Edward M. Sears (born April 6, 1977) is an American actor, known for his roles as Richard Patrick Woolsley on the TNT legal drama series ''

Raising the Bar Raising the Bar may refer to: Film and television * ''Raising the Bar'' (2008 TV series), an American legal drama television series * ''Raising the Bar'' (2013 TV series), an American reality web series about barmaking * ''Raising the Bar'' (20 ...

'', Patrick on the first season of FX

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically cate ...

horror drama ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' is an American anthology horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the cable network FX. The first installment in the '' American Story'' media franchise, each season is conceived as a ...

'' (retroactively titled '' Murder House''), Dr. Austin Langham on the '' Showtime'' period drama series ''

Masters of Sex ''Masters of Sex'' is an American period drama television series that premiered on September 29, 2013, on Showtime. It was developed by Michelle Ashford and loosely based on Thomas Maier's biography '' Masters of Sex''. Set in the 1950s through ...

'', and

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are of ...

Hunter Zolomon / Zoom on ''

The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...

''.

Early life and education

Sears was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place (Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Several settlements in t ...

. He attended high school at the

Landon School Landon School is a private, college preparatory school for boys in grades 3–12, with an enrollment of approximately 680 students, in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. Background Paul Landon Banfield and his wife, Mary Lee, fo ...

in Bethesda, MD. Sears played varsity football for the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...

, but transferred and graduated from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

with a degree in business management in 1999.

Career

Sears' business career in New York was put on hold as he won a role on his first audition, with a two-year contract role on the daytime series ''One Life to Live''. Then, after several appearances on the ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering ...

'' franchise and '' Whoopi'', he attended the

William Esper The William Esper Studio was founded in 1965 as a school for the performing arts in Manhattan, New York. The school is dedicated to the acting technique of Sanford Meisner. Its founder, William "Bill" Esper, is often referred to as the best-known o ...

Studio. This training led to comedy stints on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production ...

'' and ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...

''. He co-starred on the TNT original series ''

'' portraying public defender Richard Patrick Woolsley. Sears appeared in

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television serie ...

's '' Dollhouse'', the Lifetime original film '' The Client List'', and as Thomas Cole in '' The Defenders''. In 2013, Sears joined the cast of the Showtime drama ''

'', about the work of

Masters and Johnson The Masters and Johnson research team, composed of William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson, pioneered research into the nature of human sexual response and the diagnosis and treatment of sexual disorders and dysfunctions from 1957 until the 1 ...

. From 2015 to 2016, Sears had been cast in the second season in a recurring role of

The CW ''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 ...

television series ''

'', initially introduced as

Jay Garrick Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first superhero known as the Flash. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert. He first appeared in ''Flas ...

, until it was revealed that his character was actually Hunter Zolomon / Zoom. In 2017, he starred as Keith Mullins in '' 24: Legacy''. In 2020, Sears appeared as a guest on the ''

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' is an American comedy-drama television series created and primarily written by Aaron Sorkin. The series was about the production of a live comedy series, similar to ''Saturday Night Live''. Produced by Warner Br ...

'' marathon fundraiser episode of ''

The George Lucas Talk Show ''The George Lucas Talk Show'' is an improvised talk show in New York City hosted by comedian Connor Ratliff, who appears as George Lucas, the creator of '' Star Wars'', and he interviews real guests as themselves in a panel format. He is joine ...

''.

Personal life

Sears married actress Milissa Skoro on October 5, 2013. In his free time he surfs and plays

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

. He has two brothers, Christian and Ricky, and a sister Dana. His great-grandfather won a gold medal in the 1912 Olympics for pistol shooting, and his aunt won a bronze medal in the 1956 Olympics for the 100-yard butterfly.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sears, Teddy 1977 births 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors Living people Male actors from Maryland Male actors from Washington, D.C. People from Chevy Chase, Maryland McIntire School of Commerce alumni