Eric Close
Encyclopedia
Eric Close is an American film and television actor.
, and Close is the eldest of three brothers. His family moved to Indiana
, then to Michigan
, and finally settled in San Diego when Close was seven years old.
Close graduated with a B.A.
in Communications
at the University of Southern California
in 1989, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi
Fraternity.
, after which he was offered a part in the film American Me
(1992) and Safe House directed by Elena Mannus. He had a brief stint in daytime television when he played Sawyer Walker on NBC's daytime drama Santa Barbara
.
He returned to the stage with Thanksgiving Cries. He has had many guest appearances on television, and landed leading roles on such shows as McKenna
(one season, 1994–1995), Dark Skies
(one season, 1996–1997), The Magnificent Seven (two seasons, 1998–1999), Now and Again
(one season, 1999–2000), and the Steven Spielberg
produced miniseries Taken (2002).
Close co-starred on CBS
's Without a Trace
as FBI agent Martin Fitzgerald
.
Early life
His father is an orthopedic surgeonOrthopedics
Orthopedics is the study of the musculoskeletal system. The Greek word 'ortho' means straight or correct and 'pedics' comes from the Greek 'pais' meaning children. For many centuries, orthopedists have been involved in the treatment of crippled children...
, and Close is the eldest of three brothers. His family moved to Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, then to Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, and finally settled in San Diego when Close was seven years old.
Close graduated with a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Communications
Communication studies
Communication Studies is an academic field that deals with processes of communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols over distances in space and time. Hence, communication studies encompasses a wide range of topics and contexts ranging from face-to-face conversation to speeches to mass...
at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in 1989, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
Fraternity.
Acting career
Close was interested in acting from an early age and had some stage experience in school, but did not decide to pursue an acting career until after college. His first role was in a theater production Rat Songs in L.A.Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, after which he was offered a part in the film American Me
American Me
American Me is a 1992 biographical crime drama film produced and directed by Edward James Olmos, his first film as a director, and written by Floyd Mutrux and Desmond Nakano. Olmos also stars as the film's protagonist, Montoya Santana...
(1992) and Safe House directed by Elena Mannus. He had a brief stint in daytime television when he played Sawyer Walker on NBC's daytime drama Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara (TV series)
Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...
.
He returned to the stage with Thanksgiving Cries. He has had many guest appearances on television, and landed leading roles on such shows as McKenna
McKenna (TV series)
McKenna was a short-lived TV series that aired on ABC during the 1994-1995 season. It starred Chad Everett and Jennifer Love Hewitt.The series revolved around Brick McKenna , who returned to Oregon to take over his brother's business, McKenna Outfitters, after his death...
(one season, 1994–1995), Dark Skies
Dark Skies
Dark Skies is an American UFO conspiracy theory-based sci-fi television series that aired from the 1996 to 1997 season for 18 episodes, plus a two-hour pilot episode. The success of The X-Files on Fox proved there was an audience for science fiction shows, resulting in NBC commissioning this...
(one season, 1996–1997), The Magnificent Seven (two seasons, 1998–1999), Now and Again
Now and Again
Now and Again is an American television series that aired in the US from September 24, 1999 until May 5, 2000 on CBS. The story revolves around the United States government engineering the perfect human body for use in espionage, but not being able to yet perfect the brain...
(one season, 1999–2000), and the Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
produced miniseries Taken (2002).
Close co-starred on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's Without a Trace
Without a Trace
Without a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.-Premise:...
as FBI agent Martin Fitzgerald
Martin Fitzgerald (Without a Trace character)
Special Agent Martin Fitzgerald is a fictional character on the canceled CBS crime drama Without a Trace, portrayed by Eric Close. Martin is a member of the FBI missing persons case squad in New York City led by Special Agent Jack Malone.-Season 1:...
.
Personal life
Close is married to Keri Close, they married in 1995 and have two daughters, Katie (born. October 1998) and Ella (born. April 2001). They are members of the Brentwood Presbyterian Church.Films and TV movies
- Keeping Secrets (TV) 1992 as young Michael (uncredited)
- American MeAmerican MeAmerican Me is a 1992 biographical crime drama film produced and directed by Edward James Olmos, his first film as a director, and written by Floyd Mutrux and Desmond Nakano. Olmos also stars as the film's protagonist, Montoya Santana...
