Eric McCormack
Encyclopedia
Eric James McCormack is a Canadian American actor, musician
, writer and producer
. Born in Toronto, he began his acting career performing in school plays at Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute High School. He left Ryerson University
in 1985, in order to accept a position with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, where he spent five years performing in numerous play productions.
For much of the late 1990s, he lived in Los Angeles and had minor roles. He made his feature film debut in the 1992 science fiction The Lost World
. McCormack appeared in multiple television series roles, including Top Cops
, Street Justice
, Lonesome Dove: The Series, Townies
, and Ally McBeal
. McCormack later gained worldwide recognition for playing Will Truman
in the American sitcom Will & Grace
, which premiered in September 1998. His performance earned him an Emmy Award
in the category for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 2001.
Aside from appearing in television, he made his Broadway
debut in the 2001 production of The Music Man
and starred in the 2005 film The Sisters
. Following the series conclusion of Will & Grace in 2006, McCormack starred as the leading role in the New York production of Some Girl(s)
. He starred in the television mini-series The Andromeda Strain (2008) and returned to television in 2009 in the TNT drama Trust Me
, which was cancelled after one season. Also in 2009, McCormack was cast in the science fiction movie Alien Trespass
.
company financial analyst. He is the oldest of three siblings. McCormack has Cherokee
and Scottish
ancestry. McCormack admits while he was growing up, he was shy and did not play sports.
McCormack attended Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute High School in Scarborough
, Ontario. There, he enrolled in theatre and performed in high school productions of Godspell
and Pippin
, and decided to pursue a career in acting. McCormack recalls after performing in Godspell, his feelings towards becoming an actor solidified. "...I remember after the first performance of that ... I knew where to fit in. That was the beginning of my life as an actor. It changed me in that the concept of any other options disappeared. From that moment there was no question. I knew exactly what I was going to do. I'm lucky that way." He admits that he never felt cool growing up. "I was a bit of an outsider, but I discovered theatre very early on, which got me through." He then transferred to Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute
in Scarborough, where he went to school with David Furnish
. He graduated in 1982.
McCormack enrolled at Ryerson University
School of Theatre in Toronto to further improve his acting. He left Ryerson in 1985, several months before graduating, in order to accept a position with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford
, Ontario, where he spent five seasons performing. "It was all I wanted, to be a classical actor for the rest of my life, but during the last couple of years I was there, I started to realise that it wasn't for me. Perhaps I didn't have to give my Hamlet before I died, that the world might be an OK place without my Hamlet, in fact." McCormack appeared in the productions A Midsummer Night's Dream
, Henry V
, Murder in the Cathedral
and Three Sisters
. McCormack later performed with the Manitoba Theatre Centre
in a production of Burn This
as well as with Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre
in Biloxi Blues
.
crime series Top Cops
. He appeared in the 1992 theatrical film The Lost World
, based on Conan Doyle
's novel of the same name and starred in The Lost World sequel, also released in 1992, Return to the Lost World
. By 1993, he landed a recurring role as a detective in the crime drama Street Justice
. Also in 1993, McCormack appeared in the television movie Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
, playing Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
's father.
He played the role of Colonel Francis Clay Mosby in 42 episodes of the Western
television series Lonesome Dove: The Series (1994) and Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years (1995). McCormack commented that it was a "fantastic role". In an interview with The Guardian
in 2003, McCormack admitted to auditioning "two or three times" for the part of Ross Geller
, which ultimately went to David Schwimmer
, for the situation comedy Friends
. In 1995, he appeared in the television film The Man Who Wouldn't Die
directed by Bill Condon
. He was cast in the 1997 made-for-television movie, Borrowed Hearts
, where he portrayed a selfish businessman who learns to love, and in the HBO film Exception to the Rule, in which he played a cheating husband.
Also in 1997, he had minor roles in the comedy shows Townies
, Veronica's Closet
, and Ally McBeal
. Originally, McCormack was scheduled to appear as a series regular in the NBC
sitcom Jenny
, but was fired after the pilot due to the network cutting his character.
on NBC
's sitcom Will & Grace
, a series centered on a gay man (Will) and his Jewish best friend (Grace
). McCormack said that when the part came along, he was convinced he was right for the role. "At the end of the audition, Max [Mutchnik, co-creator and executive producer of the show] said 'That was perfect. Just to let you know, you never have to be more gay than that.'" He explained that when he first read the script, "what hit me immediately was that this was me. I mean, sexual orientation aside, Will was so much like me. He's a great host, he's relatively funny and he has great friends and he's a good friend to them ... the gay issue just wasn't really a big thing." The show debuted on September 21, 1998 and was watched by almost 8.6 million American viewers. Will and Grace quickly developed a loyal audience, with the show and McCormack receiving strong reviews. John Carman of the San Francisco Chronicle
commented that McCormack and Messing worked "nicely" together. Kay McFadden of The Seattle Times
also praised McCormack, Messing and the supporting cast as "very funny". For this performance, he earned four Emmy Award
nominations (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005), one of which resulted in a win (2001), for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. In addition, he received five Golden Globe Award
nominations.
Also in 1998, McCormack appeared in Stephen Herek
's comedy film Holy Man
(1998). The film was critically and financially unsuccessful. The following year he starred in the comedy movie Free Enterprise
(1999), a movie about two filmmakers (McCormack and Rafer Weigel
) obsessed with actor William Shatner
and Star Trek
. Film critic Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times
wrote that McCormack and Weigel "both make a strong impression". In 2000, McCormack appeared in the ABC
television movie The Audrey Hepburn Story
, portraying actor Mel Ferrer
.
During the 2001 Broadway
season, McCormack briefly portrayed Professor Harold Hill (replacing Craig Bierko
) in the Susan Stroman
revival of The Music Man
at the Neil Simon Theatre
. In August 2002, as part of the Hollywood Bowl
's summer concert series, he reprised the role of Harold Hill for a one-night only appearance in which he and other actors re-created the songs from the production. McCormack hosted the fourth episode of the 28th season of the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live
(SNL) on November 2, 2002. In 2004, he had a recurring role as Ray Summers on Showtime's comedy drama Dead Like Me
. The following year, McCormack starred in the 2005 film The Sisters
, based on Anton Chekhov
's play Three Sisters
. The film premiered at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival
.
Will & Grace' s eighth and final season ended with the series finale on May 18, 2006. The finale garnered 18 million American viewers, making it the most watched entertainment telecast in six years.
