David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce (born David Pierce; April 3, 1959)[1] is an American actor. For his portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier from 1993 to 2004, he received four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series as well as two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Pierce has also received five Golden Globe Awards nominations for Best Supporting Actor for the role. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role of Lt. Frank Cioffi in the Broadway musical Curtains (2007).
David Hyde Pierce
Actor
1982–present
Pierce acted in such films as Crossing Delancey (1988), The Fisher King (1991), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Wolf (1994), Nixon (1995), Down with Love (2003), and The Perfect Host (2010). He voiced roles in Disney Pixar's A Bug's Life (1998), Osmosis Jones (2001), and Treasure Planet (2002). He portrayed Henry Newman in the comedy film Wet Hot American Summer and reprised his role in two series from Netflix in 2014 and in 2017. From 1992 to 1993, Pierce starred in the NBC sitcom The Powers That Be. He has since acted in the CBS legal drama The Good Wife (2014–2015), the ABC docu-drama When We Rise (2017), and the HBO Max series Julia (2022–present).
Besides his performance in Curtains, Pierce also had Broadway roles as Sir Robin in Monty Python's Spamalot (2005), Vanya in the comedic play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (2013) and Horace Vandergelder in the revival of Hello, Dolly! (2017). For the latter two, Pierce was nominated for a Tony Award. He made his Broadway directorial debut with the musical It Shoulda Been You (2015).
Early life and education[edit]
Pierce was born in Saratoga Springs, New York. His father, George Pierce,[2] was an aspiring actor, and his mother, Laura Marie Pierce (née Hughes),[2] was an insurance agent.[1] He is the youngest of four children: he has two older sisters, Barbara and Nancy and one older brother, Thomas.[3][4] He adopted the middle name Hyde in 1993 to avoid confusion with another actor named David Pierce.[5] As a child, Pierce frequently played organ at the local Bethesda Episcopal Church.[6] As a child, Pierce attended the all boys' sleepaway summer camp Kabeyun, where he first began acting in their camp productions of Gilbert & Sullivan and directed their production of H.M.S. Pinafore.[7]
After graduating from Saratoga Springs High School in 1977,[8] Pierce attended Yale University. He originally majored in music with an emphasis in piano performance, but later changed to a double major in English literature and theater studies.[9] While attending Yale, Pierce performed in and directed student productions, appearing in the Yale Gilbert & Sullivan Society's production of H.M.S. Pinafore. Pierce also directed the Gilbert & Sullivan Society's operetta Princess Ida.[10] Pierce graduated from Yale in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Career[edit]
1980–1992: Rise to prominence[edit]
After his graduation, Pierce moved to New York City, where during the 1980s and early 1990s he was employed in various jobs, such as selling ties at Bloomingdale's and working as a security guard, while pursuing an acting career and studying at Michael Howard Studios. During this period he played Laertes in an off-Broadway production of Hamlet, with Kevin Kline in the title role, and made his Broadway debut in 1982 in Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy.[11]
Pierce's first big television break came in the early 1990s with Norman Lear's political comedy, The Powers That Be, in which Pierce played Theodore, a Congressman.[12] Despite positive reviews from critics, the show was canceled after a brief run. This did free Pierce up for his breakthrough role in Frasier, and the producers of that show did in part hire Pierce based on his performance in The Powers That Be.[13]