Craig Eric Sheffer (born April 23, 1960) is an American film and television

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 (), l ...

. He is known for his leading roles as

Norman Maclean Norman Fitzroy Maclean (December 23, 1902August 2, 1990) was a Scottish-American professor at the University of Chicago who became, following his retirement, a major figure in American literature. Maclean is best known for his collection of nov ...

in the film '' A River Runs Through It, ''Aaron Boone in the film ''

Nightbreed ''Nightbreed'' is a 1990 American dark fantasy horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, based on his 1988 novella ''Cabal''. It stars Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg, Charles Haid, Hugh Quarshie, and Doug Bradley. The f ...

'', Joe Kane in the film '' The Program'', and Keith Scott on the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

''.

Early and personal life

Sheffer was born in

York, Pennsylvania York (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...

. His father worked as a prison guard. Before becoming an actor, Sheffer sold newspapers in New York City and "slept under the marble staircase" in

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern termi ...

for weeks while living off

Unification Church The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonie (nickname), Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 unde ...

spaghetti dinners."

Career

Sheffer was first seen on a nationwide basis as Ian Hayden on the ABC daytime

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' One Life to Live'', and on the 1983 prime time series''

The Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one ...

''. His earliest starring assignment in films was as the best friend of troubled teenager Emilio Estevez in '' That Was Then... This Is Now'' (1985), a reformatory camp inmate in '' Fire with Fire'' (1986), an antagonistic rich kid in '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' (1987), and the romantic love interest of an overweight cosmetician in '' Baby Cakes '' (1989). Sheffer played the lead role of Aaron Boone/Cabal in ''

'' (1990), author

in '' A River Runs Through It'' in (1992), and played Heisman Trophy candidate

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 ...

Joe Kane in '' The Program'' in 1993. Sheffer's other films include ''

Fire in the Sky ''Fire in the Sky'' is a 1993 American biopic science fiction mystery film directed by Robert Lieberman and adapted by Tracy Tormé. It is based on Travis Walton's book ''The Walton Experience'', which describes an extraterrestrial abductio ...

'' (1993), ''

Head Above Water ''Head above Water'' is a 1986 non-fiction book by Nigerian novelist Buchi Emecheta. It was published in 1986 in the African Writers Series by Heinemann and has been described as " anecdotal autobiography." Plot summary ''Head above Water'' is ...

'' (1996), and '' Sleep With Me'' (1994) (top-billed, as the apex of a romantic triangle which included

Eric Stoltz Eric Cameron Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is an American actor, director and producer. He played the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film ''Mask'', which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Suppor ...

and Meg Tilly). Sheffer played the leading role in

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...

's franchise sequel, '' Hellraiser: Inferno''. He also played the main character in 1997's '' Bliss'' which starred

Sheryl Lee Sheryl Lynn Lee (born April 22, 1967) is a German-born American film, stage, and television actress. After studying acting in college, Lee relocated to Seattle, Washington to work in theater, where she was cast by David Lynch as Laura Palmer and ...

, Terence Stamp and

Leigh Taylor-Young Leigh Taylor-Young (born January 25, 1945) is an American actress who has appeared on stage, screen, podcast, radio and television. The most famous films in which she had important roles include ''I Love You, Alice B. Toklas'' (1968), '' The Hors ...

. Sheffer played Constant Bradley in the 1996

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

'' A Season in Purgatory.'' He played Keith Scott on the CW Network series ''

'' for three seasons before his character was killed off halfway through season 3 (he also had several guest appearances in season 4). He directed the feature film ''American Crude'', a dark comedy starring

Ron Livingston Ronald Joseph Livingston (born June 5, 1967) is an American actor. He is known for playing Peter Gibbons in the 1999 film '' Office Space'' and Captain Lewis Nixon III in the 2001 miniseries '' Band of Brothers.'' Livingston's other roles includ ...

and Rob Schneider; it was released straight to DVD in June 2008. Sheffer had a cameo appearance in the movie '' Stand Up Guys''. In 2016, Sheffer starred alongside

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th- dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...

in ''

Code of Honor A code of honor or honor code is generally a set of rules or ideals or a mode or way of behaving regarding honor that is socially, institutionally, culturally, and/or individually or personally imposed, reinforced, followed, and/or respected by cer ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheffer, Craig 1960 births American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors Living people People from York, Pennsylvania Male actors from Pennsylvania