Dylan McDermott Movies
Proving that there is a reason for the existence of the cliché "tall, dark, and handsome," Dylan McDermott has won many a heart, as well as many a critical nod, for his role on the Emmy-winning television series The Practice. The actor struggled for years before landing his part as a lawyer on the show in 1997. Since then, the critical appreciation he has garnered has been complemented by his regular appearances in the style sections of a number of magazines, making him one of the most visible actors in Hollywood.Born October 26, 1962, in Waterbury, CT, McDermott had a tumultuous childhood. After his parents' divorce, his mother died when the actor was very young. Following her death, McDermott was raised by his father in New York's Greenwich Village. McDermott was, by his own account, something of a delinquent, but his life began to turn around when he discovered acting as a teenager. His interest in the theater was given an additional boost by his stepmother, the playwright Eve Ensler. Ensler encouraged the actor, whom she formally adopted when he was 19, and he began training for his career at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse.
After acting in stage productions such as Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues, McDermott made his film debut as platoon leader Sgt. Franz in 1987's Hamburger Hill. His next notable role was as Julia Roberts' husband in Steel Magnolias. Despite being part of one of the biggest hits of 1989, real fame eluded McDermott, who secured limited recognition for his reported real-life role as Roberts' boyfriend rather than for his acting in the film.
After appearing in leading man roles in a string of disappointing films, including Jersey Girl with Jami Gertz, McDermott's luck began to change, with a part in Clint Eastwood's 1993 smash In the Line of Fire. The following year, he got a lead role as Elizabeth Perkins' lawyer love interest in Miracle on 34th Street. The relative success of that film was inversely proportional to McDermott's next, the ill-received Woody Harrelson vehicle The Cowboy Way (1994). McDermott rebounded somewhat with his leading role as Holly Hunter's love interest in the following year's Home for the Holidays, but it wasn't until two years later, when he appeared in a few episodes of Ally McBeal and landed his role on The Practice, that McDermott began to find true success. Winning a 1999 Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe award for his work on the show, the actor (who by this point was also the subject of numerous articles and Best Dressed photos with his wife, stage actress Shiva Ashfar) found previously closed doors being opened, most notably in the form of a big-screen starring role in the 1999 romantic comedy Three to Tango, co-starring Matthew Perry and Neve Campbell. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 2007
Created by Jon Harmon Feldman (whose previous credits included such worthwhile weeklies as American Dreams), the semi-serious Big Shots was pigeonholed in the trade press as a "Sex and the City for guys." The series traced the activities of four upscale male friends who regularly commiserated over their lives and careers at a posh country club. The designated "moral center" of the series was James Walker (Michael Vartan), who'd become CEO of Amerimart Industries by a fluke (his boss had been killed in a freak accident just before James was to have been fired), but who was determined to be a standard bearer of integrity both in and out of the workplace -- and to tactfully ignore the fact that his wife, Stacey (Wendy Moniz), had been having an affair with his former employer. James' best buds included Brody Johns (Christopher Titus), senior vice president of Alpha Crisis Management, who had trouble "managing" his contentious spouse, Janelle (Charisma Carpenter); Karl Mixworthy (Joshua Malina), chief exec of a huge pharmaceutical conglomerate, tolerably married to Wendy (Amy Sloan) while having an affair with hyper-possessive Marla (Jessica Collins); and Duncan Collinsworth (Dylan McDermott), top man at Reveal Cosmetics, who though long divorced somehow found it difficult to resist the sexual charms of his ex-wife, Lisbeth (Paige Turco), and whose future was jeopardized by an unfortunate one-night stand with a hooker named Dontrelle (Jazzmun), who turned out to be a transsexual. Nor did Duncan's emotional entanglements end there; he also had a lot of trouble relating to his estranged 19-year-old daughter, Cameron (Peyton List), and seemed oblivious to the fact that he was worshipped by his attractive business associate Katie Graham (Nia Long). Also in the cast was Francesca P. Roberts as therapist Dr. Seaver-Filner, who was kept solvent by the repeated visits from the Walkers and the Collinsworths. Big Shots premiered on ABC on September 27, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Vartan, Christopher Titus, (more)
Director Paul Mayeda Berges adapts author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni magic realist tale about an enchanting Indian orphan who has leaned to harness the magical properties of spices. Orphaned by regional strife in her homeland of India, Tilo (Aishwarya Rai) is subsequently kidnapped by a vicious gang of bandits. A daring escape is quick to follow, and soon after washing up on mysterious shores the traumatized girl is sheltered by a benevolent old woman (Zohra Segal) who reveals to her the remarkable powers of common spices. Later, after moving to Oakland, California and opening her own spice shop, Tilo is compelled to follow three strict stipulations is she is to retain her ability to harness these magnificent powers: she must never use the powers for her own gain, she can never venture outside of her store, and she must never make contact with the skin of another person. When a handsome architect (Dylan McDermott) crashes his motorcycle just outside of the shop and the kindly proprietor rushes to his aid, the instant chemistry between the pair soon finds Tilo's resolve put to the ultimate test. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aishwarya Rai, Dylan McDermott, (more)
