Real Name:
David Hyde Pierce

Date of Birth:
April 3rd 1959

Place of Birth:
Saratoga Springs, New York State, USA

Screen Debut:
Spenser For Hire playing "O'Neill" in episode "The Man Who Wasn't There" (1987)

Spouses:
None

David Hyde Pierce was born in Saratoga Springs, New York State on April 3rd 1959. He was a church organist for a while. He went to Yale University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree and a double major in English and theatre arts.

He travelled to New York City in 1981 and studied acting whilst earning money selling ties at Bloomingdale's. His first acting job was on the Broadway stage, in a production named Beyond Therapy. This was followed by other theatre jobs in regional theatres. Between 1983 and 1985, David worked at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, before returning to New York to appear in the NY Shakespeare Festival's production of Hamlet.

David's first feature film was Bright Lights, Big City, which was made in 1987. He then departed for a tour of Japan and the then-USSR in The Cherry Orchard from 1988-1989.

David achieved his big break when he appeared in The Heidi Chronicles on Broadway for 6 months. This attracted the attention of the media, and he starred in more feature films, such as Little Man Tate and The Fisher King. He has also appeared in Crossing Delancey, Rocket Gibraltar, Wolf, Nixon, A Bug's Life, Isn't She Great, and rather appropriately Sleepless in Seattle. His most recent film is Shiny New Enemies with Jeff Goldblum and Selma Heyak.

His TV credits include the NBC series The Powers That Be, in which he played Theodore Van Horn, a chronically depressed and suicidal United States congressman, and guest appearances on Crime Story, The Outer Limits and Spencer For Hire. But his two most memorable guest spots were on The Simpsons, in which he voiced Sideshow Bob's brother Cecil (Sideshow Bob just happening to be voiced by Kelsey Grammer!!!); and on Caroline In The City, where together with Jane Leeves (Daphne) he played his Frasier role in the episode "Caroline and the Bad Back"

David Hyde Pierce can count amongst his many awards two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, four American Comedy Awards and four Viewers for Quality Television Awards for his portrayal of Niles. He says of his character, "His relationship with Frasier is a mix of sibling rivalry, condescension, passive aggression and brotherly love."

In his leisure time, David enjoys playing the piano and skiing. He currently lives in Los Angeles.