Following the end of Will & Grace, McCormack starred on the New York stage opposite Fran Drescher
, Judy Reyes
, Brooke Smith
, and Maura Tierney
, in Neil LaBute
's Off Broadway play Some Girl(s)
at the Lucille Lortel Theatre
. He plays a writer who is ready to settle down and marry, but decides to visit four ex-girlfriends first. For his performance, McCormack received critical reviews. New York Times contributor Ben Brantley
, in review of the production, wrote: "Playing a thoughtless, woman-despising heterosexual, Mr. McCormack isn't much different from when he was playing a thoughtful, woman-worshiping homosexual. As in Will & Grace, he italicizes every other line for maximum comic spin and punctuates his dialogue by earnestly furrowing his features." Brantley went onto say that McCormack's interpretation of the character is "certainly a more slickly sustained performance" than the one delivered by David Schwimmer
in 2005. Melissa Rose Bernardo of Entertainment Weekly
commented that McCormack and Maura Tierney "have incredible chemistry".
In the same year, McCormack produced Lifetime
's comedy, Lovespring International
, a show that revolves around six employees at Lovespring International, a dating agency located in California as an "elite Beverly Hills" company. The series debuted to ambivalent reviews, with Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe
commenting that Lovespring International is "a lively little cable exercise in over-the-top characters, bad taste, satire, and political incorrectness." The show was cancelled that same year.
In 2008, McCormack co-starred in A&E
's television mini-series The Andromeda Strain
, a remake of the 1971 movie
based on the novel
by Michael Crichton
. In the mini-series, he played Jack Nash, a television reporter, who battles an addiction to cocaine. The Andromeda Strain received mixed reviews, and McCormack's performance was criticized. Joanna Weiss of the Boston Globe wrote, "The presence of Eric McCormack, as an intrepid TV reporter, is especially extraneous (no disrespect to intrepid reporters)." Robert Bianco of USA Today
commented, "The central cast is completed by ... poor Eric McCormack as a crusading, coke-addicted journalist who spends the second half of the movie playing Rambo in the desert. Let's just say McCormack does the best he can with what he's given, and leave it at that." On September 5, 2008, McCormack made a guest appearance in the seventh season and 100th episode of the television series Monk
, where he played an unctuous host of a television crime docudrama.
In January 2009, McCormack returned to television in the TNT drama Trust Me
, co-starring Tom Cavanagh
. The series, set around a fictional advertising firm, starred McCormack as Mason McGuire, the firm's newly promoted Creative Director, and deals with his best friend's (Cavanagh) unpredictable behavior. In an interview with USA Weekend
, McCormack revealed he was not afraid of being typecast
. McCormack's decision to do the show was due to "great writing". The show debuted on January 26, 2009, and was watched by almost 3.4 million viewers. Trust Me debuted to very positive reviews, with Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle
writing, "...the series is surprisingly solid." Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times wrote that McCormack and Cavanagh "manage to keep their characters sharply defined but low-key. They are opposites but not in an ash-smudged, Windex-wielding Felix and Oscar way." The series, however, was cancelled after one season, due to poor ratings.
McCormack starred in the science-fiction film Alien Trespass
(2009), in which he played Doctor Ted Lewis who gets possessed by an alien marshal, Urp, after he crash-lands on Earth. When asked about his interpretation on the character, McCormack commented that his first instinct was to make Ted Lewis more alien, sounding like Spock
. The film was critically and financially unsuccessful.
In May 2009, he portrayed "El Gallo" in Reprise Theatre Company's revival of the 1960s musical The Fantasticks
at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. McCormack had a supporting role in Richard Loncraine
's comedy My One and Only
, released in August 2009.
On September 30, 2009, he guest starred on the police procedural drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
in the second episode of its 11th season
playing an owner of a dating website. In addition, McCormack had a recurring role in season five of the comedy series The New Adventures of Old Christine
, in which he played a therapist and love interest for Julia Louis-Dreyfus
's character, Christine.
McCormack portrayed con artist Clark Rockefeller
in the Lifetime television movie Who Is Clark Rockefeller?
, that premiered on March 13, 2010. To prepare for the role, he read everything on the case, including coverage of the case and Rockefeller's jailhouse interview. Who Is Clark Rockefeller? received mixed reaction, but McCormack's performance was favored by critics, with Variety' s Brian Lowry concluding, "...the real kitsch factor resides in Eric McCormack's performance as the suave charmer, which adds an element of high camp to the proceedings."
In June 2010, McCormack received the NBC Universal Canada Award of Distinction at the Banff TV Festival. In October 2010, McCormack received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame
.
In October 2010, it was reported that McCormack will star in a new TNT television drama Perception playing a crime-solving neuroscientist named Dr. Geoffrey Pierce who works with the federal government to solve cases using his knowledge and imaginative view of the world. McCormack will also serve as producer for the show.
and Imperfect Union, in the latter which McCormack served as executive producer for both. In 2003, it was confirmed that he would write, direct, and star in the romantic comedy What You Wish For.
McCormack recorded a song, "The Greatest Discovery
", which was written by Elton John
and Bernie Taupin
in 1970, for the 2006 album Unexpected Dreams – Songs From the Stars
. He also wrote and sang a song called "Living with Grace" for the 2004 soundtrack to Will & Grace with piano music provided by Barry Manilow
.
McCormack is involved in many Los Angeles and Canadian-based charitable organizations including Project Angel Food
. The Wellness Community West Los Angeles Tribute to the Human Spirit Awards dinner presented an award to McCormack for his breast cancer
awareness advocacy. He shared with the audience how his comedy helped his mother, Doris McCormack, endure her breast cancer treatments. Doris was honored at the Lifetime's Breast Cancer Heroes Luncheon in 2004. He serves as an honorary board member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
(MMRF) and was given the MMRF Spirit of Hope Award in October 2006.
McCormack sang both the American and Canadian national anthems at the 2004 NHL All Star game
in Minnesota. McCormack is a supporter of same-sex marriage
and attended a march in Fresno, California
on May 30, 2009, after the Supreme Court of California
upheld a ban on same-sex marriage approved by voters in November by ballot Proposition 8
.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, writer and producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
. Born in Toronto, he began his acting career performing in school plays at Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute High School. He left Ryerson University
Ryerson University
Ryerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...
in 1985, in order to accept a position with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, where he spent five years performing in numerous play productions.
For much of the late 1990s, he lived in Los Angeles and had minor roles. He made his feature film debut in the 1992 science fiction The Lost World
The Lost World (1992 film)
The Lost World is a 1992 film, based on the book of the same title by Arthur Conan Doyle.- Plot :It is approximately 1912. Junior reporter Edward Malone bungles into the office of Gazette editor McArdle looking for an adventurous assignment and is sent to interview Professor Challenger , whose...
. McCormack appeared in multiple television series roles, including Top Cops
Top Cops
Top Cops was a documetary program broadcast in the United States on the CBS television network from 1990 to 1993.Each episode of Top Cops consisted of two to three segments featuring commended police officers and dramatic recreations of the events leading to their having been honored.One episode...
