Dylan McDermott

Mark Anthony McDermott was born on October 26, 1961, in Waterbury, Connecticut. His childhood was marked by personal tragedy, as his mother died when he was five years old. He was raised by his maternal grandmother, Avis Marino. At age 15, his father married playwright Eve Ensler, who adopted him and encouraged his pursuit of an acting career. He later took the name Dylan in tribute to Ensler’s unborn child from a miscarriage. Ensler provided his first acting roles in her plays, strengthening his resolve to pursue acting. McDermott attended Fordham University, earning a BA in 1983, and trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre under Sanford Meisner.

McDermott’s professional acting career began with his screen debut in the 1987 film ‘Hamburger Hill’. He gained further recognition for his role as Jackson Latcherie in the 1989 film ‘Steel Magnolias’. A significant turning point came with his casting in the 1993 film ‘In the Line of Fire’ alongside Clint Eastwood. This connection led him to meet Jeffrey Kramer, then president of David E. Kelley Productions, who facilitated his audition for ‘The Practice’. His role as Bobby Donnell in ‘The Practice’ (1997-2004) proved to be a career highlight, earning him a Golden Globe Award in 1999 and an Emmy nomination. He was featured in People magazine’s ’50 Most Beautiful People in the World’ in both 1998 and 2000.

Following ‘The Practice’, McDermott diversified his roles across film and television. He appeared in films such as ‘Wonderland’ (2003) and ‘The Messengers’ (2007). On television, he starred in the TNT drama ‘Dark Blue’ (2009-2010), and notably joined the cast of Ryan Murphy’s FX series ‘American Horror Story’ in its first season (2011), later returning for subsequent seasons. His filmography also includes ‘The Campaign’ (2012), ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ (2012), and ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ (2013). More recently, he has held roles as narcotics crime lord Richard Wheatley on ‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’ (2021-2022) and currently leads ‘FBI: Most Wanted’ as Supervisory Special Agent Remy Scott (2022–2025).