The high stakes of international terrorism and the challenges of keeping it in check set the stage for this power action drama miniseries. Maren Jackson (Julianna Margulies) is an National Security Council director who is attempting to fend off possible actions by a terrorist cell following a poison gas attack in London. Jackson enlists the aid of Max Canary (Dylan McDermott) of the FBI and Raza Michaels (Piter Marek) from the CIA in the United States, while CIA counter-terrorism expert Acton Sandman (Tom Skerritt) coordinates operations with British intelligence chiefs Emily Tuthill (Jemma Redgrave) and Derek Jennings (Bernard Hill). Leading the terrorists are Muslim extremist Muhammad (Alki David) and his second-in-command, Kaz Moore (Barna Moricz), though one of their associates is a doctor (Silas Carson) whose passion for the cause is tempered by his distaste for Muhammad's eagerness to use violence to achieve their ends. The Grid also features supporting performances from Robert Forster, James Remar, and Paula Devicq. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
After profiling Monica Lewinsky, Billy Haynes, and Tammy Faye Bakker, documentarians Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato make their feature debut with this true-life tale of the rapid climb and lurid demise of a flamboyant young club promoter in late-'80s/early-'90s Manhattan. Based on James St. James' nonfiction account Disco Bloodbath as well as on the writer/directors' own 1998 documentary, Party Monster features former child star Macaulay Culkin as Michael Alig, a Midwestern teen determined to forget his past amidst the bright lights and throbbing house music of New York City's nightlife. Introduced to the club scene by St. James (Seth Green), Alig quickly becomes an event promoter himself, dreaming up bizarrely themed dance parties in such unlikely venues as fast-food restaurants and subway cars. But this archetypical "club kid" orchestrates his own downfall when, stoned on designer drugs, he and accomplice Freez (Justin Hagan) brutally murder their small-time dealer friend Angel Menendez (Wilson Cruz). Party Monster had its world premiere in the Dramatic Competition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Macaulay Culkin, Seth Green, (more)
- 1999
This 1999 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Dylan McDermott and features musical guest Foo Fighters. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dylan McDermott, Foo Fighters, (more)
- 1998
The lawyers are forced to consult another law firm when they encounter a murder case. ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Calista Flockhart, Courtney Thorne-Smith, (more)
- 1998
Bobby Donnell (Dylan McDermott) of The Practice comes to Ally for help with a case. Meanwhile, John Cage admits that he's drawn to Renee. ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Calista Flockhart, Courtney Thorne-Smith, (more)
- 1992
The bizarre career of New Zealand filmmaker Sam Pillsbury had veered from the sci-fi weirdness of The Quiet Earth to the Cajun spice of Zandalee to the mawkish Free Willy 3 without ever really demonstrating a consistent vision. This made-for-cable horror-western anthology is the most confused work Pillsbury has ever done, starring Bruce Dern as a bounty hunter who gets frostbitten, cuts off his own toe, and talks to an outlaw's corpse. His attempt to track down the outlaw is the rough link behind this senseless mess adapted from some fairly good short stories. It still might have some allure for a surprising cast including Andrew Robinson (the killer from Dirty Harry), Helen Hunt, and Dylan McDermott. The most annoying segment has Mariel Hemingway as an eccentric woman who may or may not be under siege by wolves in her isolated home on the prairie. It's sometimes reminiscent of Mad at the Moon, an even more annoying prairie-set wolf tale. For genre completists, Lisa Pelikan from Ghoulies shows up, and co-writer Dick Beebe went on to pen the superior remake of House on Haunted Hill and the uneven Book of Shadows: The Blair Witch Project 2. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Dern, Mariel Hemingway, (more)
- 1992
Children's book author Meredith Cole (Christine Lahti) works out of her home. In fact, she does everything out of her home: she suffers from acute and debilitating agoraphobia. Recently separated from her husband, Meredith advertises for a boarder; soon afterward, Jane Caswell (Jennifer Rubin) arrives at her doorstep. Later on, Pete (Dylan McDermott), claiming to be Jane's brother, joins the household. When it becomes painfully clear that Pete and Jane are psychotic murderers, Meredith is too terrified to make a bid for escape, or even attempt to summon help. She finally comes out of her shell when the demented couple threaten the life of her young son (Thomas Ian Nicholas). Made for cable, The Fear Inside first aired August 9, 1992 over the Showtime Cable Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Novelist/journalist Pete Hammill was responsible for the screenplay of the two-part TV movie The Neon Empire. Ray Sharkey stars as a Bugsy Siegel-like New York gangster. It is Sharkey's dream to turn the sleepy