, Street Justice
Street Justice
Street Justice is an American action crime drama series starring Carl Weathers and Bryan Genesse. The series began airing in syndication in 1991, and was canceled in 1993 after two seasons.-Synopsis:...
, Lonesome Dove: The Series, Townies
Townies
Townies is an American situation comedy that aired on ABC from September to December 1996. Created by Matthew Carlson, the series stars Molly Ringwald, Jenna Elfman and Lauren Graham.-Synopsis:...
, and Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
. McCormack later gained worldwide recognition for playing Will Truman
Will Truman
William Pierce "Will" Truman is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Eric McCormack. He is a gay lawyer who lives in the Upper West Side of New York City with his best friend, Grace Adler.-Fictional character history:...
in the American sitcom Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
, which premiered in September 1998. His performance earned him an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in the category for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 2001.
Aside from appearing in television, he made his Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in the 2001 production of The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
and starred in the 2005 film The Sisters
The Sisters (2005 film)
The Sisters is a 2005 film starring Maria Bello, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Erika Christensen as the title characters; it also stars Alessandro Nivola, Rip Torn, Eric McCormack, Steven Culp, Tony Goldwyn and Chris O'Donnell...
. Following the series conclusion of Will & Grace in 2006, McCormack starred as the leading role in the New York production of Some Girl(s)
Some Girl(s)
Some Girl is a play written by Neil LaBute.The play ran at the Lucille Lortel Theater in New York City, produced by MCC Theater and starred Eric McCormack, Fran Drescher, Judy Reyes, Brooke Smith, and Maura Tierney, all known primarily for their television work.The London cast included David...
. He starred in the television mini-series The Andromeda Strain (2008) and returned to television in 2009 in the TNT drama Trust Me
Trust Me (TV series)
Trust Me is an American drama series that began airing on TNT on January 26, 2009 at 10 p.m Eastern/ 9 P.M Central. In Canada, Trust Me can be seen on Super Channel.Trust Me premiered with 3.4 million viewers....
, which was cancelled after one season. Also in 2009, McCormack was cast in the science fiction movie Alien Trespass
Alien Trespass
Alien Trespass is a 2009 science-fiction comedy film based on 1950s sci-fi B movies. It stars Eric McCormack and Robert Patrick . The film was shot in Ashcroft, B.C.-Plot:...
.
Early life
McCormack was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the son of Doris, a homemaker, and Keith McCormack, an oilOil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
company financial analyst. He is the oldest of three siblings. McCormack has Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
and Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
ancestry. McCormack admits while he was growing up, he was shy and did not play sports.
McCormack attended Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute High School in Scarborough
Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...
, Ontario. There, he enrolled in theatre and performed in high school productions of Godspell
Godspell
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
and Pippin
Pippin (musical)
Pippin is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson. Bob Fosse, who directed the original Broadway production, also contributed to the libretto...
, and decided to pursue a career in acting. McCormack recalls after performing in Godspell, his feelings towards becoming an actor solidified. "...I remember after the first performance of that ... I knew where to fit in. That was the beginning of my life as an actor. It changed me in that the concept of any other options disappeared. From that moment there was no question. I knew exactly what I was going to do. I'm lucky that way." He admits that he never felt cool growing up. "I was a bit of an outsider, but I discovered theatre very early on, which got me through." He then transferred to Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute
Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute
The Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute is a secondary school located in Scarborough, Ontario at 2300 Pharmacy Avenue. The school was opened in the fall of 1964 when there was only farmland around it, and as the population in the area grew, so did the school...
in Scarborough, where he went to school with David Furnish
David Furnish
David James Furnish is a Canadian/British filmmaker, former advertising executive, and now a film director and producer most known for his documentary Elton John: Tantrums & Tiaras...
. He graduated in 1982.
McCormack enrolled at Ryerson University
Ryerson University
Ryerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...
School of Theatre in Toronto to further improve his acting. He left Ryerson in 1985, several months before graduating, in order to accept a position with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford
Stratford, Ontario
Stratford is a city on the Avon River in Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a population of 32,000.When the area was first settled by Europeans in 1832, the townsite and the river were named after Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is the seat of Perth County. Stratford was...
, Ontario, where he spent five seasons performing. "It was all I wanted, to be a classical actor for the rest of my life, but during the last couple of years I was there, I started to realise that it wasn't for me. Perhaps I didn't have to give my Hamlet before I died, that the world might be an OK place without my Hamlet, in fact." McCormack appeared in the productions A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, Henry V
Henry V (play)
Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
, Murder in the Cathedral
Murder in the Cathedral
Murder in the Cathedral is a verse drama by T. S. Eliot that portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, first performed in 1935...
and Three Sisters
Three Sisters (play)
Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
. McCormack later performed with the Manitoba Theatre Centre
Manitoba Theatre Centre
Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the country...
in a production of Burn This
Burn This
Burn This is a play by Lanford Wilson.-Plot:It begins shortly after the funeral of Robbie, a young gay dancer who drowned in a boating accident. In attendance were his roommates: choreographer Anna and ad man Larry...
as well as with Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre
Royal Alexandra Theatre
The Royal Alexandra Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada located near King and Simcoe Streets. Built in 1907, the Royal Alex is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in North America.-History:...
in Biloxi Blues
Biloxi Blues
Biloxi Blues is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon. The second chapter in what is known as his Eugene trilogy, it follows Brighton Beach Memoirs and precedes Broadway Bound....
.
Early work
McCormack made his Canadian television debut in the 1986 movie, The Boys from Syracuse. McCormack moved to Los Angeles, California, and made his US television debut in a 1991 episode of the CBSCBS
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...
crime series Top Cops
Top Cops
Top Cops was a documetary program broadcast in the United States on the CBS television network from 1990 to 1993.Each episode of Top Cops consisted of two to three segments featuring commended police officers and dramatic recreations of the events leading to their having been honored.One episode...
. He appeared in the 1992 theatrical film The Lost World
The Lost World (1992 film)
The Lost World is a 1992 film, based on the book of the same title by Arthur Conan Doyle.- Plot :It is approximately 1912. Junior reporter Edward Malone bungles into the office of Gazette editor McArdle looking for an adventurous assignment and is sent to interview Professor Challenger , whose...
, based on Conan Doyle
Conan Doyle
Conan Doyle is a rugby player. His club is Garryowen. His usual position is inside centre, but he also plays out-half. He has made two appearances for Munster Rugby in the Magners League, but was released by Munster at the end of the 2008/2009 season. While at Munster he was selected for the...
's novel of the same name and starred in The Lost World sequel, also released in 1992, Return to the Lost World
Return to the Lost World
Return to the Lost World is a 1992 film, a sequel to the film The Lost World, which was released the same year.-Plot:Belgian scientist Bertram Hammonds, along with Gomez, who survived being injured in the first film, arrives in the Lost World to drill for crude oil. He and his men begin capturing...
