McGiver was born in Cobleskill, New York.[2] Of Irish and Ukrainian descent, he is the second youngest of ten children born to actor John McGiver and his wife, Ruth Schmigelsky McGiver. He was not initially eager to follow in his father's footsteps and has stated, "I kind of denied it [acting] throughout my childhood because my dad was an actor and he was never around. He had to feed 10 kids, he was always working, so to me acting was never connected to something good, and I had never realized what an art it was. I thought it was just playtime."[3]
