Dylan McDermott

Mark Anthony "Dylan" McDermott (born October 26, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the legal drama series The Practice, which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama and a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

McDermott is also known for his roles in four seasons (first, second, eighth and ninth) of the FX horror anthology series American Horror Story, subtitled Murder House, Asylum, Apocalypse, and 1984, portraying Ben Harmon, Johnny Morgan and Bruce, respectively. He also starred as narcotics crime lord Richard Wheatley on the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit spin-off Law & Order: Organized Crime; Lt. Carter Shaw on the TNT series Dark Blue; in two short-lived CBS dramas, Hostages and Stalker; and in the 1994 remake of the film Miracle on 34th Street. In 2022, he joined FBI: Most Wanted as the new lead, replacing the departing Julian McMahon.

Mark Anthony McDermott was born on October 26, 1961, in Waterbury, Connecticut, to Diane and Richard McDermott. He has a younger sister, Robin. Diane was 15 and Richard was 17 when McDermott was born. By 1967 the couple had divorced, and Diane and her two children were living with her mother, Avis Marino. On February 9, 1967, Diane died of what was believed for decades to be an accidental gunshot wound.

McDermott and his sister were raised by their maternal grandmother Avis in Waterbury. As a teenager, he began taking trips to visit his biological father, who owned the West Fourth Street Saloon in Greenwich Village, New York. McDermott worked in his father's bar, serving drinks and breaking up fights. He also fast-talked his way into the Mudd Club and Studio 54.

McDermott was uncomfortable with himself as a teenager, saying he had a "Dorothy Hamill hairdo". He began imitating his acting heroes, such as Marlon Brando and Humphrey Bogart, adopting their demeanor. In 1979, McDermott graduated from Holy Cross High School in Waterbury.

McDermott's father's third wife was playwright V, then known as Eve Ensler, who adopted McDermott when he was 15 and she was 23. She later divorced his father. V, with whom McDermott has remained close, encouraged him to pursue an acting career, and began writing roles for him into her plays. After V suffered a miscarriage, McDermott took the name Dylan, the name planned for her unborn child. He then graduated from Jesuit-run Fordham University with a BA in 1983, as well as studying under Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City.

McDermott made his screen debut in Hamburger Hill in 1987 before starring in the 1989 film Steel Magnolias opposite Julia Roberts as her husband Jackson Latcherie. He also starred in Twister, a film about a man trying to rescue his girlfriend and daughter from a tornado storm. The same year brought Neon Empire, a film about the rise and fall of one man in Las Vegas. However, his first big break as an actor was in the film In the Line of Fire. Through his connection with Clint Eastwood, McDermott was able to land his first major gig in The Practice. The show expanded McDermott's stardom, and he made People's list of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World 1998" with the magazine calling him "a prime-time heartthrob". He got this distinction again in 2000. In 1994, McDermott starred in Miracle on 34th Street as Lawyer Bryan Bedford, which has grossed $46.3 million dollars in the worldwide box office.

Despite his success on The Practice, McDermott was cut from the show. Executive producer David E. Kelley cited "economic and creative realities" as a result of pressure from ABC to reduce costs. McDermott did appear in the final two episodes of the final season.