James Timothy Daly (born March 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Joe Hackett on the
NBC sitcom ''
Wings'' and his recurring role as drug-addicted screenwriter
J.T. Dolan on ''
The Sopranos
''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...
.'' He starred as
Pete Wilder on the
ABC medical drama ''
Private Practice'' from 2007 to 2012. He is also known for his voice role as
Clark Kent/Superman in ''
Superman: The Animated Series ''and several animated Superman movies. From 2014 until 2019, he portrayed
Henry McCord, husband of the
Secretary of State, on the
CBS political drama ''
Madam Secretary'', starring
Téa Leoni.
Early life

Daly was born at
Mount Sinai Hospital in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, the only son and youngest of four children of actor
James Daly (1918–1978) and actress Mary Hope Daly (; 1921–2009). He is of
Irish descent, his ancestors being from
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
and
County Kerry
County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...
. He is the younger brother of actress
Tyne Daly
Ellen Tyne Daly (; born February 21, 1946) is an American actress whose six-decade career included many leading roles in movies and theater. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work, a Tony Award, and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of ...
. He has two other sisters, Mary Glynn (wife of
Mark Snow
Mark Snow (born Martin Fulterman; August 26, 1946) is an American composer for film and television. Among his most famous compositions is the theme music for science fiction television series '' The X-Files''.
''The X Files'' instrumental wa ...
) and Pegeen Michael. Daly attended
The Putney School, where he started to study acting.
Daly began his professional career while a student at
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
's
Bennington College, where he studied
Theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
and
Literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
, acted in
summer stock, and earned a
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree. He graduated from college in 1979, and returned to New York to continue studying acting and singing.
Career
Daly debuted on stage when he was seven years old in ''Jenny Kissed Me'' by
Jean Kerr, together with his parents and two sisters. He appeared for the first time on TV when he was 10 years old in an American Playhouse adaptation of ''
An Enemy of the People'' by
Henrik Ibsen, which starred his father
James Daly. He dreamed about a sports or music career and also considered becoming a doctor or a lawyer, but finally decided to become an actor. Daly started his professional acting career when he appeared in a 1978 adaptation of
Peter Shaffer's play ''
Equus''.
His first leading film role was in the film ''
Diner
A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...
'', directed by
Barry Levinson, in which he shared screen time with actors including
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. Known for various roles, including leading man characters, Bacon has received numerous accolades such as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Bacon made his featu ...
and
Mickey Rourke. Starring roles soon followed in
Alan Rudolph's feature, ''
Made in Heaven'', the
American Playhouse production of ''The Rise & Rise of Daniel Rocket'', and the
CBS dramatic series, ''
Almost Grown'' created by
David Chase.
In theatre he has starred in the Broadway production of ''
Coastal Disturbances'' by playwright
Tina Howe opposite
Annette Bening
Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. With a career spanning over four decades, she is known for List of Annette Bening performances, her versatile work across screen and stage. Bening has received List of awards an ...
and received a 1987
Theatre World Award for his performance. He has also starred in ''Oliver, Oliver'' at the Manhattan Theatre Club, ''Mass Appeal'' by Bill C. Davis and ''Bus Stop'' by
William Inge at
Trinity Repertory Company, ''
The Glass Menagerie'' by
Tennessee Williams at the Santa Fe Festival Theatre, ''A Knife in the Heart'' and ''A Study in Scarlet'' at the Williamstown Playhouse, and ''Paris Bound'' at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. During this time, Daly also starred in the CBS television miniseries ''
I'll Take Manhattan'' as Toby Amberville.
Daly describes himself as being highly self-critical in regard to his career. In an interview with New Zealand
'ZM' radio personality
Polly Gillespie, Daly was quoted as saying, "I think part of it (his self-critical nature) is passed down to me from my parents who are actors. The theatre was our temple... When you entered you were expected to live up to the example of this glorious place."
1990s
''Wings'' is an American sitcom that ran on
NBC from April 19, 1990, to May 14, 1997. It starred Daly and
Steven Weber as brothers Joe and Brian Hackett. The show was set at Tom Nevers Field, a small airport in
Nantucket, Massachusetts
Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...
, where the Hackett brothers operated the one-plane airline, Sandpiper Air.
In 1993, he gave a much-respected performance as
David Koresh in ''
In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco'' (TV). The film was controversial because it was already in production while the
Waco standoff was on-going.

Daly also became noted for voicing
Clark Kent/Superman in ''
Superman: The Animated Series'' during this time.
In 1997, he and J. Todd Harris formed Daly-Harris Productions, through which he produced such films as: ''
Execution of Justice'' (1999) (TV), ''
Urbania'' (2000) and ''Tick Tock'' (2000). In 1998, Daly appeared in several episodes of the
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...
award-winning,
Tom Hanks-produced
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
mini-series ''
From the Earth to the Moon
''From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes'' () is an 1865 novel by Jules Verne. It tells the story of the Baltimore Gun Club, a post-American Civil War society of weapons enthusiasts, and their attempts to build an en ...
'' playing astronaut
Jim Lovell
James Arthur Lovell Jr. ( ; born March 25, 1928) is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of the fi ...
. Hanks had portrayed that person in the film ''
Apollo 13''.
