needed] The following year, he began attending the University of East Anglia (UEA), concentrating in film studies and English literature. He dabbled in acting again during his time at UEA, but considered becoming a member of a film crew rather than acting.[citation needed]
After Davenport's graduation, his mother advised him to write to John Cleese requesting work on the set of his upcoming film, Fierce Creatures, so that he could gain experience behind the camera. Cleese instead sent Davenport's letter to the casting department, and he was subsequently cast in his first onscreen role as a trainee zookeeper. After the production of Fierce Creatures was completed, Davenport found an agent who secured him an audition for the role of Miles Stewart in the BBC television drama series This Life.
In 2007 Davenport was cast in Swingtown, a period and relationship drama for CBS about the impact of sexual and social liberation in 1970s American suburban households, with story arcs involving open marriages and key parties. The series was cancelled after one season.
In 2008, Davenport was cast in the ABC pilot FlashForward, which was based on a Robert J. Sawyernovel. In the series, Davenport played the character of Lloyd Simcoe, a physicist allegedly responsible for a worldwide blackout, which causes the whole world to see the future. The show was cancelled after a single season.
In February 2011, Davenport was cast in the NBC musical drama pilot Smash.[4] It ran for two seasons and became a cult favorite on streaming services.[5] The first season of the series follows a group of people putting on a Marilyn Monroe musical on Broadway. Davenport plays the musical's director. The second season expands as the various cast members branch out into other productions; Davenport's character, Derek Wills, quits the Broadway production of Bombshell to pursue a small off-Broadway musical and take it to Broadway with his protégé, Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee). The season ends with the two shows competing at the Tonys.
Davenport starred as the replacement singer in the video for Snow Patrol's single "Called Out in the Dark", released on YouTube on 17 August 2011, alongside Tara Summers and Gary Lightbody.[6]
Davenport is married to actress Michelle Gomez. On 28 February 2023, Gomez announced on Instagram that she, Davenport, and their son had become naturalised American citizens.[7][8]
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