David Hyde Pierce (born David Pierce; April 3, 1959) is an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he found acclaim portraying psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier from 1993 to 2004, where he received four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series as well as two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Pierce also received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Lieutenant Frank Cioffi in the Broadway musical Curtains (2007).
Pierce is known for his roles in films such as Crossing Delancey (1988), The Fisher King (1991), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Wolf (1994), Nixon (1995), Down with Love (2003), The Perfect Host (2010). He portrayed Henry Newman in the comedy film Wet Hot American Summer and the Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2014) and Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017). He has also voiced roles in Disney Pixar's A Bug's Life (1998), Osmosis Jones (2001), and Treasure Planet (2002). Pierce has acted in the CBS legal drama The Good Wife (2014–2015), the ABC docuseries When We Rise (2017), and the HBO Max series Julia (2022).
Besides his performance in Curtains, Pierce also had Broadway roles as Sir Robin in Monty Python's Spamalot (2005), Vanya in the comedic play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (2013) and Horace Vandergelder in the revival of Hello, Dolly! (2017); the latter two of which Pierce was nominated for a Tony Award. He made his Broadway directorial debut with the musical It Shoulda Been You (2015).
Early life and education
Pierce was born in Saratoga Springs, New York. His father, George Pierce, was an aspiring actor, and his mother, Laura Marie Pierce (née Hughes), was an insurance agent. He is the youngest of four children: he has two older sisters, Barbara and Nancy and one older brother, Thomas. He adopted the middle name Hyde in 1993 to avoid confusion with another actor named David Pierce. As a child, Pierce frequently played organ at the local Bethesda Episcopal Church. As a child, Pierce attended the all boys' sleepaway summer camp Kabeyun, where he first began acting in their camp productions of Gilbert & Sullivan and directed their production of H.M.S. Pinafore.
After graduating from Saratoga Springs High School in 1977, Pierce attended Yale University. He originally majored in music with an emphasis in piano performance, but later changed to a double major in English literature and theater studies. While attending Yale, Pierce performed in and directed student productions, appearing in the Yale Gilbert & Sullivan Society's production of H.M.S. Pinafore. Pierce also directed the Gilbert & Sullivan Society's operetta Princess Ida. Pierce graduated from Yale in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
