David Morse

Biography: A boyish, curly-haired character player of TV and several films, David is best known for his role as the amiable Dr. Jack 'Boomer' Morrison on the long-running TV drama St. Elsewhere. The New England native got his start with the Boston Repertory Theatre in 1971. After six years, he moved to New York where he appeared in such shows as Threads (1981). Additionally, he was featured in regional productions of various plays, including Of Mice and Men, A Hatful of Rain and A Death in the Family. In 1997, David won rave reviews and numerous stage awards for his powerful, delicately nuanced performance as a paedophile in Paula Vogel's Pulitzer-winning How I Learned to Drive. For his starring role, David won the Drama Logue Award, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Drama Desk Award and the Obie.

David's TV career had started in 1981 with a small role in the ABC movie Our Family Business, but it was his role as the engagingly puppy-like doctor in the popular ensemble series St. Elsewhere which brought him, if not stardom, a reputation as a likeable and reliable performer. David also directed two episodes in the 1987-88 season of the show. During the series' run, he also appeared in six dramatic TV-movies, and nearly all of them co-starring fellow TV actors: Valerie Bertinelli (Shattered Vows, 1984), Cindy Williams (When Dreams Come True, 1985), Howard Hesseman (Six Against the Rock, 1987), Susan Dey (A Place at the Table, 1988).

After his departure of St. Elsewhere, David continued in TV-movies and miniseries, always in second leads. He appeared in the spy drama The Brotherhood of the Rose and the KKK drama Cross of Fire (both in 1989), Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster (1992), Stephen King's 'The Langoliers' (1995), and Tecumseh: The Last Warrior (1995), among others. His second attempt at a series, the sitcom Big Wave Dave's (1993) did not make a splash with viewers.

David had made an impressive feature debut as the thoughtless basketball player who forgets his friends when he gets a shot at the big time in Inside Moves (1980). He has appeared in several other films, once again missing only the comedy and romance genres. His vehicles have been impressive, although David's roles have generally been supporting ones. In Michael Cimino's 1990 remake of Desperate Hours, he was a slow-witted cohort of a sociopathic convict (Mickey Rourke). He was Elijah Wood's bereaved father in The Good Son (1993) and co-starred with Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger in the remake of The Getaway (1994). Director Sean Penn provided David with two meaty leading roles. In 1991's The Indian Runner, he was a cop coping with his violent, black-sheep brother (Viggo Mortensen), while in 1995's The Crossing Guard (1995), he was a convicted hit-and-run driver who is confronted by his victim's father (Jack Nicholson). David appeared in the PBS production Diary of a City Priest as well as providing the voice of Abraham Lincoln in Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided. In 2001, he had a small role in Stephen King's Hearts in Atlantis.

In 2001 David starred as Gideon in the movie The Slaughter Rule, which had a limited theatrical release and was then released on DVD.

David then starred in Double Vision, which premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival in May, 2002. For his role as Kevin Richter in Double Vision, David was nominated as Best Supporting Actor in the prestigious 2002 Golden Horse Awards (The Chinese equivalent of the Oscars for Chinese movies). His nomination marked the first time an English-speaking actor had ever been nominated for the Golden Horse.

Most recently, David appeared in the 2002-2004 series, Hack, which was filmed in Philadelphia, close to his home.… Expand