Nevada town of Las Vegas into the gambling capital of the world. Part One, running 105 minutes details Sharkey's "blueprinting" of his vision. In the concluding 85-minute chapter, having transformed sedentary little Las Vegas, Nevada, into a gambling mecca, Sharkey finds that his ambitions have made him a pariah to his New York mob colleagues. Linda Fiorentino, Gary Busey, Dylan McDermott and Martin Landau costar in this "a clef" drama. Neon Empire premiered over the Showtime Cable Network; later on, both portions of the film were melded into one three-hour "special." Neon Empire was first telecast on the Showtime Cable network on December 3 and 4, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In exchange for staying out of jail, down-and-out bounty hunter Vince Holloway (Dylan McDermott) agrees to work for corrupt IRS agents Vera (Tovah Feldshuh) and Strick (Dean Stockwell). Holloway travels to Diablo, a country run by criminals, to intercept a transfer of funds between crooked banker Cora (Jessica Harper) and gangster Reno (James Russo). Using a plot structure derived from Dashiell Hammett's novel Red Harvest, as well as from Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo and Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, Holloway forms competing alliances with all parties to steal the money. As expected, everyone tries to double-cross everyone else. A would-be parody of film noir and westerns, John Lafia's The Blue Iguana unfolds more like a cartoon or a pinball game. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dylan McDermott, Jessica Harper, (more)
- 1988
History. A review of the news of the fifties. Reviews: General Douglas MacArthur's retirement speech; President Eisenhower and Vice President Nixon; the Korean war; the death of Stalin; testing the hydrogen bomb; the Suez Canal crisis; the Cold War; Cuba's Castro. ~ All Movie Guide
- 2005
- R
Corruption is the law of the land in the every-city of Edison, and the only soul brave enough to peer into the fire and face the wrath of an entire squad of corrupt cops is a fresh-faced journalist in this neo-noir thriller from television director-turned-feature helmer David J. Burke. Joshua Pollack (Justin Timberlake) has discovered a glitch in the system, and as a fledgling journalist he sees it as his duty to expose the corruption. When Pollack misjudges the depth of the authoritative decay and his girlfriend is hospitalized following a brutal attack by the alliance of crooked cops known as F.R.A.T., he soon decides to take action and prove that even those who believe themselves to be above the law still aren't beyond its reach. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, (more)
A pair of writers inhabiting an abandoned New York tenement building become locked in an antagonistic battle of wills in director Danny Green's adaptation of novelist Bernard Malamud's studied exploration of faltering race relations. The time is the early '70s, and Jewish writer Harry Lesser (Dylan McDermott) is finally nearing completion on the novel that has taken him almost a decade to write. The last tenant in a crumbling inner-city apartment building, Harry soon discovers that he is no longer alone in the building when an illegal squatter named Willie (Snoop Dogg) claims a room down the hall and begins writing his own novel. When Harry attempts to offer writing advice to his new neighbor, his criticism of Willie's "immature" writing style ignites a heated confrontation between the pair that is quickly compounded by the growing relationship between Harry and Willie's white girlfriend Irene (Rose Byrne). As the situation quickly spins out of control and Willie sets fire to the only existing copy of Harry's treasured manuscript, the deep-rooted racial animosity explodes into rage and the two writers become locked in a life-or-death struggle to survive. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dylan McDermott, Snoop Dogg, (more)
James Cox directs the sleazy Hollywood murder tale Wonderland, starring Val Kilmer as legendary porn star John Holmes. Using a non-linear plot structure, the film explores different perspectives of the quadruple homicide that occurred on July 1, 1981, in the Hollywood Hills. At the lowest point of his career and the height of his drug addiction, Holmes was implicated in the murders of the Wonderland gang: Ron Launius (Josh Lucas), Billy Deverell (Tim Blake Nelson), Barbara Richardson (Natasha Gregson Wagner), and Joy Miller (Janeane Garofalo). Launius' wife, Susan (Christina Applegate), was the only survivor. Led by Detective Sam Nico (Ted Levine), the police investigation reveals a dark criminal underworld surrounding Holmes, his disapproving wife, Sharon (Lisa Kudrow), and his innocent teenage girlfriend, Dawn Schiller (Kate Bosworth). Eric Bogosian stars as notorious Hollywood nightclub owner Eddie Nash. Wonderland premiered at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Kate Bosworth, (more)
- 1995
- R
In this quirky drama, Julian Goddard is stranded in the desert and dying of thirst when suddenly Johnny Destiny drives up and gives him a ride to the ramshackle Marilyn Motel near Las Vegas. There they meet the owner, Harry Thoreau, with whom Julian attempted to rob a bank three years before. It is revealed that Julian is an escaped convict who has returned to get his share of the take and reclaim his former girlfriend Lucille, who is working as a lounge singer at her boyfriend's casino. While Julian endeavors to realize his goal, Destiny frequently appears to guide him and the others along their proper paths. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dylan McDermott, Nancy Travis, (more)