. By 1993, he landed a recurring role as a detective in the crime drama Street Justice
Street Justice
Street Justice is an American action crime drama series starring Carl Weathers and Bryan Genesse. The series began airing in syndication in 1991, and was canceled in 1993 after two seasons.-Synopsis:...
. Also in 1993, McCormack appeared in the television movie Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble is a 1993 Halloween children's TV movie. It stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen as two adventurous little girls who discover that their Great Aunt Sophia has been trapped and cursed by her evil twin sister Agatha. On the 7th year of her imprisonment, Sophia will be...
, playing Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen are American actresses and entrepreneurs.Both have appeared in television and films since infancy. Since then, they have continued their celebrity through numerous television programs, films, interviews, as well as commercial endorsements...
's father.
He played the role of Colonel Francis Clay Mosby in 42 episodes of the Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
television series Lonesome Dove: The Series (1994) and Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years (1995). McCormack commented that it was a "fantastic role". In an interview with The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
in 2003, McCormack admitted to auditioning "two or three times" for the part of Ross Geller
Ross Geller
Ross Eustace Geller, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television series Friends, portrayed by David Schwimmer. The character is noted for his geeky, lovable demeanor.- Origin :...
, which ultimately went to David Schwimmer
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor and director of television and film. He was born in New York City, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two. He began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern...
, for the situation comedy Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
. In 1995, he appeared in the television film The Man Who Wouldn't Die
The Man Who Wouldn't Die
The Man Who Wouldn't Die is the title of a 1995 action mystery film by director Bill Condon. The film, which aired as a movie of the week during the May Sweeps in 1995, stars Roger Moore, Nancy Allen and Malcolm McDowell...
directed by Bill Condon
Bill Condon
William "Bill" Condon is an American screenwriter and director. Condon is best known for directing and writing the critically acclaimed films Gods and Monsters, Chicago, Kinsey, and Dreamgirls. In 1998, Condon debuted as a screenwriter in Gods and Monsters, which won him his first Academy Award....
. He was cast in the 1997 made-for-television movie, Borrowed Hearts
Borrowed Hearts
Borrowed Hearts is a 1997 made-for-tv Christmas film directed by Ted Kotcheff, and starring Roma Downey and Eric McCormack.- Plot :...
, where he portrayed a selfish businessman who learns to love, and in the HBO film Exception to the Rule, in which he played a cheating husband.
Also in 1997, he had minor roles in the comedy shows Townies
Townies
Townies is an American situation comedy that aired on ABC from September to December 1996. Created by Matthew Carlson, the series stars Molly Ringwald, Jenna Elfman and Lauren Graham.-Synopsis:...
, Veronica's Closet
Veronica's Closet
Veronica's Closet is a sitcom which aired on NBC from September 25, 1997, to June 27, 2000.The show starred Kirstie Alley as Veronica “Ronnie” Chase, the head of her own lingerie company.- Season one :...
, and Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
. Originally, McCormack was scheduled to appear as a series regular in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom Jenny
Jenny (TV series)
Jenny is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1997 to 1998. The series was intended to be a star vehicle for Playboy Playmate Jenny McCarthy.-Synopsis:...
, but was fired after the pilot due to the network cutting his character.
Worldwide recognition
McCormack received his break-through role in 1998 when he was cast as lawyer Will TrumanWill Truman
William Pierce "Will" Truman is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Eric McCormack. He is a gay lawyer who lives in the Upper West Side of New York City with his best friend, Grace Adler.-Fictional character history:...
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's sitcom Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
, a series centered on a gay man (Will) and his Jewish best friend (Grace
Grace Adler
Grace Elizabeth Adler-Markus is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Debra Messing. She is a Jewish interior designer , living in New York City with her gay best friend Will Truman...
). McCormack said that when the part came along, he was convinced he was right for the role. "At the end of the audition, Max [Mutchnik, co-creator and executive producer of the show] said 'That was perfect. Just to let you know, you never have to be more gay than that.'" He explained that when he first read the script, "what hit me immediately was that this was me. I mean, sexual orientation aside, Will was so much like me. He's a great host, he's relatively funny and he has great friends and he's a good friend to them ... the gay issue just wasn't really a big thing." The show debuted on September 21, 1998 and was watched by almost 8.6 million American viewers. Will and Grace quickly developed a loyal audience, with the show and McCormack receiving strong reviews. John Carman of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
commented that McCormack and Messing worked "nicely" together. Kay McFadden of The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
also praised McCormack, Messing and the supporting cast as "very funny". For this performance, he earned four Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominations (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005), one of which resulted in a win (2001), for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. In addition, he received five Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
nominations.
Also in 1998, McCormack appeared in Stephen Herek
Stephen Herek
Stephen Robert Herek is an American film director.Herek was born in San Antonio, Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Austin. His career as film director took off in 1986 with Critters followed by Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure where he worked with Keanu Reeves in 1989...
's comedy film Holy Man
Holy Man
Holy Man is a 1998 comedy drama film directed by Stephen Herek. It starred Eddie Murphy, Jeff Goldblum and Kelly Preston. The film was a box office and critical failure.-Plot:...
(1998). The film was critically and financially unsuccessful. The following year he starred in the comedy movie Free Enterprise
Free Enterprise (film)
Free Enterprise is a 1999 romantic comedy film starring Eric McCormack and Rafer Weigel, and featuring William Shatner, directed by Robert Meyer Burnett and written by Mark A...
(1999), a movie about two filmmakers (McCormack and Rafer Weigel
Rafer Weigel
Rafer Weigel is the weekend sports anchor and reporter at WLS-TV in Chicago. He was sports anchor for CNN HLN’s Morning Express with Robin Meade and a former actor.-Background:...
) obsessed with actor William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
and Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
. Film critic Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
wrote that McCormack and Weigel "both make a strong impression". In 2000, McCormack appeared in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television movie The Audrey Hepburn Story
The Audrey Hepburn Story
The Audrey Hepburn Story is a 2000 television movie biography of actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn. Jennifer Love Hewitt, who also produced the film, starred as the actress although her casting drew criticism from some of Hepburn's fans and the media...
, portraying actor Mel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer was an American actor, film director and film producer.-Early life:Ferrer was born Melchor Gastón Ferrer in Elberon, New Jersey, of Catalan and Irish descent. His father, Dr. José María Ferrer , was born in Cuba, was an authority on pneumonia and served as chief of staff of St....
.
During the 2001 Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
season, McCormack briefly portrayed Professor Harold Hill (replacing Craig Bierko
Craig Bierko
Craig Philip Bierko is an American actor and singer.-Early life:Bierko was born in Rye Brook, New York, the son of Pat and Rex Bierko, who ran a local community theatre. Bierko's mother was a Jewish convert to Roman Catholicism...
