David Hyde Pierce

David Hyde Pierce (born David Pierce; April 3, 1959) is an American actor. Known for his portrayal of psychiatrist Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, he received four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series as well as two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Pierce has also received five Golden Globe Awards nominations for Best Supporting Actor for the role. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role of Lt. Frank Cioffi in the Broadway musical '' Curtains'' (2007).

Pierce acted in such films as '' Crossing Delancey'' (1988), ''The Fisher King'' (1991), '' Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993), ''Wolf'' (1994), '' Nixon'' (1995), '' Down with Love'' (2003), and '' The Perfect Host'' (2010). He voiced roles in Disney Pixar's ''A Bug's Life'' (1998), ''Osmosis Jones'' (2001), and ''Treasure Planet'' (2002). He portrayed Henry Newman in the comedy film '' Wet Hot American Summer'' and reprised his role in two series from Netflix in 2014 and in 2017. From 1992 to 1993, Pierce starred in the NBC sitcom ''The Powers That Be''. He has since acted in the CBS legal drama ''The Good Wife'' (2014–2015), the ABC docu-drama '' When We Rise'' (2017), and the HBO Max series '' Julia'' (2022–23).

Besides his performance in '' Curtains'', Pierce also had Broadway roles as Sir Robin in Monty Python's ''Spamalot'' (2005), Vanya in the comedic play ''Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike'' (2013) and Horace Vandergelder in the revival of '' Hello, Dolly!'' (2017). For the latter two, Pierce was nominated for a Tony Award. He made his Broadway directorial debut with the musical '' It Shoulda Been You'' (2015).

Early life and education

David Hyde Pierce was born in Saratoga Springs, New York. His father, George Pierce, was an aspiring actor, and his mother, Laura Marie Pierce (née Hughes), was an insurance agent. He is the youngest of four children: he has two older sisters, Barbara and Nancy and one older brother, Thomas. He adopted the middle name Hyde in 1993 to avoid confusion with another actor named David Pierce. As a child, Pierce frequently played organ at the local Bethesda Episcopal Church. He attended Kabeyun, an all-boys' summer camp, where he acted in their camp productions of Gilbert & Sullivan and directed their production of '' H.M.S. Pinafore''.

After graduating from Saratoga Springs High School in 1977, Pierce attended Yale University. He originally majored in music with an emphasis in piano performance, but later changed to a double major in English literature and theater studies. While attending Yale, Pierce performed in and directed student productions, appearing in the Yale Gilbert & Sullivan Society's production of '' H.M.S. Pinafore''. Pierce also directed the Gilbert & Sullivan Society's operetta ''Princess Ida''. Pierce graduated from Yale in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Career

1980–1992: Rise to prominence

After his graduation, Pierce moved to New York City, where during the 1980s and early 1990s he was employed in various jobs, such as selling ties at Bloomingdale's and working as a security guard, while pursuing an acting career and studying at Michael Howard Studios. During this period he played Laertes in an off-Broadway production of ''Hamlet,'' with Kevin Kline in the title role, and made his Broadway debut in 1982 in Christopher Durang's '' Beyond Therapy''.

Pierce's first big television break came in the early 1990s with Norman Lear's political comedy, ''The Powers That Be,'' in which Pierce played Theodore Van Horne, a Congressman. Despite positive reviews from critics, the show was canceled after a brief run. This did free Pierce up for his breakthrough role in ''Frasier'', and the producers of that show did in part hire Pierce based on his performance in ''The Powers That Be''.

1993–2004: Breakthrough with ''Frasier''

In part owing to his close facial resemblance to Kelsey Grammer, the producers of the ''Cheers'' spin-off ''Frasier'' created the role of Niles Crane ( Frasier Crane's younger brother) for him. Although prior to ''Frasier'' going into production, Pierce had petitioned the Screen Actors Guild to change his billing to David Pierce–the name he had used on the stage–concerned that the use of his middle name in the show's credits would typecast him, saddling him with the character's "snooty" image. For his work on ''Frasier'', Pierce was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Emmy a record eleven consecutive years, winning in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2004. Pierce received praise for his skilled physical comedy and rapid fire comedy reactions. David Bianculli of ''New York Daily News'' declared, "Not since Jack Benny has TV seen such a great reactive comedian as Pierce, and whenever he and elseyGrammer share the same stage, ''Frasier'' is undiluted magic.

