Rob Morrow (Actor)

Actor Rob Morrow poses during the 33rd Annual People's Choice Awards. (Photo: Mark Mainz / Getty Images)

This boyishly handsome, stage-trained lead achieved success playing smart if callow young professionals in films and TV, despite being a high school dropout. After considerable stage experience and several false starts in film and TV, Morrow landed the career transforming role of a hotshot Columbia Medical School graduate and devoted New Yorker who must relocate to a remote and decidedly eccentric Alaskan town to pay off his medical school loan, in the charming comedy-drama, "Northern Exposure" (CBS, 1990-95). Morrow moved easily between cool professionalism and prickly antagonism while displaying a sharp, sometimes peevish wit as hotshot Dr. Joel Fleischman – a role which garnered himthree Golden Globe and two Emmy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series.

Born Sept. 21, 1962, Morrow was raised in New Rochelle, NY by his father, Murray, an industrial lighting manufacturer, and his mother, Diane. His parents would divorce when he was only 9 years old. As a creative outlet, Morrow began pursuing a professional acting career fresh out of high school, and after landing a number of odd theater jobs, received his first big break. While working as an assistant to Michael Bennett on the hit musical “Dream Girls,” Bennett cast him for a major role in the play “Third Street” at the Circle Repertory Theater. Among Morrow's many stage performances were leading roles in Chaim Potok's musical adaptation of “The Chosen,” “Michael Bennett's Scandal,” “Soulful Scream of the Chosen Son,” “The Boys of Winter,” and “Slam.” He also performed with “The Naked Angels” in New York.

Making the big jump from stage to screen, Morrow made his film debut in the forgettable comedy “Private Resort” (1985) with Johnny Depp. In addition to his leading role on the television series “Tattingers” (1989), Morrow guest-starred on the TV series “Fame” (NBC, 1982-87) and “Spencer for Hire” (ABC, 1985-88). It was around this time that Morrow auditioned for a surreal character-driven drama called “Northern Exposure.” After landing the part of the misplaced Jewish doctor, Morrow became a legitimate TV star overnight. The show, set in a small, remote (and fictional) town called Cicely, Alaska, began as a "fish out of water" motif with Morrow’s driven physician coming into conflict with the laid-back populace of the Alaskan wilderness. As the series progressed, there were a number of sub-plots involving the town residents, with occasional drifts into existential themes. The show would go on to enjoy cult status.

After leaving “Northern Exposure,” Morrow appeared in Robert Redford’s critically acclaimed film “Quiz Show” (1992), followed by “Last Dance” (1996), the made-for-TV movie “The Day Lincoln Was Shot” (TNT, 1998), and opposite Marisa Tomei in the CBS/Hallmark Entertainment mini-series, “Only Love” (1898). Morrow also appeared in “The Emperor’s Club” (2002), and the Bollywood-inspired musical sex farce “The Guru” with Heather Graham (2002).

Around this time, Morrow returned to his first love, performing on stage in the theatrical adaptation of William Wharton's novel, “Birdy,” in London's West End, before appearing in three independent features films – “Into My Heart” (1998) with Claire Forlani, “Labor Pains” (2000) with Kyra Sedgwick and Mary Tyler Moore, and “Other Voices” (2000) with Stockard Channing and Campbell Scott.

Morrow made his directorial debut with the short film “The Silent Alarm” (1993) that he also wrote; the film premiered at the 1993 Seattle Film Festival and was shown at festivals around the world and in rotation on the Bravo network. Morrow moved to directing full-length features with a script he co-wrote, “Maze” (2000). Co-starring Laura Linney and Craig Scheffer, Morrow portrayed an artist with Tourette's Syndrome.

In 2002, he starred in the short, “Night’s Noontime” based on a true story of two 'remarkable lunatics' trying to find the meaning of the word 'art' while confined in a mental asylum. That same year, Morrow returned to TV in the Showtime series titled “Street Time,” as Kevin Hunter, a parolee who battles falling back into a life of crime while maintaining his family life. Morrow directed several episodes of “Street Time” as well as an episode of the shattering HBO prison drama “Oz” (1997-2003) and several episodes of CBS's "Joan of Arcadia” (2003-05), which was, interestingly, created by “Northern Exposure” writer Barbara Hall.

In the Spring 2005, Morrow returned to CBS in the mid-season replacement series “Numb3ers” – a dramatic crime series produced by esteemed film director brothers Ridley & Tony Scott. Morrow starred as FBI agent Don Eppes, a man who recruits his mathematical genius brother, Charlie (David Krumholtz), to help the Bureau solve a wide range of challenging crimes in Los Angeles.