) in the Susan Stroman
Susan Stroman
Susan Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director, and performer. She has won the Tony Award for both her choreography and direction, notably for the stage musical The Producers.-Early years:...
revival of The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
at the Neil Simon Theatre
Neil Simon Theatre
The Neil Simon Theatre, formerly the Alvin Theatre, is a Broadway venue built in 1927 and located at 250 West 52nd Street in midtown-Manhattan....
. In August 2002, as part of the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
's summer concert series, he reprised the role of Harold Hill for a one-night only appearance in which he and other actors re-created the songs from the production. McCormack hosted the fourth episode of the 28th season of the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
(SNL) on November 2, 2002. In 2004, he had a recurring role as Ray Summers on Showtime's comedy drama Dead Like Me
Dead Like Me
Dead Like Me was an American-Canadian comedy-drama television series starring Ellen Muth and Mandy Patinkin as grim reapers who reside and work in Seattle, Washington. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, the show was created by Bryan Fuller for the Showtime network, where it ran for two seasons...
. The following year, McCormack starred in the 2005 film The Sisters
The Sisters (2005 film)
The Sisters is a 2005 film starring Maria Bello, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Erika Christensen as the title characters; it also stars Alessandro Nivola, Rip Torn, Eric McCormack, Steven Culp, Tony Goldwyn and Chris O'Donnell...
, based on Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's play Three Sisters
Three Sisters (play)
Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
. The film premiered at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
.
Will & Grace
Will & Grace and after
Fran Drescher
Francine Joy "Fran" Drescher is an American film and television actress, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer, author, singer, talk show host, political lobbyist and health activist...
, Judy Reyes
Judy Reyes
Judy Reyes is an American actress of Dominican heritage. She is best known for her portrayal of nurse Carla Espinosa on the TV comedy Scrubs.-Early life:...
, Brooke Smith
Brooke Smith (actress)
Brooke Smith is an American actress. She is best known for her role on the TV show Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Erica Hahn and for her role as Catherine Martin in the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs.- Early life :...
, and Maura Tierney
Maura Tierney
Maura Therese Tierney is an American film and television actress, who is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on NewsRadio and Abby Lockhart on the television medical drama ER.-Early life:...
, in Neil LaBute
Neil LaBute
Neil N. LaBute is an American film director, screenwriter and playwright.-Early life:LaBute was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Marian, a hospital receptionist, and Richard LaBute, a long-haul truck driver. LaBute is of French Canadian, English and Irish ancestry, and was raised in Spokane,...
's Off Broadway play Some Girl(s)
Some Girl(s)
Some Girl is a play written by Neil LaBute.The play ran at the Lucille Lortel Theater in New York City, produced by MCC Theater and starred Eric McCormack, Fran Drescher, Judy Reyes, Brooke Smith, and Maura Tierney, all known primarily for their television work.The London cast included David...
at the Lucille Lortel Theatre
Lucille Lortel Theatre
The Lucille Lortel Theatre is an off-Broadway playhouse located at 121 Christopher Street in New York City's Greenwich Village.The venue was built in 1926 as a 590-seat movie theater called the New Hudson, later known as Hudson Playhouse...
. He plays a writer who is ready to settle down and marry, but decides to visit four ex-girlfriends first. For his performance, McCormack received critical reviews. New York Times contributor Ben Brantley
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.-Life and career:...
, in review of the production, wrote: "Playing a thoughtless, woman-despising heterosexual, Mr. McCormack isn't much different from when he was playing a thoughtful, woman-worshiping homosexual. As in Will & Grace, he italicizes every other line for maximum comic spin and punctuates his dialogue by earnestly furrowing his features." Brantley went onto say that McCormack's interpretation of the character is "certainly a more slickly sustained performance" than the one delivered by David Schwimmer
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor and director of television and film. He was born in New York City, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two. He began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern...
in 2005. Melissa Rose Bernardo of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
commented that McCormack and Maura Tierney "have incredible chemistry".
In the same year, McCormack produced Lifetime
Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...
's comedy, Lovespring International
Lovespring International
Lovespring International is an American comedy series created by Guy Shalem and Brad Isaacs which aired on Lifetime on Mondays at 11pm during the Summer of 2006 in the United States. Lovespring was canceled on December 1, 2006...
, a show that revolves around six employees at Lovespring International, a dating agency located in California as an "elite Beverly Hills" company. The series debuted to ambivalent reviews, with Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
commenting that Lovespring International is "a lively little cable exercise in over-the-top characters, bad taste, satire, and political incorrectness." The show was cancelled that same year.
In 2008, McCormack co-starred in A&E
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
's television mini-series The Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Strain (2008 miniseries)
The Andromeda Strain is a 2008 science fiction miniseries, based on the novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly disease of extraterrestrial origin. The miniseries is more of a "reimagining" of the original Michael Crichton novel than an...
, a remake of the 1971 movie
The Andromeda Strain (film)
The Andromeda Strain is a 1971 American science-fiction film, based on the novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton. The film is about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly organism of extraterrestrial origin that causes rapid, fatal blood clotting. Directed by Robert Wise, the film...
based on the novel
The Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Strain , by Michael Crichton, is a techno-thriller novel documenting the efforts of a team of scientists investigating a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism that rapidly and fatally clots human blood, while in other people inducing insanity...
by Michael Crichton
Michael Crichton
John Michael Crichton , best known as Michael Crichton, was an American best-selling author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted...
. In the mini-series, he played Jack Nash, a television reporter, who battles an addiction to cocaine. The Andromeda Strain received mixed reviews, and McCormack's performance was criticized. Joanna Weiss of the Boston Globe wrote, "The presence of Eric McCormack, as an intrepid TV reporter, is especially extraneous (no disrespect to intrepid reporters)." Robert Bianco of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
commented, "The central cast is completed by ... poor Eric McCormack as a crusading, coke-addicted journalist who spends the second half of the movie playing Rambo in the desert. Let's just say McCormack does the best he can with what he's given, and leave it at that." On September 5, 2008, McCormack made a guest appearance in the seventh season and 100th episode of the television series Monk
Monk (TV series)
Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
, where he played an unctuous host of a television crime docudrama.
In January 2009, McCormack returned to television in the TNT drama Trust Me
Trust Me (TV series)
Trust Me is an American drama series that began airing on TNT on January 26, 2009 at 10 p.m Eastern/ 9 P.M Central. In Canada, Trust Me can be seen on Super Channel.Trust Me premiered with 3.4 million viewers....
, co-starring Tom Cavanagh
Tom Cavanagh
Thomas "Tom" Cavanagh is a Canadian actor.-Early life:Cavanagh was born in Ottawa, Ontario. He is of Irish descent and was raised in a large Roman Catholic family. Cavanagh moved with his family to Winneba, a small city in Ghana, when he was seven years old. In his teens, the family moved to...
