Biography
A relatively late starter, Schiff racked up an impressive number of credits quickly into his career, landing increasingly larger roles in film, and becoming a familiar face due to his prolific guest work on television, in addition to regular roles on the series "Relativity" (ABC, 1996-97) and "The West Wing" (NBC, 1999- ). The balding actor's realistic, average looks, sad eyes and world-weary demeanor made him an especially believable frazzled …
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Career Milestones
| Began career as stage director in Manhattan | ||
| Joined Tim Robbins' acclaimed Actors Gang | ||
| Moved to Los Angeles | ||
| Turned his attention to acting, performing in downtown NYC theater productions | ||
1973 | Enrolled at City College of New York but dropped out after one year | |
1974 | Moved to Colorado for one year | |
1975 | Returned to NYC | |
1983 | Staged a production of "Antigone" featuring Angela Bassett | |
1987 | Appeared in the independent short "Arena Brains" | |
1988 | Made feature acting debut with a small part in "Medium Straight" | |
1989 | Made TV-movie debut, "Trenchcoat in Paradise" (CBS) | |
1990 | Appeared in "Young Guns II" | |
1990 | Featured in an HBO "Tales From the Crypt" installment entitled "Korman's Kalamity" | |
1992 | Had a small role as a reporter in the Spike Lee drama, "Malcolm X" | |
1992 | Had supporting roles in the NBC true crime TV-movies "Till Death Do Us Part" and "Cruel Doubt" | |
1995 | Guest starred on "NYPD Blue" as a suspected terrorist bomber | |
1996 | Featured in the CBS TV movie "Special Report: Journey to Mars" | |
1996 | Had a featured role in the political drama "City Hall" | |
1996 | Played Barry Roth on the low-rated but critically praised ABC series "Relativity" | |
1997 | Had memorable key role as an equipment specialist outfitting the research team in "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" | |
1998 | Co-starred in the HBO political satire "The Pentagon Wars" | |
1998 | Had a featured role as Dr Gene Reiss, a colleague of Eddie Murphy's "Dr. Dolittle" | |
1998 | Played Philly, the the successful brother of elevator operator Pat (Danny De Vito), in "Living Out Loud" | |
1998 | Played a disgruntled transit employee who plans the hijack of a subway train, in ABC's TV-movie remake "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" | |
1999 | Appeared in the ensemble of the NBC drama series "The West Wing" as Toby Ziegler, the president's cynical communications director; earned Emmy nominations in 2001 and 2002 | |
1999 | Appeared in the romantic comedy "Forces of Nature" | |
1999 | Guest starred on an episode of The WB's high school set sci-fi drama "Roswell" | |
2001 | Cast as Turner in Jesse Nelson's feature drama "I Am Sam" | |
2004 | Starred as Jerry Wexler opposite Jamie Foxx in "Ray" the biopic of legendary blues singer Ray Charles | |
2006 | Returned to the stage, starring in the premiere run of "Underneath the Lintel," a one-act, single-character play by Glen Berger | |
2007 | Appeared in the West End production of "Underneath the Lintel" | |
2007 | Starred along with Peter Krause in the thriller "Civic Duty" | |
2008 | Appeared opposite Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson in "Last Chance Harvey" | |
2009 | Appeared opposite Michael Douglas in the drama "Solitary Man" | |
2009 | Played a supporting role in the family comedy "Imagine That," starring Eddie Murphy | |
2010 | Cast as FBI director Jack Fickler on CBS' "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior" | |
Awards
2000 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in The West Wing |
2001 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in The West Wing |
2001 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The West Wing |
2002 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in The West Wing |
2002 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The West Wing |
2003 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The West Wing |
2004 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The West Wing |
2005 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The West Wing |
2006 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The West Wing |