Pierce also appeared alongside Jodie Foster in '' Little Man Tate'', with Anthony Hopkins in Oliver Stone's '' Nixon'' (1995), and with Ewan McGregor in '' Down With Love'' (2003). He provided the voice for Doctor Doppler in Disney's 42nd animated feature, ''Treasure Planet''; Slim, a stick insect in Pixar's ''A Bug's Life''; and Abe Sapien in Guillermo del Toro's '' Hellboy''. In his role in '' Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993), Pierce played Dennis Reed, the brother of Meg Ryan's character Annie Reed, a professor at Johns Hopkins University. The film was released three months before the start of ''Frasier''. In 2001, he starred in the cult 1981-set summer camp comedy '' Wet Hot American Summer'', as the befuddled astrophysicist, Prof. Henry Newman.

Pierce has played a number of roles as a voice actor. These include the narrator of the film '' The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human'' in 1999, the walking stick insect "Slim" in ''A Bug's Life'', Dr. Delbert Doppler in Disney's film ''Treasure Planet'', and amphibian Abe Sapien in ''Hellboy''. Pierce declined to be credited for his ''Hellboy'' role because he felt it was the performance of Doug Jones, and not his own voice, which ultimately brought the character of Abe Sapien to life. He was the voice for Drix, a cold pill, in the animated comedy ''Osmosis Jones''.

In a deliberate in-joke, he voiced Cecil Terwilliger, the brother of Kelsey Grammer-voiced Sideshow Bob, in ''The Simpsons eighth season episode " Brother from Another Series", in which the two characters parallel the Frasier–Niles relationship. At one point in the episode, Cecil mistakes Bart Simpson (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) for Maris Crane, the unseen wife of Niles on ''Frasier''. He returned as Cecil in the Season 19 episode " Funeral for a Fiend" where ''Frasier'' co-star John Mahoney voices Dr. Robert Terwilliger Sr., the father of Cecil and Sideshow Bob.

Pierce provided the voice of Mr. Daedalus in the 1998 Disney show '' Hercules: The Animated Series''. Pierce narrated an audio tour guide, ''Napa Uncorked'', in 2002. In 2006, he co-starred in the animated pilot for '' The Amazing Screw-On Head'' as the Screw-On Head ( Paul Giamatti)'s nemesis Emperor Zombie; however, the series was not picked up. His commercial voiceover work included ads for the Tassimo coffee system, Seattle's Metro Transit, and home furnishings retailer IKEA Canada.

2005–2016: Return to Broadway

In 2005, Pierce joined Tim Curry and others in the stage production of ''Spamalot''. In August and September 2006, he starred as Lieutenant Frank Cioffi in '' Curtains'', a new Kander and Ebb musical staged at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. In March 2007, ''Curtains'' opened on Broadway and on June 10, 2007, Pierce won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical at the 61st Tony Awards for his performance. In his acceptance speech, Pierce said the first words he spoke on a Broadway stage were, "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

On November 19, 2007, Pierce was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Niagara University in Lewiston, New York. In 1999, he was awarded an honorary degree from Skidmore College, located in his native Saratoga Springs. Pierce was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2010 for his narration of '' The Phantom Tollbooth''.