. The series, set around a fictional advertising firm, starred McCormack as Mason McGuire, the firm's newly promoted Creative Director, and deals with his best friend's (Cavanagh) unpredictable behavior. In an interview with USA Weekend
USA Weekend
USA Weekend is a national publication distributed through more than 800+ newspapers in the United States. It reaches 47 million readers in 22.6 million households every weekend. Awarded for its journalism and design, USA WEEKEND focuses on social issues, entertainment, health, food and travel....
, McCormack revealed he was not afraid of being typecast
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
. McCormack's decision to do the show was due to "great writing". The show debuted on January 26, 2009, and was watched by almost 3.4 million viewers. Trust Me debuted to very positive reviews, with Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
writing, "...the series is surprisingly solid." Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times wrote that McCormack and Cavanagh "manage to keep their characters sharply defined but low-key. They are opposites but not in an ash-smudged, Windex-wielding Felix and Oscar way." The series, however, was cancelled after one season, due to poor ratings.
McCormack starred in the science-fiction film Alien Trespass
Alien Trespass
Alien Trespass is a 2009 science-fiction comedy film based on 1950s sci-fi B movies. It stars Eric McCormack and Robert Patrick . The film was shot in Ashcroft, B.C.-Plot:...
(2009), in which he played Doctor Ted Lewis who gets possessed by an alien marshal, Urp, after he crash-lands on Earth. When asked about his interpretation on the character, McCormack commented that his first instinct was to make Ted Lewis more alien, sounding like Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
. The film was critically and financially unsuccessful.
In May 2009, he portrayed "El Gallo" in Reprise Theatre Company's revival of the 1960s musical The Fantasticks
The Fantasticks
The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It was produced by Lore Noto. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play "The Romancers" by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into...
at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. McCormack had a supporting role in Richard Loncraine
Richard Loncraine
Richard Loncraine is a British film and television director.Loncraine received early training in the features department of the BBC, including a season directing items for Tomorrow's World...
's comedy My One and Only
My One and Only (film)
My One and Only is a 2009 comedy film loosely based on a story about George Hamilton's early life on the road with his mother and brother, featuring anecdotes that Hamilton had told to Merv Griffin. Griffin pitched the idea for the script, and had shepherded the project from idea to production,...
, released in August 2009.
On September 30, 2009, he guest starred on the police procedural drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
in the second episode of its 11th season
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 11)
The 11th season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on September 23, 2009 and concluded on May 19, 2010. It was moved from Tuesdays to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET for the NBC broadcast. On March 3, 2010 SVU returned to its previous time slot of 10 p.m. ET...
playing an owner of a dating website. In addition, McCormack had a recurring role in season five of the comedy series The New Adventures of Old Christine
The New Adventures of Old Christine
The New Adventures of Old Christine is an American comedy series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus which ran for five seasons on CBS from March 13, 2006, to May 12, 2010...
, in which he played a therapist and love interest for Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
's character, Christine.
McCormack portrayed con artist Clark Rockefeller
Clark Rockefeller
Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter is a German man who moved to the United States as a teenager to study, and thereafter assumed many aliases. Using the false name Clark Rockefeller, he married a Harvard Business School graduate student named Sandra Boss...
in the Lifetime television movie Who Is Clark Rockefeller?
Who Is Clark Rockefeller?
Who Is Clark Rockefeller? is a 2010 American police procedural television film directed by Mikael Salomon and written by Edithe Swensen. It stars Eric McCormack as Christian Gerhartsreiter/Clark Rockefeller and Sherry Stringfield as Sandra Boss...
, that premiered on March 13, 2010. To prepare for the role, he read everything on the case, including coverage of the case and Rockefeller's jailhouse interview. Who Is Clark Rockefeller? received mixed reaction, but McCormack's performance was favored by critics, with Variety
In June 2010, McCormack received the NBC Universal Canada Award of Distinction at the Banff TV Festival. In October 2010, McCormack received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame
Canada's Walk of Fame
Canada's Walk of Fame , located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful Canadians...
.
In October 2010, it was reported that McCormack will star in a new TNT television drama Perception playing a crime-solving neuroscientist named Dr. Geoffrey Pierce who works with the federal government to solve cases using his knowledge and imaginative view of the world. McCormack will also serve as producer for the show.
Other projects
McCormack has set up his own production company called Big Cattle Productions to develop ideas for television. The television projects produced by the company include Lovespring InternationalLovespring International
Lovespring International is an American comedy series created by Guy Shalem and Brad Isaacs which aired on Lifetime on Mondays at 11pm during the Summer of 2006 in the United States. Lovespring was canceled on December 1, 2006...
and Imperfect Union, in the latter which McCormack served as executive producer for both. In 2003, it was confirmed that he would write, direct, and star in the romantic comedy What You Wish For.
McCormack recorded a song, "The Greatest Discovery
The Greatest Discovery
"The Greatest Discovery" is a song composed and performed by musician Elton John. As with all songs on Elton John's eponymous second album , the lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin...
", which was written by Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
and Bernie Taupin
Bernie Taupin
Bernard John "Bernie" Taupin is an English lyricist, poet, and singer, best known for his long-term collaboration with Elton John, writing the lyrics for the majority of the star's songs, making his lyrics some of the best known in pop-rock's history.In 1967, Taupin answered an advertisement in...
in 1970, for the 2006 album Unexpected Dreams – Songs From the Stars
Unexpected Dreams
Unexpected Dreams – Songs From the Stars is a 2006 compilation album featuring various actors singing lullabies and other songs.-Album information:...
. He also wrote and sang a song called "Living with Grace" for the 2004 soundtrack to Will & Grace with piano music provided by Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
.
Personal life
McCormack has been married to Janet Leigh Holden, whom he met in the set of Lonesome Dove, since August 1997. They have a son, Finnigan Holden McCormack, born on July 1, 2002 in Los Angeles. McCormack maintains residences in Los Angeles and Vancouver. He became a US citizen in 1999 and holds dual Canadian and US citizenship.McCormack is involved in many Los Angeles and Canadian-based charitable organizations including Project Angel Food
Project Angel Food
Project Angel Food is a nonprofit agency whose mission is to nourish the body and spirit of men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Volunteers and staff cook and deliver free and nutritious meals prepared with love throughout Los Angeles County,...
. The Wellness Community West Los Angeles Tribute to the Human Spirit Awards dinner presented an award to McCormack for his breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
awareness advocacy. He shared with the audience how his comedy helped his mother, Doris McCormack, endure her breast cancer treatments. Doris was honored at the Lifetime's Breast Cancer Heroes Luncheon in 2004. He serves as an honorary board member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to multiple myeloma, an incurable but treatable blood cancer, which afflicts over fifty thousand Americans alone...
(MMRF) and was given the MMRF Spirit of Hope Award in October 2006.
