Daniel James Cortese (; born September 14, 1967) is an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

. He played Perry Rollins on ''

Veronica's Closet ''Veronica's Closet'' is an American sitcom television series created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, that aired on NBC for three seasons, from September 25, 1997, to December 7, 2000. The show stars Kirstie Alley as Veronica "Ronnie" Chase, ...

'' and Vic Meladeo on '' What I Like About You''.

Early life and education

Of Italian (Calabrese) descent, Cortese was born on September 14, 1967, in

Sewickley, Pennsylvania Sewickley is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 3,827 according to the United States Census 2010, 20 ...

, and graduated from

Quaker Valley High School Quaker Valley High School is a high school located in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania. The school is one of the four National Blue Ribbon Schools that comprise the Quaker Valley School District. The school teaches an average of 645 students in grades 9 t ...

in Leetsdale, where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. Prior to becoming an actor, Cortese played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

as a backup

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. In his freshman year in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, the

Tar Heels Tar Heel is a nickname applied to the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans. The origins of the Tar Heel nickname trace back to North Carolina's promi ...

went to the

Aloha Bowl The Aloha Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision (then known as Division I-A) college football bowl game played in Honolulu, Hawaii at Aloha Stadium. History The Aloha Bowl was established in 1982 by Mackay ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Cortese graduated from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in broadcasting in 1990.

Career

Cortese first came to prominence as the host of the Emmy Award-winning show '' MTV Sports'' from 1992 to 1997. Cortese was also the player/coach of The Bricklayers and The Homeboys for the ''

MTV Rock N' Jock ''MTV Rock N' Jock'' is a television series on MTV featuring actors, musicians, and other entertainers playing sports with professional athletes. The original episode was called ''The MTV Rock N' Jock Diamond Derby,'' and was changed to ''MTV's ...

'' games. During

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

's "Your Way, Right Away" advertising campaign in the 1990s, Cortese was hired as the company's official spokesperson. He appeared in over 90 national and regional commercials for the fast food giant. In 1993, per producer Joel Silver, Cortese made two separate cameos (

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...

Lounge singer and a Cryo Prison guard) in the hit

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

film '' Demolition Man''. Also, in 1993, Cortese landed the lead role in NBC's remake of "Route 66". In 1994, he co-starred in the CBS police drama '' Traps'' with Academy Award winner

George C. Scott George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor, director, and producer who had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his port ...

. He gained further recognition in 1995 as Jess Hanson in ''

Melrose Place ''Melrose Place'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex on Melrose Place, in ...

''. He played Jake Hanson's half brother for 8 episodes in the third season but he was killed off in that season's cliffhanger finale. In 1996, Cortese starred as Jason in the NBC TV movie ''

The Lottery ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. The film turned out to be the highest rated of the year for the network. Also in 1996, he starred in the feature film ''Weekend In The Country'' with

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadin ...

, as well as the HBO film ''Public Enemies''. Cortese appeared on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

sitcom ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

''. He played Tony, the ultra-cool, good-looking, rock climbing boyfriend of

Elaine Benes Elaine Marie Benes () is a fictional character on the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend in the sitcom is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld, and she is also good friends with George Costanza ...

(

Julia Louis-Dreyfuss Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...

). In the episode, titled "

The Stall "The Stall" is the 76th episode of the NBC sitcom '' Seinfeld''. It is the 12th episode of the fifth season, and first aired on January 6, 1994. Plot In a movie theater restroom, Elaine, realizing her stall does not have any toilet paper, asks th ...

", he was dubbed a "mimbo" (a male bimbo) by

Jerry Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

. During rehearsals, Cortese improvised the line "Step off", which became the catchphrase that

Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He and Jerry Seinfeld created the television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', on which David was head writer and executive producer for the first seve ...

insisted was used for the episode. From 1997 to 2000, Cortese starred with

Kirstie Alley Kirstie Louise Alley (January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022) was an American actress. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1997 ...

in ''

'', part of NBC's "Must See TV" Thursday night lineup. Then in 2000, he starred with

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

in the feature film ''After Sex''. Cortese followed that up in 2001 with the TBS film ''The Triangle'' with

Luke Perry Coy Luther "Luke" Perry III (October 11, 1966 – March 4, 2019) was an American actor. He became a teen idol for playing Dylan McKay on the Fox television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' from 1990 to 1995, and again from 1998 to 2000. He ...