In 2010, Pierce appeared in a revival of David Hirson's play '' La Bête'' directed by Matthew Warchus. The production debuted on London's West End before moving to New York. Also in 2010, Pierce had his first starring film role as Warwick Wilson in the dark comedy/psychological thriller '' The Perfect Host''. From 2014 to 2015, Pierce appeared in ''The Good Wife'' as Frank Prady on CBS. He also starred as Assoc. Prof. Henry Neumann in '' Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp'' (2015) on Netflix. Pierce directed the Broadway production of the musical '' It Shoulda Been You''. In 2015 he directed the Manhattan Theater Club production of David Lindsay-Abaire's play ''Ripcord'' Off-Broadway at City Center. Pierce appeared in the Off-Broadway limited engagement of ''A Life'' by Adam Bock. The play premiered at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater on October 24, 2016, directed by Anne Kauffman, and closed on November 27.

2017–present

In 2017, he returned to television in the limited docudrama series about LGBT rights, '' When We Rise'' as Dr. Jones. He also appeared as himself with Julie Andrews in ''Julie's Greenroom'' on Netflix. Pierce co-starred with Bette Midler in the Broadway revival of '' Hello, Dolly!''. The musical opened on April 20, 2017, at the Shubert Theatre. The show was a critical and box office hit. Pierce received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance at the 71st Tony Awards, as well as Drama League Award nominations for ''Hello, Dolly!'' and ''A Life''.

In 2020, Pierce replaced Tom Hollander as Paul Cushing Child in the biographical series '' Julia'' which premiered on HBO Max in March 2022. The cast includes Sarah Lancashire, Bebe Neuwirth, and Isabella Rossellini. In October 2021 he starred as Walter Vale in the musical '' The Visitor'' at The Public Theatre. The project is based on the 2007 film of the same name written by Tom McCarthy. In late 2022, it was revealed that Pierce had declined to return as Niles Crane in the 2023 revival of ''Frasier'', saying he didn't think there was much left for Niles to do.

Pierce starred in the final musical from Stephen Sondheim entitled '' Here We Are'' (2023) which was performed at The Shed in New York City. Pierce acted alongside Bobby Cannavale, Amber Gray, Rachel Bay Jones, Denis O'Hare, and Steven Pasquale. The production involves a book by David Ives and was directed by Joe Mantello. It is based on the Luis Buñuel films '' The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'' (1972) and '' The Exterminating Angel'' (1962).

In 2024, it was announced that Pierce would star as the Major General and W.S. Gilbert in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Gilbert and Sullivan's ''The Pirates of Penzance'' titled ''Pirates! The Penzance Musical'' starting in April 2025. Pierce would star opposite Ramin Karimloo as the Pirate King. The revival is reportedly a reimagining set in New Orleans, "sizzling with Caribbean rhythms and French Quarter flair."

Personal life

After years of media speculation about his sexuality, Pierce revealed in 2007 that he is gay and later confirmed through his publicist that he and television writer, director, and producer Brian Hargrove were a couple. When accepting his Tony Award for ''Curtains'', Pierce thanked "my partner, Brian, because it's 24 years of listening to your damn notes—that's why I'm up here tonight." They married in California on October 24, 2008, just days before Proposition 8 was adopted as law banning same-sex marriages in the state. On May 28, 2009, while a guest on '' The View'', he publicly announced his marriage to Hargrove and expressed his anger about the approval of Proposition 8.

Pierce has spent years working with the Alzheimer's Association on behalf of Americans with Alzheimer's disease. He has appeared in Washington, D.C., to testify in support of expanding funding for treatment, and he publicly campaigned for the National Alzheimer's Project Act. Pierce told MSNBC in 2011, "it is up to us, to all of us, to the American people and to their representatives about whether we face the challenges and make all the effort necessary or if we ignore it and just let this sort of tidal wave crash over us."

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, David Hyde
1959 births
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American LGBTQ people
21st-century American male actors
American gay actors
American male film actors
American male musical theatre actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American theatre directors
Audiobook narrators
Comedians from New York (state)
Episcopalians from New York (state)
LGBTQ people from New York (state)
Living people
Male actors from New York (state)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
People from Saratoga Springs, New York
Tony Award winners
Yale University alumni