Douglas Peter Savant (born June 21, 1964) is an American actor, known for his roles as

Matt Fielding Matthew Fielding, Jr. is a fictional character in the American television series '' Melrose Place'', portrayed by Doug Savant. Matt was an openly gay man working as a social worker in Los Angeles. Initially Matt was not the focus of ongoing storyl ...

in the Fox prime time soap opera '' Melrose Place'' (1992–97),

Tom Scavo Thomas Scavo is a fictional character on the ABC television series '' Desperate Housewives'', played by actor Doug Savant. Tom was originally credited as a recurring role throughout Season 1, but became credited as a series regular in Season 2 ...

in ABC comedy-drama '' Desperate Housewives'' (2004–12), and as Sgt. O'Neal in ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

'' (1998).

Early life

Savant was born and raised in Burbank, California. He attended

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

Career

Savant began his career appearing in teen comedy films ''

Secret Admirer A secret admirer is an individual who feels adoration, fondness or love for another person without disclosing their identity to that person, and who might send gifts or love letters to their crush. Grade school The goal of a secret admirer is ...

'' and ''

Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is chang ...

'' in 1985, and the following year appeared in horror film ''

Trick or Treat Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". Th ...

''. From 1986 to 1987, he had a recurring role as a younger version of Mac McKenzie (played by

Kevin Dobson Kevin Patrick Dobson (March 18, 1943 – September 6, 2020) was an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Detective Bobby Crocker, the trusted protege of Lt. Theo Kojak (played by Telly Savalas) in the CBS crime ...

) in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

prime time soap opera '' Knots Landing''. He was paired with future '' Desperate Housewives'' co-star

Nicollette Sheridan Nicollette Sheridan (born 21 November 1963) is an English-born American actress. She began her career as a fashion model before landing a role in the short-lived ABC primetime soap opera '' Paper Dolls'' in 1984, as well as starring in the rom ...

, who played a younger version of the Anne Matheson character portrayed by

Michelle Phillips Michelle may refer to: People *Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael * Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle" * Michelle (German singer) * Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottish ...

. In 1988, he co-starred in erotic thriller film '' Masquerade'' alongside

Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom ''A New Kind of Family'' (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in ...

and

Kim Cattrall Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British-Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Awa ...

From 1992 to 1997, Savant starred as

in the Fox prime time soap opera '' Melrose Place'', a role that was notable for being one of the first mainstream openly gay characters on television. However, his role was censored greatly by the network - notably a kiss between Matt and guest star Ty Miller during the season two finale was edited out at the last minute by FOX. Savant left the series after five seasons and, a year later, his character was killed off-screen in a car crash. In 1998, he appeared in monster film ''

'' playing Sgt. O'Neal, and the following years had guest-starring roles on '' The Outer Limits'', '' Profiler'', '' Firefly'', '' JAG'', ''

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...

'', '' NYPD Blue'', and '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. In 2004, he had a four-episode arc on '' 24''. In 2004, Savant was cast as

in the ABC comedy-drama series, '' Desperate Housewives''. In the first season (2004–05), Tom was originally credited as a recurring role throughout Season 1, but became credited as a series regular in Season 2. Married to

Lynette Scavo Lynette Scavo is a fictional character on the series ''Desperate Housewives''. The character is played by actress Felicity Huffman, who won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the role in 2005, and was nominated for ...

( Felicity Huffman), he was out of town regularly on business. Viewer response to Savant and his character led the producers to contract him as a series regular from season two onwards, and Tom and Lynette were portrayed as the most stable couple on the series. The series ended in 2012, and the following years, Savant had guest-starring roles in a number of shows, including ''

Hot in Cleveland ''Hot in Cleveland'' is an American television sitcom on TV Land starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White. The series, which was TV Land's first original series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was TV Land's hig ...

'', ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...

'', '' 9-1-1'' and '' NCIS''.

Personal life

In May 1998, he married his '' Melrose Place'' co-star

Laura Leighton Laura Diane Leighton is an American actress. She played Sydney Andrews on the television series '' Melrose Place'' (1993–1997) and its continuation (2009–2010), and Ashley Marin on Freeform's series ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2010–2017). ...

. They have two children together: Jack (born October 10, 2000) and Lucy (born June 9, 2005). Savant also has two children from a previous marriage whom Leighton helped raise, Arianna (born January 17, 1992) and Madeline (born July 20, 1993).

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Doug Savant 2007 Interview
on ''

Sidewalks Entertainment ''Sidewalks Entertainment'' (1988–present) is a weekly American television series that is a combination of a talk show, magazine show and variety show featuring celebrity interviews, music, artistic and novelty acts, and rising performers. The ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Savant, Doug 1964 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Burbank, California