Richard Dean Anderson is an American actor who played Angus MacGyver on the show MacGyver and Jack O’Neill in the series Stargate SG-1. Anderson has reprised both roles in movies, commercials, and spin-offs related to either series.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000760/ Before he started acting professionally, Anderson worked as a juggler and street mime in Los Angeles.http://rdanderson.com/bio/bio.htm
Although he has earned 11 nominations over the course of his acting career, Richard Dean Anderson has only won one award. In 1998, Anderson received the Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Actor for his acting on Stargate SG-1.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000760/awards Anderson’s only child, Wylie Quinn Annarose Anderson, was born in August 1998 to his partner Apryl Prose. Aside from making occasional guest appearances, he has taken a break from acting to focus on his parenting. http://rdanderson.com/bio/bio.htm
Career
Anderson started his television career in 1976 when he took on the role of Dr. Jeff Weber on the show General Hospital. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000760/bioAfter five years on the show, he moved on to make brief guest appearances on shows like The Facts of Life, Today’s F.B.I, and The Love Boat. In 1982, Anderson was cast as the star of a show called Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which was cancelled after one season. Similarly, the year after, he took the lead role on Emerald Point N.A.S, but that too was cancelled after one season. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000760/
In 1985, Anderson started work on MacGyver. His first major role, Richard Dean Anderson played the role of Angus MacGyver for 139 episodes over the course of seven seasons. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000760/ After the show ended, he acted in multiple made-for-television movies, including two MacGyver films, until Stargate SG-1 began filming in 1997. Aside from also participating in two Stargate moves, Richard Dean Anderson played the role of Jack O’Neill for 175 episodes in 10 seasons. http://rdanderson.com/bio/bio.htm
Richard Dean Anderson Talks about MacGuyver
In this 2007 interview, Richard Dean Anderson talks about the audition that landed him the role of MacGuyver. He describes how the executives at Paramount Pictures felt he was different from the other actors who had auditioned and credits the MacGuyver writers for their creativity throughout the series. Anderson ends the video with his thoughts about why the show became a success.
References
Fast Facts
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Full name
Richard Dean Anderson
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Born
January 23, 1950
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Occupation
Actor
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Birth place
Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Children
Wylie Anderson, born in 1998.
