Douglas Peter Savant (born June 21, 1964) is an
American actor. He is probably best known for his roles as Matt Fielding on
Melrose Place and
Tom Scavo on the
ABC dramedy series
Desperate Housewives.
Biography
Career
Doug Savant first gained notice for playing a younger version of Mac McKenzie (played by
Kojak alumnus
Kevin Dobson) on the
CBS Nighttime soap,
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 the eighties he appeared in such films as
Masquerade, starring
Rob Lowe,
Teen Wolf, with
Michael J. Fox, and
Trick or Treat with
Marc Price and
Ozzy Osbourne. Additionally, he was the central character in an episode of
The Outer Limits called
The Hunt. In the episode, he plays an android that is being hunted for sport.
From 1992 to 1997, Savant starred as Matt Fielding on
Melrose Place, a role that was notable for being one of the first mainstream openly gay characters on television. His role was, however, 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 offscreen in a car crash.
After this, Savant guest starred on series such as
Profiler,
Harsh Realm,
Firefly,
JAG,
NCIS,
Nip/Tuck,
NYPD Blue, and a four-episode arc on
24. He also appeared as Sgt. O'Neal in the film
Godzilla.
Savant currently plays
Tom Scavo on
ABC's Desperate Housewives. In the first season (2004-05), Tom was a recurring character, credited as a guest-star in the episodes he appeared. Married to
Lynette Scavo (
Felicity Huffman), he was out of town regularly on business. However 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 have since been portrayed as the most stable couple on the series.
Personal life
Savant was born in
Burbank, California He is married and has two children, Jack and Lucy, with former
Melrose Place co-star
Laura Leighton. He also has two daughters Arianna and Madeleine with his previous wife
Dawn Savant.
External links
Desperate Housewives
DEFAULTSORT:Savant, Doug