1992 as Juvie Hall Attacker - Taking Liberty 1993
- Hercules: The Legendary JourneysHercules: The Legendary JourneysHercules: The Legendary Journeys is a television series, filmed in New Zealand and the United States. It was produced from 1995, and was very loosely based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles...
"Hercules and the Lost Kingdom" (TV) 1994 as Telamon - Without Consent (TV) 1994 as David Mills
- Long Island Fever (TV) 1995 as Scott Parks
- The Stranger Beside MeThe Stranger Beside Me (film)The Stranger Beside Me is a 1995 made for television movie that stars Tiffani Amber Thiessen as a young newlywed who suspects her charming husband is not as charming or innocent as he seems. Directed by Sandor Stern...
(TV) (1995) as Chris Gallagher - The Sky Is Falling 2000 as Mike
- Follow the Stars HomeFollow the Stars HomeFollow the Stars Home is a 2001 television film directed by Dick Lowry. The film is based upon Luanne Rice's 2000 novel of the same name and was produced for the Hallmark Hall of Fame...
(TV) 2001 as Mark McClure - Taken (miniseries) 2002 as John
- Alvarez and Cruz 2003 as Charlie
- NTSB: The Crash of Flight 323 (TV) 2004 as Tom Price
- Saving Angelo 2007 as Dad
- Unanswered Prayers (TV) 2010 Ben Beck
Television
- MacGyverMacGyverMacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles...
(1 episode) 1991 as Guard - Major DadMajor DadMajor Dad is an American sitcom created by Richard C. Okie and John G. Stephens that originally ran from 1989 to 1993 on CBS, starring Gerald McRaney as Major John D. MacGillis and Shanna Reed as his wife Polly...
(1 episode) 1992 as Jim - Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara (TV series)Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...
(22 episodes) 1992-1993 as Sawyer Walker - McKennaMcKenna (TV series)McKenna was a short-lived TV series that aired on ABC during the 1994-1995 season. It starred Chad Everett and Jennifer Love Hewitt.The series revolved around Brick McKenna , who returned to Oregon to take over his brother's business, McKenna Outfitters, after his death...
(3 episodes) 1994-1995 as Brian McKenna - SistersSistersSisters are female siblings.Sisters or The Sisters may also refer to:* More than one nun-Film:* The Sisters , starring Lillian Gish* Sisters , starring Molly O'Day...
(12 episodes) 1995-1996 as William "Billy" Griffin - Hercules: The Legendary JourneysHercules: The Legendary JourneysHercules: The Legendary Journeys is a television series, filmed in New Zealand and the United States. It was produced from 1995, and was very loosely based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles...
(1 episode) 1997 as Telamon - Dark SkiesDark SkiesDark Skies is an American UFO conspiracy theory-based sci-fi television series that aired from the 1996 to 1997 season for 18 episodes, plus a two-hour pilot episode. The success of The X-Files on Fox proved there was an audience for science fiction shows, resulting in NBC commissioning this...
(19 episodes) 1996-1997 as John Loengard - Now and AgainNow and AgainNow and Again is an American television series that aired in the US from September 24, 1999 until May 5, 2000 on CBS. The story revolves around the United States government engineering the perfect human body for use in espionage, but not being able to yet perfect the brain...
(22 episodes) 1999-2000 as Michael Wiseman - The Magnificent Seven (22 episodes) 1998-2000 as Vin Tanner
- Without a TraceWithout a TraceWithout a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.-Premise:...
(160 episodes) 2002-2009 as Agent Martin Fitzgerald - Kim PossibleKim PossibleKim Possible is an American animated television series about a teenage crime fighter who has the task of dealing with worldwide, family, and school issues every day. The show is action-oriented, but also has a light-hearted atmosphere and often lampoons the conventions and clichés of the...
(1 episode) 2005 as Crash Cranston - Storyline Online (1 episode) 2003
- Criminal MindsCriminal MindsCriminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
(1 episode) 2010 as Detective Matt Spicer - Seven Deadly Sins 2010 series
- CHAOSChaos (TV series)CHAOS is an American television series for the CBS network. The one-hour comedic drama premiered on April 1, 2011, as a midseason replacement for The Defenders.-Premise:...
2011 as Michael Dorset - Suits (1 episode) 2011 as Travis Tanner