David Bowditch Morse (born October 11, 1953) is an American actor, singer, television director, and writer. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison in the medical drama series ''

St. Elsewhere ''St. Elsewhere'' was an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...

'' (1982–88). His film career has included roles in '' The Negotiator'', '' Contact'', '' The Green Mile'', ''

Dancer in the Dark ''Dancer in the Dark'' is a 2000 musical drama film written and directed by Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier. It stars Icelandic musician Björk as a factory worker who suffers from a degenerative eye condition and is saving for an operation to p ...

'', '' Disturbia'', '' The Long Kiss Goodnight'', '' The Rock'' and '' 12 Monkeys''. In 2006, Morse had a recurring role as Detective Michael Tritter on the medical drama series ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...

'', for which he received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nomination. He portrayed George Washington in the 2008 HBO miniseries ''

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

'', which garnered him a second Emmy nomination. He received acclaim for his portrayal of Uncle Peck on the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

play '' How I Learned to Drive'', earning a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

and Obie Award. He has had success on Broadway, portraying James "Sharky" Harkin in '' The Seafarer''. From 2010 to 2013, he portrayed Terry Colson, an honest police officer in a corrupt

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Treme''. Morse appeared in the WGN America series '' Outsiders'' (2016–17), in the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...

miniseries '' Escape at Dannemora'' (2018) and the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

comedy drama series '' The Chair'' (2021).

Early life

Morse was born October 11, 1953, in

Beverly, Massachusetts Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, and a suburb of Boston. The population was 42,670 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Shore, Beverly incl ...

, the son of Jacquelyn Morse, a school teacher, and Charles Morse, a sales manager. He was raised in Essex, Massachusetts and

Hamilton, Massachusetts Hamilton is a town in the eastern central portion of Essex County in eastern Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 7,561. Currently the town has no manufacturing industry and no industrially-zoned land. Though ...

. His middle name, Bowditch, comes from mathematician

Nathaniel Bowditch Nathaniel Bowditch (March 26, 1773 – March 16, 1838) was an early American mathematician remembered for his work on ocean navigation. He is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation; his book '' The New American Practical Navi ...

Career

Film and television

After graduating from high school in 1971, Morse studied acting at the William Esper Studio. He began his acting career in the theater as a player for the Boston Repertory Theatre in the early 1970s. In the mid-1970s, Esquire Jauchem, artistic director of the Boston Repertory Theater, adapted and directed a stage musical version of '' The Point!'' that starred an 18-year-old Morse as Oblio. The production later toured to the Trinity Square Repertory Company in Providence. He spent some time in New York's theater community in the early 1980s before moving into television and film. During that time, Morse was listed as one of the twelve most "Promising New Actors of 1980" in

John A. Willis John Alvin Willis (October 16, 1916 – June 25, 2010) was an American theatre and film book editor, theatre awards producer, actor, and educator. He is best known for editing the long-running annual publications ''Theatre World'' and ''Screen ...

's ''Screen World, Vol. 32''. Morse's big break came in 1982 when he was cast in the television medical drama ''

''. He played Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison, a young physician who is forced to deal with the death of his wife and the struggles of a single parent professional. Morse appeared in a number of supporting roles following ''St. Elsewhere''. He is quoted as saying: "I made the decision that I didn't care if there was any money in the role or not. I had to find roles that were different from what I had been doing." His turn in ''

Desperate Hours ''Desperate Hours'' is a 1990 American neo-noir action thriller film, and a remake of the 1955 William Wyler crime drama of the same title. Both films are based on the 1954 novel by Joseph Hayes, who also co-wrote the script for this film w ...

'' as antagonist showed a darker Morse. He later starred in ''

The Indian Runner ''The Indian Runner'' is a 1991 crime drama film written and directed by Sean Penn in his directorial debut. Based on Bruce Springsteen's song "Highway Patrolman", the film depicts the relationship between two brothers who find themselves on oppos ...

'' and '' The Crossing Guard''. He has appeared in three adaptations of

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high ...

stories: ''

The Langoliers ''Four Past Midnight'' is a collection of novellas written by Stephen King in 1988 and 1989 and published in August 1990. It is his second book of this type, the first one being ''Different Seasons''. The collection won the Bram Stoker Award in 1 ...

