Doug Savant

No stranger to emotionally and psychologically challenging roles, Doug Savant broke through the fear barrier that separates many actors from achieving their full onscreen potential. In the process, he tackled many characterizations somewhat removed from himself. These included a sociopathic rapist (in the 1995 TV movie Fight for Justice: The Nancy Cohn Story), a gay social worker (Matt Fielding on the prime-time soap opera Melrose Place), and -- most prominently -- a businessman-turned-stay at home dad (Tom Scavo, on the domestic black comedy Desperate Housewives). The latter, of course, required less of a stretch for Savant; it was perhaps ironic, then, that the Scavo characterization (opposite actress Felicity Huffman) reeled in Savant's largest audience and virtually turned him into a household name. Savant's resumé also includes brief appearances in such features as Secret Admirer (1985), Teen Wolf (1985), The Hanoi Hilton (1987), and Godzilla (1998). His second wife is actress Laura Leighton, whom he met on the set of Melrose. - Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide