Dylan McDermott life and biography

Dylan McDermott is an American actor, known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the television legal drama The Practice and his role in the series Dark Blue as Lt. Carter Shaw.

McDermott was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, to Diane (née Marino) and Richard McDermott. His Italian American mother was fifteen and his Irish American father was seventeen when he was born. By 1967, the couple had divorced, and Diane and her children were living with her mother. On February 9, 1967, his mother was accidentally shot and killed with her boyfriend's gun; McDermott was five. Her boyfriend reported to newspapers at the time that she picked up his gun and it went off. He and his sister, Robin, then began to be raised by their maternal grandmother, Avis Marino, in Waterbury.

As a teenager, McDermott began taking trips to visit his father, who owned the West Fourth Street Saloon in New York City. The two would see movies together, and the younger McDermott would work in his father's bar serving drinks and breaking up fights. He would also fast talk 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 to imitate his acting heroes, such as Marlon Brando and Humphrey Bogart, to adopt their demeanor. McDermott attended and graduated from Holy Cross High School in Waterbury.

His father's third wife was Eve Ensler (author of The Vagina Monologues) and she legally adopted McDermott when he was fifteen years old and she was twenty-three; she has since divorced his father. McDermott was encouraged by Ensler, with whom he has remained close, to pursue an acting career, and began writing roles for him into her plays. After Ensler suffered a miscarriage, he took on the name Dylan the name of her unborn child. He attended acting school at the Jesuit-run Fordham University, as well as studying under Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse.

Filmography:

The Mistress of Spices (2005) - Doug
Unbeatable Harold (2006) - Jake Salamander
The Messengers (2007) - Roy
Have Dreams, Will Travel (2007) - Uncle
Burning Palms (2009) - Dennis Marx
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) - Charlie's Father

Television:

The Neon Empire (1989)
Into the Badlands (1991)
Tales from the Crypt (1992)
The Fear Inside (1992)
The Practice (1997-2003)
Ally McBeal (1998)
Will & Grace (2003)
The Grid (2004)
Big Shots (2007)
Dark Blue (2009-10)

Theater:

Golden Boy (date and role unknown)
Believe It, See It, Survival (1978)
Biloxi Blues (1985)
Floating Rhoda and the Glue Man (1995)
The Treatment (2006)
Three Changes (2008)

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