Dan Hedaya

A prolific and versatile character performer in both film and on television. Hedaya was born in New York City, to a Mizrahi Jewish family from Aleppo, Syria. Hedaya was raised in Bensonhurst. While a student at Tufts University, he began performing at the campus theater. He worked as a junior high school teacher for many years before deciding to pursue acting full-time. He studied acting at HB Studio in New York City. Though Jewish, Hedaya is often cast in Italian American roles. Hedaya earned his first widespread recognition as Carla's slimy and manipulative ex-husband on the famed sitcom Cheers (1982-1993), He was also in its short-lived spinoff The Tortellis. He appeared in several episodes of the television series Hill Street Blues as a corrupt, bigamist cop during the series' first season. He played the estranged father of Mallory Keaton's boyfriend, Nick, on the sitcom Family Ties. He played an Italian American priest in the controversial and quickly cancelled NBC series The Book of Daniel. Adding to his list of television credits is his performance as the long-lost father of Adrian Monk on Monk. He also guest starred in 1997 and 2005 as a wisecracking lawyer on the medical drama ER. During the 1980s Hedaya also appeared in the television series Miami Vice. He portrayed Representative Barney Frank in the acclaimed HBO movie Too Big to Fail (2011) His first film is an uncredited role in the notorious bomb Myra Breckenridge in 1970, Hedaya has played the evil dictator Arius in 1985's Commando and Mel Horowitz, the father of Alicia Silverstone's Cher, in the 1995 film Clueless. He played Julian Marty, a cuckolded husband who plots his wife's murder in the first Coen Brothers film, Blood Simple (1984). He was also Bette Midler's ex-husband in The First Wives Club (1996), Lieutenant Allegrezza in Tony Scott's stylish horror film The Hunger (1983), Sergeant Jeff Rabin in the twisty thriller The Usual Suspects (1995), He played Matt Dillon's vengeful father in To Die For (1995), General Martin Perez in Alien: Resurrection (1997), Vincenzo Castigliane in David Lynch's masterpiece Mulholland Drive (2001), His resemblance to Richard Nixon led to his being cast as the former president for the film Dick (1999), he had earlier appeared in Oliver Stone's Nixon (1995) in a minor role. He gave a tour de force performance in the role as Nixon. His other films include The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), True Confessions (1981), The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, Tightrope (both 1984), Wise Guys (1986), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), The Addams Family (1991), Rookie of the Year (1993), Boiling Point (1993), Daylight, Marvin's Room, Ransom, Freeway (all 1996), In & Out (1997), A Civil Action, A Night at the Roxbury (both 1998), The Hurricane (1999), Shaft, The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave, The Crew (all 2000), Swimfan (2002), Robots, Strangers with Candy (both 2005) and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016). He recently reteamed with Cheers co-star Rhea Pearlman for the film Funny Face (2020) and acted alongside another Cheers co-star Kelsey Grammer in The God Committee (2021). Hedaya has cemented his legacy as one of Hollywood's busiest and most sought-after character actors.