Actor Biography

Richard Schiff has enjoyed a lengthy and acclaimed career in film, television and theater. Raised in New York City, he developed a passion for film and theater at a very early age.

Schiff is currently receiving rave reviews and Emmy® buzz for his role as Dr. Aaron Glassman on last fall's No. 1 new drama series, ABC's The Good Doctor, which stars Freddie Highmore, the incredibly gifted young surgeon with savant syndrome. Proclaims Variety, "It's seemingly impossible to make Richard Schiff uninteresting on screen, so he's a welcome sight as a doctor at the hospital who fights to get Shaun on the staff." The Good Doctor is ABC's most-watched freshman series in 13 years, averaging 15.4 million viewers during its first season. 

Schiff can also be seen in HBO's Ballers playing Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's very successful and demanding boss, Brett Anderson. In addition, he has a recurring role on STARZ's Counterpart, now in production on its second season. Schiff's other television roles include his much-celebrated portrayal of White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler on The West Wing, for which he received the Best Supporting Actor Emmy Award and garnered a total of three Emmy nominations. More recently, he played Don Cheadle's conniving boss in Showtime's House of Lies. In WGN America's period drama, Manhattan, he played the mysterious Mr. Fisher tasked with finding spies who are working in the Manhattan project. In Direct TV's crime drama Rogue, he played a Machiavellian power broker and in Showtime's The Affair he played a high-profile city attorney.

On the feature front, Schiff has completed production on the upcoming films Clemency, with Alfre Woodard; Vandal, a story about a young leader of a legendary Miami graffiti crew; and the indie feature Safe Spaces. Having established a prolific film career, his recent appearances include Shock and Awe, Man of Steel, The Gambler, Kill the Messenger, Made in Dagenham and The Infidel. His extensive film credits number more than 60, including The Lost World: Jurassic Park, I Am Sam, the Oscar®-nominated biopic Ray, Se7en, Hoffa, Malcolm X, People I Know, Forces of Nature, City Hall,Crazy in Alabama, Deep Impact, Living Out Loud, Doctor Dolittle, My Life and The Hudsucker Proxy, among numerous others.

Schiff began his career in New York, where he founded and served as the artistic director of the Manhattan Repertory Theater and directed off-Broadway productions, including Antigone, starring Angela Bassett. During this time, Schiff also completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theater at City College of New York (CCNY). He then performed several plays with Tim Robbins' Actors' Gang. He has maintained a strong presence in theater, appearing on Broadway opposite Al Pacino in Glengarry Glen Ross, as well as in the lead role in Eugene O'Neill's Hughie at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. He starred in the one-man show Underneath the Lintel in London's West End, after performing the play previously at the George Street Playhouse. He has been the recipient of an Ovation Theater Award and a Drama-Logue Award.

In 2000, Schiff received the prestigious Townsend Harris medal from CCNY for Outstanding post-graduate achievement. Past recipients include author Upton Sinclair, actor Edward G. Robinson and Dr. Jonas Salk. In 2004, CCNY granted Schiff the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, along with President Clinton and novelist Walter Mosley.