'', '' Hearts in Atlantis'', and '' The Green Mile''. He was a guest star on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', playing a racist cousin of Detective

Tim Bayliss Timothy Bayliss is a fictional character on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', played by Kyle Secor and one of the few main characters to last the entire run of the show. He was loosely based on real-life Baltimore homicide detective Thomas Pellegr ...

In 2002, Morse starred as Mike Olshansky, an ex-Philadelphia police officer turned cab driver, in the television film ''Hack''. For his role in the 2002 crime-drama film '' Shuang Tong'', Morse was nominated as Best Supporting Actor in the

Golden Horse Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is u ...

, the first ever nomination for an English-speaking actor. He appeared as questionable neighbor Mr. Turner in the 2007 release '' Disturbia''. Film critic and commentator John Podhoretz wrote that Morse is a "largely unsung character actor who enlivens and deepens every movie fortunate enough to have him in the cast". In 2006, Morse received a phone call from David Shore, having previously worked with him on the ''Hack'' series, who asked him if he would be interested in having a guest role on ''

''. When Morse watched the show, he could not understand why people watched the show, because he believed that "this House guy is a total jerk". When he told some of his friends about the offer, however, their excited reactions convinced him to accept the role. Morse portrayed Michael Tritter, a detective with a vendetta against Dr. House. He earned his first

nomination for his work on the series. In 2008, Morse portrayed George Washington in the HBO miniseries ''

'', for which his nose was made bigger. Morse commented: "The first thing that comes to mind is my nose; it was my big idea to do that nose. We didn't have a lot of time, because they asked me to do this about three weeks before they started shooting, and I just kept looking at these portraits and thinking 'this man's face is so commanding'. And I did not feel that my face was very commanding in the way his was. So I convinced them that we should try the nose, and we tried it on, and everybody went 'wow, that's Washington'." Morse's portrayal earned him his second

nomination. He is currently reprising the role of Washington in voice form as part of The Hall of Presidents show in

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...

. Morse has stated that out of all of the films he has done, his favorites are ''The Green Mile'', ''The Crossing Guard'', and ''The Indian Runner''. In 2010, he guest starred in two episodes of the HBO drama series '' Treme'', as Lt. Terry Colson of the New Orleans Police Department. He was promoted to series regular starting with the show's second season, which began in April 2011. Later that year, Morse won the best actor award at the

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has beco ...

for his role in '' Collaborator''. He played an ex-CIA agent in the film '' World War Z'' (2013). He played the late NFL player, Mike Webster, in the biographical sports drama ''

Concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentratio ...

''.

Stage

In addition to his film and television career, Morse has continued to appear on stage. For his performance in the 1997 Off-Broadway production of Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama '' How I Learned to Drive'', he received an Obie Award, a

Drama League Award The Drama League Awards, created in 1922, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing. Each May, the awards ...

, a

, and a

Lucille Lortel Award The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres ...

. That same year, he played Father Barry in the play adaptation of ''

On the Waterfront ''On the Waterfront'' is a 1954 American crime drama film, directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando and features Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning, and Eva Marie Saint in her film debut. ...

''. From 2007 to 2008, Morse appeared on Broadway in Conor McPherson's play '' The Seafarer''. He received a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nomination for his role in the 2018 Broadway revival of ''

The Iceman Cometh ''The Iceman Cometh'' is a play written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939. First published in 1946, the play premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 9, 1946, directed by Eddie Dowling, where it ran for 136 perf ...

.''

Personal life

Morse has three younger siblings. He has been married to actress and author of ''The Habit'', Susan Wheeler Duff Morse, since 1982. They have one daughter, Eliza, and twin sons Benjamin and Samuel. After the

1994 Northridge earthquake The 1994 Northridge earthquake was a moment 6.7 (), blind thrust earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 4:30:55 a.m. PST in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The quake had a duration of approximately ...

, Morse and his family moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, where they currently live.

Filmography

Film

Television

Selected stage work

Audiobook performances

References

External links

* * *
David Morse
at the

Internet Off-Broadway Database The Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB), also formerly known as the Lortel Archives, is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway. The IOBDB was funded and developed by the non-profit Lucille Lortel Foundation ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morse, David 1953 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Living people American male film actors American male singers American male stage actors American male television actors American television directors Drama Desk Award winners Male actors from Massachusetts Male actors from Philadelphia Obie Award recipients People from Beverly, Massachusetts People from Hamilton, Massachusetts Singers from Massachusetts William Esper Studio alumni