D.W. Moffett
Encyclopedia
Donald Warren Moffett is an American actor known for the recurring role of Joe McCoy on the NBC series Friday Night Lights
since 2008, and as Dean Winston on The WB
series, For Your Love
.
. The Moffetts are able to trace their ancestry to Jean de Mophet. de Mophet was a Norman knight who invaded England with William the Conqueror in 1066 CE. Mophet was anglicized to Moffat and later Moffett. The town of Moffat
, Scotland
in the borderlands of Scotland and England is the Moffett's ancestral home.
In the years 1969-1970 Moffett attended a private secondary school in Germany, (Schule Schloss Neubeuern). After attending Stanford University
, where he majored in political science, he found himself back in Chicago working as an investment banker. He was lured by a friend to the St. Nicholas Theater Company on a whim, where he began studying with William H. Macy
. Shortly thereafter, he fell in love with the stage, and started his own theater company, called Remains Theater.
to perform in Balm In Gilead
in New York City. He then starred opposite Brad Davis
in Larry Kramer
's The Normal Heart
, for which he won critical acclaim. He played opposite Matt Dillon
in Boys of Winter, and was most recently seen on stage at the Old Vic theater in London, playing opposite Kevin Spacey
in The Philadelphia Story
.
Moffett has had a long and successful career in film as well. He is most memorable in Bernardo Bertolucci
's Stealing Beauty
and won a Screen Actors Guild
Award for Steven Soderbergh
's Traffic
. He played Bob Hardy in the series Hidden Palms for the CW Network and starred in the 2007 CW series Life Is Wild
as Dr. Danny Clarke. He is co-starring in the NBC
drama Friday Night Lights
.
In 1990, he starred in NBC
's made-for-television film adaptation of Danielle Steel
's novel Fine Things
alongside Tracy Pollan
.
In 2011, Moffett was cast in the series Happily Divorced
as Elliot. He also plays as John Kennish: Bay's father and Daphne and Toby's biological father, in the ABC Family
series, Switched at Birth (TV series)
.
Friday Night Lights (TV series)
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
since 2008, and as Dean Winston on The WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
series, For Your Love
For Your Love (TV series)
For Your Love is an American sitcom that premiered on March 17, 1998 on NBC. It was canceled after six episodes, but was picked up by The WB Network. It ran there for four years before its 2002 cancellation.-Synopsis:...
.
Early life
Moffett was born in Highland Park, Illinois and raised in nearby Wilmette. He took the stage name of "D.W." to avoid confusion with British actor Donald MoffatDonald Moffat
Donald Moffat is an English-born actor, now a naturalized American citizen.-Early life:Moffat was born in Plymouth, Devon, the only child of Kathleen Mary and Walter George Moffat, who was an insurance agent. His parents ran a boarding house in Totnes...
. The Moffetts are able to trace their ancestry to Jean de Mophet. de Mophet was a Norman knight who invaded England with William the Conqueror in 1066 CE. Mophet was anglicized to Moffat and later Moffett. The town of Moffat
Moffat
Moffat is a former burgh and spa town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, lying on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. The most notable building in the town is the Moffat House Hotel, designed by John Adam...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in the borderlands of Scotland and England is the Moffett's ancestral home.
In the years 1969-1970 Moffett attended a private secondary school in Germany, (Schule Schloss Neubeuern). After attending Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, where he majored in political science, he found himself back in Chicago working as an investment banker. He was lured by a friend to the St. Nicholas Theater Company on a whim, where he began studying with William H. Macy
William H. Macy
William Hall Macy, Jr. is an American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though...
. Shortly thereafter, he fell in love with the stage, and started his own theater company, called Remains Theater.
Career
After a long and successful career on stage in Chicago, he went with John MalkovichJohn Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
to perform in Balm In Gilead
Balm in Gilead
Balm in Gilead is a 1965 play written by American playwright Lanford Wilson.-Dramatic structure:Wilson's first full-length effort, Balm in Gilead centers on a cafe frequented by heroin addicts, prostitutes and thieves...
in New York City. He then starred opposite Brad Davis
Brad Davis (actor)
Robert Creel "Brad" Davis was an American actor, known for starring in the 1978 film Midnight Express.-Early life:...
in Larry Kramer
Larry Kramer
Larry Kramer is an American playwright, author, public health advocate, and LGBT rights activist. He began his career rewriting scripts while working for Columbia Pictures, which led him to London where he worked with United Artists. There he wrote the screenplay for Women in Love in 1969, earning...
's The Normal Heart
The Normal Heart
The Normal Heart is a largely autobiographical play by Larry Kramer. It focuses on the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, the gay Jewish-American founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group...
, for which he won critical acclaim. He played opposite Matt Dillon
Matt Dillon
Matthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon is an American actor and film director. He began acting in the late 1970s, gaining fame as a teenage idol during the 1980s.- Early life :...
in Boys of Winter, and was most recently seen on stage at the Old Vic theater in London, playing opposite Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
in The Philadelphia Story
The Philadelphia Story (play)
The Philadelphia Story is a 1939 American comic play by Philip Barry. It tells the story of a socialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and an attractive journalist.-Production:...
.
Moffett has had a long and successful career in film as well. He is most memorable in Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
's Stealing Beauty
Stealing Beauty
Stealing Beauty is a 1996 drama film directed by Academy Award-winning Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci and written by Bertolucci and Susan Minot. It stars Liv Tyler, D.W. Moffett, Jeremy Irons, and Rachel Weisz...
and won a Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
Award for Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
's Traffic
Traffic (2000 film)
Traffic is a 2000 American crime drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Stephen Gaghan. It explores the illegal drug trade from a number of perspectives: a user, an enforcer, a politician and a trafficker. Their stories are edited together throughout the film, although some of the...
. He played Bob Hardy in the series Hidden Palms for the CW Network and starred in the 2007 CW series Life Is Wild
Life Is Wild
Life Is Wild is an American television serial drama adapted by Michael Rauch, George Faber and Charlie Pattinson from the popular British drama Wild at Heart. The show is about a New York veterinarian who moves his second wife and their two sets of children to a South African game reserve run by...
as Dr. Danny Clarke. He is co-starring in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
drama Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Lights (TV series)
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
.
In 1990, he starred in NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's made-for-television film adaptation of Danielle Steel
Danielle Steel
Danielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel , better known as Danielle Steel, is an American romantic novelist and author of mainstream dramas....
's novel Fine Things
Fine Things (film)
Fine Things, also known as Danielle Steel's Fine Things, is a 1990 romantic drama television film directed by Tom Moore. The film is based upon the 1987 novel of the same name written by Danielle Steel.- Plot :...
alongside Tracy Pollan
Tracy Pollan
Tracy Jo Pollan is an American actress. She is perhaps best-known for her recurring role as Ellen Reed on the sitcom Family Ties in the mid-1980s. It was on this show that she met future husband Michael J. Fox.-Personal life:...
.
In 2011, Moffett was cast in the series Happily Divorced
Happily Divorced
Happily Divorced is an American sitcom created by Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson. Inspired by their experiences, the series, which became TV Land's third original scripted series following Hot in Cleveland and Retired at 35, premiered on June 15, 2011, and revolves around a Los Angeles...
as Elliot. He also plays as John Kennish: Bay's father and Daphne and Toby's biological father, in the ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
series, Switched at Birth (TV series)
Switched at Birth (TV series)
Switched at Birth is an American television series that premiered on ABC Family on June 6, 2011 at 9:00 ET/PT. The one-hour scripted drama revolves around two teenagers who were switched at birth and grew up in very different environments...
.