. In 2003, Cortese came back to comedy and starred in the sitcom '' Rock Me Baby''. From 2002 to 2003, Cortese also had a recurring role in the first season of

The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

sitcom '' What I Like About You'' as Vic Maledeo, the boss of Val Tyler (

Jennie Garth Jennifer Eve Garth (born April 3, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Kelly Taylor throughout the ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' franchise and Val Tyler on the sitcom '' What I Like About You'' (2002–06). In 2012, she starred ...

). He reprised the role as a series regular from 2005 to 2006 in the fourth and final season. He also directed the episode "The Other Woman" that same season. In 2004, he appeared in two episodes of the third season of the ABC Family sitcom ''

8 Simple Rules ''8 Simple Rules'' (originally ''8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter'') is an American sitcom television series originally starring John Ritter and Katey Sagal as middle-class parents Paul and Cate Hennessy, raising their three chi ...

'' as Scott McCallister, a tennis coach who is briefly caught in a love triangle with his player Bridget Hennessy (

Kaley Cuoco Kaley Christine Cuoco ( ; born November 30, 1985) is an American actress. After a series of supporting film and television roles in the late 1990s, she landed her breakthrough role as Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom ''8 Simple Rules'' (2002 ...

) and her mother Cate Hennessy (

Katey Sagal Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (; born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023), Cate Henne ...

). Also in 2004, he starred in the

SyFy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

film '' Locusts: The 8th Plague''. In 2008, producer Mark Burnett then hired Cortese to host ''

My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad ''My Dad Is Better than Your Dad'' is a reality sports TV show on NBC that premiered on February 18, 2008. The show was produced by Mark Burnett, producer of other shows like '' Survivor'', ''The Apprentice'', and '' Are You Smarter Than a 5th G ...

'' for

. Cortese got back to his athletic roots for ABC and appeared in the eight-episode special '' The Superstars''. In 2008, Cortese co-starred with

Emily Osment Emily Jordan Osment (born March 10, 1992) is an American actress, singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Osment began her career as a child actress, appearing in numerous television shows and films, before co-starring as Gerti ...

in the feature film ''

Soccer Mom The term soccer mom broadly refers to an American, middle-class, suburban woman who spends a significant amount of her time transporting her school-age children to youth sporting events or other activities, whether or not they are soccer relate ...

'' as Lorenzo Vincenzo, a world-famous Italian soccer player. He co-hosted the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

'' Crash Course'' in 2009. Also in 2009, he co-starred with

Bob Saget Robert Lane Saget (May 17, 1956 – January 9, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Saget played Danny Tanner on the ABC sitcom ''Full House'' (1987-1995), and reprised the role for its Netflix sequel '' Fuller ...

in the sitcom ''Surviving Suburbia''. In 2010, Cortese hosted

VH-1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communic ...

's weight loss competition '' Money Hungry''. In 2012, Cortese guest-starred in the ''

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 highe ...

'' episode (#3.8) titled " God and Football". where he played Jimmy Armstrong, a professional football player. From 2013 to 2014, Cortese served a two-year run as the host of truTV's '' Guinness World Records Unleashed''. In 2015, Cortese starred in the feature film ''Changing Seasons''. In 2019, Cortese showed off his rapping skills on the hit TBS show ''Drop The Mic''. On October 11, 2014, while reprising his role as

Stefon Stefon Meyers (''né'' Zolesky), simply referred to as Stefon, is a character created by Bill Hader and former ''SNL'' writer John Mulaney, played by Hader on ''Saturday Night Live'', who appeared as the New York City correspondent for ''Weekend ...

on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'',

Bill Hader William Thomas Hader Jr.''Finding Your Roots'', January 26, 2016, PBS. (born June 7, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the creator, producer, writer, director, and star of the HBO dark comedy series ''Barry'' (2018 ...

repeatedly mentions Cortese's name during the show's

Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typic ...

segment when he speaks of New York City's hot spots.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cortese, Dan 1967 births Living people American directors American game show hosts American male film actors Male models from Pennsylvania American male television actors Burger King people Spokespersons North Carolina Tar Heels football players Male actors from Pennsylvania People from Sewickley, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania American people of Italian descent UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media alumni