2000s
During the 2000–2001 television season, Daly starred as Dr. Richard Kimble in
a remake of the classic television series ''
The Fugitive''. The series lasted only one season.
In 2002, Daly guest-starred as himself in the TV series ''
Monk
A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
'' in the episode "
Mr. Monk and the Airplane", briefly reuniting with his ''Wings'' castmate
Tony Shalhoub
Anthony Marc Shalhoub ( ; ; born October 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for a variety of roles ranging from comedic to dramatic on stage and screen. He has received several accolades including five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, s ...
. In 2006, Daly returned to Broadway when he appeared on stage opposite
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director, and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom '' Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Pri ...
and
Željko Ivanek in the Broadway revival of ''
The Caine Mutiny Court Martial''.
Daly made several appearances on ''
The Sopranos
''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...
'' as
J.T. Dolan, an AA buddy of
Christopher Moltisanti
Christopher Moltisanti, portrayed by Michael Imperioli, is a fictional character of the HBO TV series ''The Sopranos''. He is Tony Soprano's protégé and a member of the DiMeo crime family, rising from associate to captain over the course o ...
(
Michael Imperioli
Michael Imperioli (born March 26, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO crime drama series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...
). Daly received a 2007
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...
nomination for his work on the series. He appeared on the midseason
ABC crime series ''
Eyes
An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system.
In higher organisms, the ey ...
'', which got good reviews but was canceled after only five episodes. In 2006, Daly played the role of
Nick Cavanaugh on the new
ABC drama ''
The Nine''. From 2007 to 2012, Daly played a love interest for
Kate Walsh's character on the TV series ''
Private Practice''.
As a voice-actor, Daly portrayed superhero
Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
and his alter ego
Clark Kent
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
in ''
Superman: The Animated Series'' (1996–2000). He was unable to return as Superman (and was replaced by
Christopher McDonald in ''
Batman Beyond'' or as
George Newbern in ''
Justice League
The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...
'' and ''
Justice League Unlimited
''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...
''), as he was under contract to star in a remake of the 1960s TV drama ''
The Fugitive''. He reprised his role as Superman in the video game ''
Superman: Shadow of Apokolips'' and the direct-to-video releases ''
Superman: Brainiac Attacks'', ''
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies'', ''
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse'' and ''
Justice League: Doom''.
Daly heads Red House Entertainment. Films produced through the company include ''Edge of America'', which won a
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
and a
Humanitas Prize, and Daly's directing debut, the independent film ''
Bereft''.
Daly also created Wandering Bark Productions, based at Paramount Pictures, a company designed to develop and produce a variety of film, television and theater projects. The company's producing credits include the Los Angeles premiere of
Vincent J. Cardinal's play ''A Colorado Catechism'', starring Daly. The play received favorable reviews and earned Daly the Drama-Logue Award for Best Actor. Daly co-produced a documentary, ''
PoliWood'', about the 2008 Democratic and Republican National conventions. The documentary, directed by
Barry Levinson, had its premiere at the 2009
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
.
In 2014, Daly guest starred in recurring roles on ''
The Mindy Project'' and ''
Hot in Cleveland''. From mid-2014 until 2019, he played Henry McCord, the husband of the title character on the TV series ''
Madam Secretary'', played by Tea Leoni, about a US Secretary of State.
Non-profit work
Daly is an activist in various
liberal political and social causes.
In the beginning of 2007, Daly became a member of
The Creative Coalition (TCC), a liberal, politically active
501(c)(3) nonprofit consisting of members of the American film entertainment industry; since 2008, Daly has served as its president. As a member of TCC, Daly joined the National Task Force on Children's Safety, a program co-founded by TCC and Safety4Kids which describes itself as "the first children's media brand focused solely on safety and health." In August 2007, Daly became one of the three chairs for TCC's activity at the 2008
Democratic and
Republican conventions, along with actress
Kerry Washington and writer/director Sue Kramer. In November 2007, Daly interviewed Senator
John Edwards, one of the
Democratic presidential candidates.
In June 2008, Daly, together with
Chandra Wilson, was named the 2008 ambassador for Lee National Denim Day – a fundraiser for breast cancer benefiting the Women's Cancer Programs of the
Entertainment Industry Foundation.
Personal life
Daly married actress
Amy Van Nostrand in 1982. They have two children. In 2010, Daly and Van Nostrand divorced. In
''Madam Secretary'', their son,
Sam Daly played the ex-fiancé of character Daisy Grant, White House Press Secretary to President Elizabeth McCord, and their daughter, Emelyn, played the niece of Daly's character Henry McCord.
Daly has been dating
Téa Leoni, his ''Madam Secretary'' co-star, since December 2014.
In 2012, Daly climbed
Mount Kilimanjaro. That same year, he and his sister Tyne endorsed the re-election campaign of Democratic U.S. President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
.
Daly was in the Virgin America first-class lounge during the
2013 Los Angeles International Airport shooting.
Filmography
Film
Television
Producer credits
Theatre
Broadway
Off-Broadway
Other stage credits
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Daly, Tim
1956 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American film producers
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
Bennington College alumni
Male actors from Manhattan
Television producers from New York City
American people of Irish descent
The Putney School alumni
Waldorf school alumni