Tim Daly

A descendent of a long line of talented actors including father James and sister Tyne, boyishly handsome screen regular Tim Daly has endured to overcome a post Wings career slump with a successful series of film and television roles. The New York City native first took to the stage in summer stock while studying at Bennington College; he followed graduation with a few seasons at Providence's Trinity Square Repertory and then made his off-Broadway debut in 1984 with Fables for Friends. Daly's film career got off to a healthy start with his role as a young expectant father in Diner (1982), though in the years that followed, the fresh-faced star was relegated mostly to small-screen roles. A Broadway bow opposite Annette Bening in Coastal Disturbances proved that Daly did indeed have the talent to make it as an actor if casting directors could see past his youthful exterior, and with his upcoming role in Wings, the rising star would prove his worth not only at comedy but drama as well. Cast opposite Steven Weber as one of two brothers who own a small Nantucket airline, Daly stayed with Wings through the series' seven-year run (1990-1997). During that time, he also utilized the predictable production schedule as a means to experiment with dramatic roles in a series of memorable made-for-television features.

If audiences had pigeonholed Daly as a small-screen lightweight, a role as cult leader David Koresh in In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco showed that the versatile actor was capable of much more. Some of Daly's other roles from the mid-'90s may have proved less than memorable, but his vocal contributions to the animated television series Superman (for which he voiced the Man of Steel himself) kept him busy before he landed the role of astronaut James Lovell in the acclaimed HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon (1998). As audiences began to realize Daly's talent thanks to memorable parts in Storm of the Century (1999) and an updated version of the television classic The Fugitive, it seemed as if the veteran actor might have finally overcome his youthful outward appearance to command some respect. Though Daly would indeed impress with his role as Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive, the series lasted only one season and it would be two years before he would return to the screen in the made-for-television drama The Outsider. In the years that followed, Daly's film career experienced something of a revival when he was cast in such high-profile releases as Basic (2003) and Against the Ropes (2004). The longtime actor also made his directorial debut in 2004 with the mournful drama Bereft. - Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide