Douglas Peter Savant (born June 21, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Matt Fielding in the Fox prime time soap opera Melrose Place (1992–97), Tom Scavo in ABC comedy-drama Desperate Housewives (2004–12), and as Sgt. O'Neal in Godzilla (1998).

Doug Savant
Savant in April 2009
Born
Douglas Peter Savant

(1964-06-21) June 21, 1964 (age 60)
OccupationActor
Years active1984–present
Spouse
Dawn Dunkin
(m. 1983; div. 1997)
(m. 1998)
Children4

Early life

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Savant was born and raised in Burbank, California. He attended University of California, Los Angeles, but left before graduating to pursue his acting career.[1]

Career

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Savant began his career appearing in teen comedy films Secret Admirer and Teen Wolf in 1985, and the following year appeared in horror film Trick or Treat. From 1986 to 1987, he had a recurring role as a younger version of Mac McKenzie (played by Kevin Dobson) in the CBS prime time soap opera Knots Landing. He was paired with future Desperate Housewives co-star Nicollette Sheridan, who played a younger version of the Anne Matheson character portrayed by Michelle Phillips. In 1988, he co-starred in erotic thriller film Masquerade alongside Rob Lowe and Kim Cattrall

From 1992 to 1997, Savant starred as Matt Fielding in the Fox prime time soap opera Melrose Place, a role that was notable for being one of the first openly gay lead characters on a television series.[1][2] However, his role was censored greatly by the network - notably a kiss between Matt and guest star Ty Miller during the season two finale was edited out at the last minute by FOX. Savant left the series after five seasons and, a year later, his character was killed off-screen in a car crash. In 1998, he appeared in monster film Godzilla playing Sgt. O'Neal, and the following years had guest-starring roles on The Outer Limits, Profiler, Firefly, JAG, Nip/Tuck, NYPD Blue, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. In 2004, he had a four-episode arc on 24.[1]

In 2004, Savant was cast as Tom Scavo in the ABC comedy-drama series, Desperate Housewives. In the first season (2004–05), Tom was originally credited as a recurring role throughout Season 1, but became credited as a series regular in Season 2. Married to Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), he was out of town regularly on business. Viewer response to Savant and his character led the producers to contract him as a series regular from season two onwards, and Tom and Lynette were portrayed as the most stable couple on the series. The series ended in 2012, and the following years, Savant had guest-starring roles in a number of shows, including Hot in Cleveland, Criminal Minds, 9-1-1 and NCIS.

Personal life

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In May 1998, he married his Melrose Place co-star Laura Leighton. They have two children together: Jack (born October 10, 2000) and Lucy (born June 9, 2005).[3] Savant also has two children from a previous marriage whom Leighton helped raise, Arianna (born January 17, 1992) and Madeline (born July 20, 1993).[4]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1984 Swing Shift Actor
1985 Secret Admirer Boy
Teen Wolf Brad
1986 Trick or Treat Tim Hainey
1987 The Hanoi Hilton Ashby
1988 Masquerade Mike McGill
1989 Paint It Black Eric Hinsley
1990 Red Surf Attila
Shaking the Tree Michael
1993 Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence Dr. Peter Myerson
1998 Godzilla Sgt. O'Neal
1999 First Daughter Grant Coleman
2000 Dropping Out Doctor
2001 The One Cop Uncredited
2006 All You've Got Sam McDonald
2014 April Rain Special Agent Singleton

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1985 Cagney & Lacey Dwayne Patterson Episode: "Violation"
1986 Hotel Elliot Jessup Episode: "Scapegoat"
Alfred Hitchcock Presents Joey Medwick Episode: "Road Hog"
1986–87 Knots Landing Young Mack Mackenzie 7 episodes
1987 The Facts of Life Dwayne Episode: "A Winter's Tale"
Stingray Cdt. Thomas O'Conner Episode: "Night Maneuvers"
1988 In the Heat of the Night Scott LaPierre 2 episodes
1990 China Beach Richard Episode: "The Thanks of a Grateful Nation"
The Knife and Gun Club Dr. Barrow TV movie
Jake and the Fatman John Bronski Episode: "God Bless the Child"
1991 Aftermath: A Test of Love Jeff TV movie
1992 Columbo Detective Dennis Mulrooney Episode: "No Time to Die"
Bonnie & Clyde: The True Story Deputy Sheriff Ted Hinton TV movie
1992–98 Melrose Place Matt Fielding Series Regular
162 episodes
1995 Burke's Law Chase Cobb Episode: "Who Killed the World's Greatest Chef?"
Fight for Justice: The Nancy Conn Story Richard Mark Ellard TV movie
1996 Terminal Dr. Sean O'Grady TV movie
1998 Love Boat: The Next Wave Josh Walters Episode: "Smooth Sailing"
The Outer Limits Kel Episode: "The Hunt"
1999 Profiler Toby Watson Episode: "Inheritance"
A Face to Kill For Virgil TV movie
First Daughter Grant Coleman TV movie
2000 Harsh Realm Sergeant Sommers Episode: "Kein Ausgang"
Godzilla: The Series Trespasser #2 Episode: "Area 51"
First Target Grant Coleman TV movie
2001 That's Life J.T.'s Cousin Episode: "Or What's a Heaven For?"
The District Jeffrey Riverton Episode: "To Serve and Protect"
Family Law Harold Raines Episode: "Sacrifices"
2002 Firefly Commander Harken Episode: "Bushwhacked"
JAG Navy Seals Commander Episode: "Dangerous Game"
First Shot Grant Coleman TV movie
According to Jim Rick Episode: "The Bachelor"
2004 24 Craig Phillips 4 episodes
The Guardian Eric Kane Episode: "Legacy"
Faultline Prof. Anthony McAllister TV movie
NYPD Blue Jason Foster Episode: "Chatty Chatty Bang Bang"
NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service Father Larry Clannon Episode: "A Weak Link"
Nip/Tuck Joel Gideon Episode: "Joel Gideon"
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Paul Brady Episode: "Swap Meet"
2004–12 Desperate Housewives Tom Scavo Recurring role (season 1)
Main role (seasons 2–8)
176 Episodes
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, 2006
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, 2007–2009
2008 Playing for Keeps Peter Marcheson TV movie
2012 Hot in Cleveland Scott Episode: "Two Girls and a Rhino"
2013 Vegas Mr. Binder Episode: "Road Trip"
Rizzoli & Isles Judge Roger Thorson Episode: "Judge, Jury & Executioner"
Drop Dead Diva Jacob Joardi Episode: "Jane's Secret Revealed"
Criminal Minds Malcolm Taffert Episode: "The Caller"
2014 Hawaii Five-0 Robert Young Episode: "Wawahi moeʻuhane"- Broken Dreams
2015 Scorpion Wilson Adler Episode: "Tech, Drugs, and Rock 'n Roll"
2016 The X-Files Augustus Goldman Episode: "Founder's Mutation"
Castle Trevor Nigel Episode: "The G.D.S."
Halt and Catch Fire Mac Harpor Episode: "One Way or Another"
Pure Genius Simon Monroe Episode: "It’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider Silk Surgery"
Notorious Paul Weston 2 episodes
2017 SEAL Team Malcolm Episode: "Borderlines"
2018 9-1-1 Matthew Clark 2 episodes
Lucifer Forest Clay Episode: "Quintessential Deckerstar"
NCIS: New Orleans Eric Barlow 2 episodes
2019 NCIS Brigadier General Daniel Kent Episode: "Hail & Farewell"
2020 Dirty John Martin Newsome 2 episodes
L.A.'s Finest Richard Reeves Episode: "Kangaroo Jack"
S.W.A.T. Mark Episode: "Gunpowder Treason"
2021 Tell Me Your Secrets Ed Jennings 2 episodes
The Rookie Benjamin Episode: "True Crime"

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Doug Savant | TV Guide". TVGuide.com.
  2. ^ "J! Archive - Doug Savant". www.j-archive.com.
  3. ^ "Laura Leighton and Doug Savant welcome a daughter". PEOPLE.com.
  4. ^ "Fame & Fortune: Laura Leighton". bankrate.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2009.
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