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David Hyde Pierce
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David Hyde Pierce

Throughout his childhood in Saratoga Springs, New York, David Hyde Pierce trained for a career as a concert pianist. It was during Pierce's college education at Yale University that he was informed this was a big mistake. Instead, Pierce went on to become an actor.

Pierce currently stars in the NBC comedy hit Frasier in which he has received critical acclaim for his role as Dr. Niles Crane. The five-time Emmy Award winning sitcom has been a consistent success since its debut in 1993. Pierce is a three-time Emmy Award winner for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and he has won multiple American Comedy Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the Viewers' for Quality Television Award, and the Television Critics Association Award. Previous television credits include a starring role in the NBC series The Powers That Be, and guest starring roles in series including Crime Story, Spenser: For Hire and The Outer Limits, for which he won a Cable Ace Award. Last year, Pierce appeared as a wacky motivational speaker in the hit show, Titus.

In August, Pierce starred in the feature film Full Frontal, directed by Steven Soderbergh. The Miramax picture also starred Julia Roberts, David Duchovny and Catherine Keener.

In summer 2001, while on hiatus from Frasier, Pierce was seen in the critically acclaimed, two-person play Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, with Uta Hagen. The play was performed at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. This marked the second time Pierce worked under the direction of Arthur Allan Seidelman, the first being in 2000 when he starred in the highly praised Los Angeles stage production of The Boys from Syracuse.

On the big screen, Pierce starred in USA Films feature film Wet, Hot American Summer, directed and produced by David Wain. Wet, Hot American Summer debuted in competition at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and also stars Janeane Garofolo and Paul Rudd.

Also in summer 2001, Pierce lent his voice in the Warner Bros. feature-length animated film Osmosis Jones, which also stars voice-overs by Chris Rock and Joel Silver. Pierce last lent his voice to the character of Slim, the walking stick bug, in the Thanksgiving 1998 release of A Bug's Life.

In January 2000, Pierce was seen starring in Isn't She Great, the Universal Pictures big screen biography of author Jacqueline Susann.

In 1988, Pierce made his feature film debut in Bright Lights, Big City, followed by parts in Crossing Delancey and Rocket Gibraltar that same year. Pierce then landed larger roles in Sleepless in Seattle opposite Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and Oliver Stone's Nixon, in which he played John Dean. Other film credits include Little Man Tate, The Fisher King, and Wolf.

Upon graduation from Yale in 1981 as an English and theater arts major, Pierce pursued his acting career in New York City and secured his first professional acting job

in the Broadway production of Christopher Durang's, Beyond Therapy, co-starring John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest. Pierce's next Broadway role was opposite Christine Lahti in Wendy Wasserstein's award-winning play The Heidi Chronicles. Off Broadway, Pierce appeared in numerous plays including Mike Nichols' production of Jules Feiffer's Elliot Loves, Peter Brooks' production of The Cherry Orchard, Richard Greenberg's The Author's Voice, and Much Ado About Nothing, and Hamlet with the New York Shakespeare Festival.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2003.

David Hyde Pierce Facts

OccupationActor
BirthdayApril 3, 1959 (64)
SignAries
BirthplaceSaratoga Springs, New York, USA
Height5' 10" (1m78)  How tall is David Hyde Pierce compared to you?
Awards2004 Emmy Awards: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (for Frasier)
1996 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Best Male Actor in a Comedy Series (for Frasier)

Selected Filmography

Not available.