Mark Anthony McDermott was born on October 26, 1961, in Waterbury, Connecticut, to Diane and Richard McDermott.[2] He has a younger sister, Robin.[4][5] Diane was 15 and Richard was 17 when McDermott was born. By 1967 the couple had divorced, and Diane and her two children were living with her mother, Avis Marino.[4] On February 9, 1967, Diane died of what was believed for decades to be an accidental gunshot wound.[5][6] In 2012 it was revealed that it was not an accident but that she was murdered by her then gangster boyfriend, John Sponza, who had already died by that time.
McDermott and his sister were raised by their maternal grandmother Avis in Waterbury.[4] As a teenager, he began taking trips to visit his biological father, who owned the West Fourth Street Saloon in Greenwich Village, New York.[7] McDermott worked in his father's bar, serving drinks and breaking up fights.[8] He also fast-talked his way into the Mudd Club and Studio 54.[5]
McDermott's father's third wife was playwright Eve Ensler, who adopted McDermott when he was 15 and she was 23.[11] She later divorced his father. Ensler, with whom McDermott has remained close, encouraged him to pursue an acting career,[6] and began writing roles for him into her plays.[5] After Ensler suffered a miscarriage, he took the name Dylan, the name planned for her unborn child.[8] He then graduated from Jesuit-run Fordham University with a BA in 1983,[12] as well as studying under Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City.[13]
Career
McDermott made his screen debut in Hamburger Hill in 1987 before starring in the 1989 film Steel Magnolias opposite Julia Roberts as her husband Jackson Latcherie. He also starred in Twister, a film about a man trying to rescue his girlfriend and daughter from a tornado storm.[14] The same year brought Neon Empire, a film about the rise and fall of one man in Las Vegas.[15] However, his first big break as an actor was in the film In the Line of Fire. Through his connection with Clint Eastwood,[16] McDermott was able to land his first major gig in The Practice. The show expanded McDermott's stardom, and he made People's list of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World 1998" with the magazine calling him "a prime-time heartthrob".[9] He got this distinction again in 2000.[17] In 1994, McDermott starred in Miracle on 34th Street as Lawyer Bryan Bedford, which has grossed $46.3 million dollars in the worldwide box office.
Despite his success on The Practice, McDermott was cut from the show. Executive producerDavid E. Kelley cited "economic and creative realities" as a result of pressure from ABC to reduce costs. McDermott did appear in the final two episodes of the final season.[18]
McDermott at the 2012 PaleyFest
In 2004, McDermott starred alongside Julianna Margulies four-part mini-series The Grid, playing FBISpecial Agent Max Canary in an anti-terrorist unit.[19] Returning to theater in 2006, the actor played a returned soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in the Ensler's play The Treatment.[20] In 2007, McDermott starred in the television series Big Shots. Due to low viewership, the show was canceled in January 2008 after 11 episodes without completing the planned 13-episode season. On October 30, 2008, TV Guide reported that McDermott was due to co-star alongside Shannen Doherty in the film Burning Palms, a satire based on Los Angeles stereotypes told through five intertwining storylines.[21]
In May 2013, McDermott launched his first photography exhibition in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, at Avenue Art Gallery as part of a collaboration with art agent Marina Cutler. The exhibition, titled The Dylan Project, Make some Noise!, tied his support for The V-Day Organization and love of photography together as the project is a way to bring attention and funds to this organization that supports women in various ways who have suffered violent acts of aggression. McDermott and Cutler have plans to bring The Dylan Project to other locations. Also in 2013, McDermott starred in the short-lived CBS television series Hostages as FBI agent Duncan Carlisle.[28] In 2014, McDermott began starring on another short-lived CBS television series Stalker in one of the lead roles, portraying Detective Jack Larsen opposite Maggie Q.[29]
Part Italian,[34] McDermott married actress Shiva Rose on November 19, 1995.[4] They have two daughters, Colette and Charlotte. Colette's birth is prominently featured in Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.[5] Colette graduated from Barnard College, of which McDermott was also a trustee.[35][36][37] On September 27, 2007, People confirmed that McDermott and Rose had separated.[38] On May 16, 2008, it was reported that McDermott had filed for divorce from Rose.[39] The divorce was finalized on January 2, 2009.[40]
Having met on set in early 2014, on January 14, 2015, it was announced he was engaged to his Stalker co-star Maggie Q.[41] In 2017, they stated that they were not in any rush to have an actual wedding ceremony.[42] In February 2019, the couple split after a four-year engagement.[43]
McDermott has been featured in magazines such as Men's Health.[44] In 1999, he was a finalist in the GQ "Man of the Year" issue.[45][46]
McDermott is a recovering alcoholic. He has been sober since 1984.[47]
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