McCormack sang both the American and Canadian national anthems at the 2004 NHL All Star game
54th National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 54th National Hockey League All-Star Game took place during the 2003–04 NHL season and was held on February 8, 2004, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, official arena of the NHL's Minnesota Wild...
in Minnesota. McCormack is a supporter of same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
and attended a march in Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
on May 30, 2009, after the Supreme Court of California
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
upheld a ban on same-sex marriage approved by voters in November by ballot Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
.
Feature films
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Lost World The Lost World (1992 film) The Lost World is a 1992 film, based on the book of the same title by Arthur Conan Doyle.- Plot :It is approximately 1912. Junior reporter Edward Malone bungles into the office of Gazette editor McArdle looking for an adventurous assignment and is sent to interview Professor Challenger , whose... |
Edward Malone | |
| Return to the Lost World Return to the Lost World Return to the Lost World is a 1992 film, a sequel to the film The Lost World, which was released the same year.-Plot:Belgian scientist Bertram Hammonds, along with Gomez, who survived being injured in the first film, arrives in the Lost World to drill for crude oil. He and his men begin capturing... |
Edward Malone | ||
| Giant Steps | Jack Sims | ||
| 1997 | Exception to the Rule Exception to the Rule Exception To The Rule is a 1997 Canadian thriller film directed by David Winning and stars Kim Cattrall, Eric McCormack, Sean Young and William Devane.-Plot summary:A married jewel trader is seduced by a beautiful woman while on a business trip... |
Timothy Bayer | |
| 1998 | Holy Man Holy Man Holy Man is a 1998 comedy drama film directed by Stephen Herek. It starred Eddie Murphy, Jeff Goldblum and Kelly Preston. The film was a box office and critical failure.-Plot:... |
Scott Hawkes | |
| 1999 | Free Enterprise Free Enterprise (film) Free Enterprise is a 1999 romantic comedy film starring Eric McCormack and Rafer Weigel, and featuring William Shatner, directed by Robert Meyer Burnett and written by Mark A... |
Mark | |
| 2000 | Here's to Life! | Owen Rinard | |
| 2005 | Break a Leg | Dark Haired Actor | |
| The Sisters The Sisters (2005 film) The Sisters is a 2005 film starring Maria Bello, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Erika Christensen as the title characters; it also stars Alessandro Nivola, Rip Torn, Eric McCormack, Steven Culp, Tony Goldwyn and Chris O'Donnell... |
Gary Sokol | ||
| 2008 | Immigrants Immigrants (2008 film) Immigrants, also known as L.A. Dolce Vita or Immigrants: L.A. Dolce Vita is a Hungarian-American animated film directed by Gábor Csupó. The Hungarian release date was October 30, 2008... |
Vlad | |
| 2009 | Best Thing Ever | Dean | |
| Alien Trespass Alien Trespass Alien Trespass is a 2009 science-fiction comedy film based on 1950s sci-fi B movies. It stars Eric McCormack and Robert Patrick . The film was shot in Ashcroft, B.C.-Plot:... |
Ted Lewis/Urp | ||
| My One and Only My One and Only (film) My One and Only is a 2009 comedy film loosely based on a story about George Hamilton's early life on the road with his mother and brother, featuring anecdotes that Hamilton had told to Merv Griffin. Griffin pitched the idea for the script, and had shepherded the project from idea to production,... |
Charlie |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Boys from Syracuse | Tailor's Apprentice | |
| 1987 | Hangin' In Hangin' In Hangin' In is a Canadian television sitcom which aired on CBC from 1981 to 1987. It also aired briefly in syndication in the United States. Canadian producer Jack Humphrey developed Hangin' In and served as executive producer for the show.-Synopsis:... |
Jody | |
| 1990 | Katts and Dog Katts and Dog Katts and Dog is a French and Canadian-produced television series which ran from 1988 to 1993. It was known as Rin Tin Tin: K-9 Cop in the United States where it originally aired on CBN Cable/The Family Channel and Rintintin Junior in France... |
David Baxter | |
| 1991 | E.N.G. E.N.G. E.N.G. is a Canadian television drama, following the staff of a fictional Toronto television news station . The show aired on CTV from 1988 to 1994... |
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| Street Legal Street Legal (TV series) Street Legal is a Canadian television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1987 to 1994.-Synopsis:A spinoff from the 1985 television movie Shellgame, Street Legal focused on the professional and private lives of the partners in a small Toronto, Ontario law firm, Barr, Robinovitch and Tchobanian... |
Barry Taylor | ||
| 1992 | Neon Rider Neon Rider Neon Rider is a Canadian drama television series which first aired between 1990 and 1995. Created by Winston Rekert and Danny Virtue, the show was about the titular character, a man named Michael Terry who quits his job as a therapist to become a mentor for troubled kids which he brings to his... |
Derek | |
| Street Justice Street Justice Street Justice is an American action crime drama series starring Carl Weathers and Bryan Genesse. The series began airing in syndication in 1991, and was canceled in 1993 after two seasons.-Synopsis:... |
Det. Eric Rothman | ||
| 1993 | Relentless: Mind of a Killer | Stu Feltzer | |
| Family of Strangers | Sam | ||
| Miracle on Interstate 880 | Tony | ||
| The Commish The Commish The Commish is a television series that aired on ABC in the United States from 1991 to 1996. The series focused on the work and home life of a suburban police commissioner in upstate New York.... |
Officer Danny Nolan | ||
| Call of the Wild | Hal | ||
| Double, Double, Toil and Trouble Double, Double, Toil and Trouble Double, Double, Toil and Trouble is a 1993 Halloween children's TV movie. It stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen as two adventurous little girls who discover that their Great Aunt Sophia has been trapped and cursed by her evil twin sister Agatha. On the 7th year of her imprisonment, Sophia will be... |
Don Farmer | ||
| Silk Stalkings Silk Stalkings Silk Stalkings is a TV crime drama originally shown on CBS in 1991 as part of the network's late-night Crimetime After Primetime programming package, and rebroadcast on the USA Network. After CBS ended the Crimetime experiment in 1993, the series ran exclusively on USA until its finale in the... |
Michael O'Hara | ||
| 1994 | The Man Who Wouldn't Die The Man Who Wouldn't Die The Man Who Wouldn't Die is the title of a 1995 action mystery film by director Bill Condon. The film, which aired as a movie of the week during the May Sweeps in 1995, stars Roger Moore, Nancy Allen and Malcolm McDowell... |
Jack Sullivan | |
| 1995 | Lonesome Dove: The Series | Col. Francis Clay Mosby | |
| 1996 | Highlander: The Series Highlander: The Series Highlander: The Series is a fantasy-adventure television series featuring Duncan MacLeod of the Scottish Clan MacLeod, as the Highlander. It was an offshoot and another alternate sequel of the 1986 feature film with a twist: Connor MacLeod did not win the prize and Immortals still exist post-1985... |
Matthew McCormick | |
| Diagnosis: Murder Diagnosis: Murder Diagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman... |
Boyd Merrick | Episode: "An Explosive Murder" | |
| Townies Townies Townies is an American situation comedy that aired on ABC from September to December 1996. Created by Matthew Carlson, the series stars Molly Ringwald, Jenna Elfman and Lauren Graham.-Synopsis:... |
Scott | ||
| 1997 | The Outer Limits The Outer Limits (1995 TV series) The Outer Limits is an American television series that originally aired on Showtime,the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002... |
