David Hyde Pierce facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David Hyde Pierce
Pierce in New York City in 2010
Born	David Pierce (1959-04-03) April 3, 1959 (age 66) Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Yale University (BA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1982–present
Spouse(s)	Brian Hargrove ​ (m. 2008)​

David Hyde Pierce (born David Pierce on April 3, 1959) is an American actor. He is well-known for playing Dr. Niles Crane on the TV show Frasier from 1993 to 2004. For this role, he won four Emmy Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He was also nominated for five Golden Globe Awards. David Hyde Pierce won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his part as Lt. Frank Cioffi in the Broadway musical Curtains in 2007.

Pierce has acted in many movies like Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and Wolf (1994). He also lent his voice to characters in animated films such as Disney Pixar's A Bug's Life (1998) and Treasure Planet (2002). He played Henry Newman in the comedy movie Wet Hot American Summer and returned for its Netflix series in 2014 and 2017. He has also appeared in TV shows like The Good Wife (2014–2015) and Julia (2022–23).

Besides Curtains, David Hyde Pierce has performed in other Broadway shows. These include Sir Robin in Spamalot (2005) and Horace Vandergelder in Hello, Dolly! (2017). He was nominated for a Tony Award for these roles. He also directed a Broadway musical called It Shoulda Been You in 2015.

Early Life and Education

David Hyde Pierce was born in Saratoga Springs, New York. His father, George Pierce, wanted to be an actor. His mother, Laura Marie Pierce, worked as an insurance agent. David is the youngest of four children. He has two older sisters, Barbara and Nancy, and an older brother, Thomas. In 1993, he added "Hyde" to his name. This was to avoid being confused with another actor named David Pierce.

As a child, Pierce often played the organ at his local church. He also went to a summer camp for boys called Kabeyun. There, he acted in plays and even directed one called H.M.S. Pinafore.

After finishing high school in 1977, Pierce went to Yale University. He first studied music, focusing on piano. Later, he decided to study both English literature and theater studies. While at Yale, he acted in and directed student plays. He graduated from Yale in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Becoming an Actor

After college, Pierce moved to New York City. In the 1980s and early 1990s, he worked different jobs. He sold ties and was a security guard while trying to become an actor. He also studied acting at Michael Howard Studios. During this time, he acted in an off-Broadway play called Hamlet. He made his first appearance on Broadway in 1982 in Beyond Therapy.

Pierce got his first big TV role in the early 1990s. It was in a political comedy show called The Powers That Be. He played a Congressman named Theodore Van Horne. Even though critics liked the show, it did not last long. This allowed Pierce to take on his most famous role in Frasier. The producers of Frasier hired him partly because of his acting in The Powers That Be.

Breakthrough with Frasier

Pierce at the 1994 Emmy Awards

David Hyde Pierce looks a lot like Kelsey Grammer. Because of this, the creators of the Cheers spin-off Frasier made a special role for him. He played Niles Crane, who was Frasier Crane's younger brother. Before Frasier started, Pierce wanted to use just "David Pierce" for his acting name. He was worried that using his middle name would make people think he was only like the "snooty" character of Niles.

For his work on Frasier, Pierce was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Emmy award for eleven years in a row. He won the award in 1995, 1998, 1999, and 2004. People praised his amazing physical comedy and quick reactions. One critic said that Pierce was one of the best reactive comedians on TV. He added that when Pierce and Grammer acted together, Frasier was "undiluted magic."

Pierce also appeared in movies like Little Man Tate with Jodie Foster. He was in Nixon (1995) with Anthony Hopkins. He also acted with Ewan McGregor in Down With Love (2003). He voiced Doctor Doppler in Disney's Treasure Planet. He was Slim, a stick insect, in Pixar's A Bug's Life. He also voiced Abe Sapien in Hellboy. In Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Pierce played Dennis Reed. He was the brother of Meg Ryan's character, Annie Reed. This movie came out just before Frasier began. In 2001, he starred as Professor Henry Newman in Wet Hot American Summer.

Pierce has done a lot of voice acting. He was the narrator for The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human in 1999. He voiced Drix, a cold pill, in the animated comedy Osmosis Jones. He also voiced Cecil Terwilliger, the brother of Kelsey Grammer's character Sideshow Bob, in The Simpsons. This was a fun inside joke because their characters on Frasier were also brothers. He returned as Cecil in a later episode of The Simpsons.

Return to Broadway

In 2005, Pierce joined the stage show Spamalot. In 2006, he starred as Lieutenant Frank Cioffi in a new musical called Curtains. This show opened on Broadway in March 2007. On June 10, 2007, Pierce won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role in Curtains.

In 2010, Pierce appeared in a play called La Bête. This play was shown in London and then in New York. Also in 2010, Pierce had his first main movie role in The Perfect Host. From 2014 to 2015, Pierce was in the TV show The Good Wife. He also returned as Henry Newman in Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015) on Netflix. Pierce directed the Broadway musical It Shoulda Been You.

Recent Work

Pierce with Bette Midler at Hello, Dolly! on Broadway in 2017

In 2017, David Hyde Pierce returned to TV in the series When We Rise. He also appeared with Julie Andrews in Julie's Greenroom on Netflix. Pierce co-starred with Bette Midler in the Broadway show Hello, Dolly!. The show opened on April 20, 2017, and was very popular. Pierce was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance.

In 2020, Pierce took on the role of Paul Cushing Child in the TV series Julia. This show started on HBO Max in March 2022. In late 2022, it was announced that Pierce would not return as Niles Crane for the 2023 Frasier revival. He felt there wasn't much more for Niles to do.

Pierce starred in the musical Here We Are in 2023. This was the final musical by Stephen Sondheim. It was performed at The Shed in New York City. In 2024, it was announced that Pierce will star in a new version of The Pirates of Penzance called Pirates! The Penzance Musical. This show will start in April 2025.

Personal Life

Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, Missouri Senator Kit Bond and Pierce at the Alzheimer's Press Conference to promote awareness

David Hyde Pierce is married to television writer and producer Brian Hargrove. They got married in California on October 24, 2008.

Pierce has worked for many years with the Alzheimer's Association. This organization helps people with Alzheimer's disease. He has spoken in Washington, D.C., to ask for more money to find treatments. He also supported the National Alzheimer's Project Act. Pierce believes it is important for everyone to help face the challenges of Alzheimer's.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: David Hyde Pierce para niños