John Virgil | Episode: "Tempests" |
| Jenny Jenny (TV series) Jenny is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1997 to 1998. The series was intended to be a star vehicle for Playboy Playmate Jenny McCarthy.-Synopsis:... |
Jason Slade | ||
| Borrowed Hearts Borrowed Hearts Borrowed Hearts is a 1997 made-for-tv Christmas film directed by Ted Kotcheff, and starring Roma Downey and Eric McCormack.- Plot :... |
Sam Field | ||
| Veronica's Closet Veronica's Closet Veronica's Closet is a sitcom which aired on NBC from September 25, 1997, to June 27, 2000.The show starred Kirstie Alley as Veronica “Ronnie” Chase, the head of her own lingerie company.- Season one :... |
Griffin | ||
| 1998 | Ally McBeal Ally McBeal Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia... |
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| A Will of their Own A Will of their Own A Will of their Own is a 1998 American television mini-series directed by Karen Arthur. The film follows six generations of females within one family, and their struggle for power and independence in America. The film debuted on October 18, 1998 on the NBC network to strong critical reviews... |
Pierce Peterson | ||
| 1998–2006 | Will & Grace Will & Grace Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters... |
Will Truman Will Truman William Pierce "Will" Truman is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Eric McCormack. He is a gay lawyer who lives in the Upper West Side of New York City with his best friend, Grace Adler.-Fictional character history:... |
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| 2000 | The Audrey Hepburn Story The Audrey Hepburn Story The Audrey Hepburn Story is a 2000 television movie biography of actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn. Jennifer Love Hewitt, who also produced the film, starred as the actress although her casting drew criticism from some of Hepburn's fans and the media... |
Mel Ferrer Mel Ferrer Mel Ferrer was an American actor, film director and film producer.-Early life:Ferrer was born Melchor Gastón Ferrer in Elberon, New Jersey, of Catalan and Irish descent. His father, Dr. José María Ferrer , was born in Cuba, was an authority on pneumonia and served as chief of staff of St.... |
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| 2004 | Dead Like Me Dead Like Me Dead Like Me was an American-Canadian comedy-drama television series starring Ellen Muth and Mandy Patinkin as grim reapers who reside and work in Seattle, Washington. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, the show was created by Bryan Fuller for the Showtime network, where it ran for two seasons... |
Ray Summers | |
| 2006 | Lovespring International Lovespring International Lovespring International is an American comedy series created by Guy Shalem and Brad Isaacs which aired on Lifetime on Mondays at 11pm during the Summer of 2006 in the United States. Lovespring was canceled on December 1, 2006... |
Roman | |
| 2008 | The Andromeda Strain | Jack Nash | |
| Monk Monk (TV series) Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July... |
James Novak | Episode: "Mr. Monk's 100th Case Mr. Monk's 100th Case "Mr. Monk's 100th Case" is the seventh episode of the seventh season of the USA Network TV series Monk, and, true to its name, it is the 100th episode overall... " |
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| 2009 | Trust Me Trust Me (TV series) Trust Me is an American drama series that began airing on TNT on January 26, 2009 at 10 p.m Eastern/ 9 P.M Central. In Canada, Trust Me can be seen on Super Channel.Trust Me premiered with 3.4 million viewers.... |
Mason McGuire | |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced... |
Vance Shepard | Episode: "Sugar" | |
| The New Adventures of Old Christine The New Adventures of Old Christine The New Adventures of Old Christine is an American comedy series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus which ran for five seasons on CBS from March 13, 2006, to May 12, 2010... |
Max Kershaw | Episode: "Doctor Little Man" Episode: "Nuts" Episode: "Whale of a Tale" Episode: "Truth or Dare" Episode: "I Love What You Do For Me" Episode: "Get Smarter" |
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| 2010 | Who Is Clark Rockefeller? Who Is Clark Rockefeller? Who Is Clark Rockefeller? is a 2010 American police procedural television film directed by Mikael Salomon and written by Edithe Swensen. It stars Eric McCormack as Christian Gerhartsreiter/Clark Rockefeller and Sherry Stringfield as Sandra Boss... |
Clark Rockefeller Clark Rockefeller Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter is a German man who moved to the United States as a teenager to study, and thereafter assumed many aliases. Using the false name Clark Rockefeller, he married a Harvard Business School graduate student named Sandra Boss... |
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| Pound Puppies Pound Puppies (2010 TV series) Pound Puppies is a American/Canadian animated series that premiered on The Hub on October 10, 2010, in the United States. Pound Puppies airs on YTV in Canada. The series is produced by Paul and Joe Productions and Hasbro Studios... |
Lucky | ||
| 2012 | Perception Perception (2012 TV series) Perception is an upcoming American crime drama television series created by Kenneth Biller and Mike Sussman. The series stars Eric McCormack as Dr. Daniel Pierce, a neuroscientist who assists the FBI on some of their most complex cases.... |
Dr. Geoffrey Pierce |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Series | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series | Will & Grace Will & Grace Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters... |
Nominated |
| Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign... |
Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy | Will & Grace | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards Satellite Awards The Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama... |
Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy | Will & Grace | Nominated | |
| Viewers For Quality Television Viewers For Quality Television Viewers for Quality Television was an American nonprofit organization founded in 1984 to advocate network television series that members of the organization voted to be of the "highest quality." The group's goal was to rescue "...critically acclaimed programs from cancellation despite their... Awards |
Best Actor in a Quality Comedy Series | Will & Grace | Nominated | |
| 2001 | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series | Will & Grace | Won |
| Golden Globe Award | Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy | Will & Grace | Nominated | |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Will & Grace | Won | |
| Teen Choice Award | Television Choice Actor | Will & Grace | Nominated | |
| 2002 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy | Will & Grace | Nominated |
| Satellite Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical | Will & Grace | Nominated | |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Will & Grace | Nominated | |
| 2003 | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series | Will & Grace | Nominated |
| Golden Globe Award | Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy | Will & Grace | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical | Will & Grace | Nominated | |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Will & Grace | Nominated | |
| 2004 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy | Will & Grace | Nominated |
| Satellite Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical | Will & Grace | Nominated | |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Will & Grace | Nominated | |
| 2005 | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series | Will & Grace | Nominated |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Will & Grace | Nominated | |