Excerpts of articles on Dylan McDermott....
STAR magazine, Feb. 9th, 1999
Now this is just plain silly but you know he made the big time when gossip rags
and tabloids are writing about Dylan.
"PSYCHIC TELLS DYLAN'S WIFE: YOU'LL CONCEIVE NEXT WEEK by Deidre Johnson"
TV lawyer Dylan McDermott is hoping for a red-hot Valentine's Day -- because that's the day
a psychic told him beautiful wife Shiva would get pregnant!
Pals say The Practice star and Shiva, who already have a 2 year old daughter Colette,
are taking the seer's happy forecast to heart. "They took the visit as a bit of a joke
at first, but they really began to take notice when the psychic mentioned they'd conceive a child on Feb. 14," says a friend.
"They've been trying to have another baby for some time."
"The psychic then send them to a shop that sells charts on making love during the
certain phases of the moon. They were told that if they followed the chart, they could
determine the baby's sex."
The source says Dylan and Shiva want another girl -- and they're going to name it after
his co-star Camryn Manheim.
"They told Camryn they really admired her spunk and that they'd given it some thought
and wanted to name the baby after her," says the insider. "If it's a boy, they'll simply
change the spelling."
The two lovebirds are so excited about the pregnancy prediction, they're even thinking
about stretching Valentine's Day into a three-day weekend of lovemaking.
People Magazine January 25, 1999 "Having a Ball" Article on Steve Harris
by Michael A. Lipton and Monica Rizzo
"Not even Harris's costar and pal Dylan McDermott is spared. (from Steve's
teasing) "I always tease him about the 'money shot,' " says Harris, sitting
in his three bedroom L.A. home, where he lives alone. (He is single and
dating). "No matter what happens, they have to get a shot of those baby
blues -- otherwise we'll be off the air." Says McDermott: "We tease each
other constantly, but Steve takes acting very seriously. He has an
integrity that comes through in Eugene.""
US Magazine Article Dec. 1998 issue 251 by J. Young
"Don't hate him because he is beautiful. DM had to overcome a wild past, emotional
devastation and dead-end time slots - before hitting paydirt with The Practice.
The Practice is personal for DM because it's the first leading role he has gotten
for reasons that have nothing to do with his looks. For years, Hollywood had branded
him just another pretty face, and it's easy to see why. In person his jet-black
hair, steel-blue eyes and insouciant demeanor suggest a latter-day James Bond.
Ironically DM's good looks sometimes got in the way of good parts. DM was often
stuck playing window dressing parts in box office duds. DM has drawn heavily
on the gray areas of his own life to find the character of Bobby Donnell. ""When
my mom died I felt so invisible psychologically; so from that point on my goal was
to be seen. Acting wasn't about making a career choice. It was almost like I had to become an actor
to heal that scar"" DM says. As a teen DM spent weekends and summers waiting
tables and tending bar at his father's pub, the West Fourth Street Saloon in
Greenwich Village. ""That world was fast and furious, and it educated me quickly,""
says DM ""Your childhood is left far behind because you are in that Eugene
O'Neill world. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone as a great place to raise your
kid but for meit opened that door in my life to the darker side of life.""
Although DM quit drinking and bar fighting in the mid-80s, he admits ""I am still
attracted to the sawdust on the floor,the jukebox and late nights, even it's so far
away from my world now."" Now he is chauffered to work...from his Spanish style
house in Santa Monica, Ca to the Manhattan Beach studio where The Practice is filmed.
On the weekends he watches Rugrats with his daughter, plays basketball with his
buddies, and enjoys renovating the couple's 1920's home."
Excerpts from The Boston Globe newspaper. 11/13/98
TV review by M. Gilbert: "The Practice is the sharpest drama on TV, a brilliantly
twisty take on the law, lawyers and the post--Court TV world...Tony Danza...is set
for a four-episode stint playing a lawyer...The series started off as a promising
midseason replacement in March 1997, but it has quite exceeded its expectations, thanks mostly
to its strong ensemble of performers and the writers...With the help of his wide
eyes,Dyaln McDermott projects a dark, morally compromised intensity as Bobby Donnell.
(This season, by the way, he seems to have discovered the razor).
The Practice has also perfected... serial plot lines that develop over the season."
And M.Gilbert writes in The Boston Globe on 11/15/98: "Of all the returning series,
only a handful remain in consistently good form: ...and The Pracitce has quickly become
TV's most beautifully acted, tightly written, and addictive drama. It fully deserved
its Emmy win."
Excerpts from InStyle Magazine from September 1998 issue
"When I was 15 I fell inlove with the 50's and I got a pompadour and wore
Capezio shoes... I thought rebellion was sexy. I thrive on nightlife andI find
the nocturnal world sexy...It's nice to get dressed up, but it's also nice
to take a tux off." --Dylan McDermott
Excerpts from "Man of Style Dylan McDermott" by Bob Makela, June 1997, InStyle Magazine
"Though he usually prefers a laid-back look, you won't catch this guy slumming--
witness his $400 Dolce & Gabbana shoes.
Q.How does [Bobby Donnell] afford those designer suits he wears?
A. They wanted me to dress me more in a Sears look. I like good
clothes. I justified it by saying my character would have bought them at an outlet store.
Q. Who have been your biggest fashion influence?
A. I guess my style is a cross between David Bowie and Clint Eastwood.
Q.How do you stay fit?
A. I try to play basketball 3xs a week. I can't eat french fries or fried chicken
because if I gain weight it goes right to my face.
Q. The things you admire in a woman are...?
A. I like women covered up, more than the see it all look. It's much more romantic
to figure out what's going on underneath. The Victorian era is the sexiest age for me,
but I also like a woman in a pair of jeans.
Q. Do you have any fashion rules?
A. Yea, never wear plaid."
Excerpts from Cosmo Q&A Article by Susan Pocharski, April 1998, p. 194
Thanks to Christina!!!
The Practice's Dylan McDermott is guilty of being sexy
"...he has the ability to melt an entire jury pool with his steel-blue eyes. ""I never particularly
liked lawyers, and I don't know if I like them any better now. But I think they are necessary.
People need protection from the big, bad, evil world,"" says McDermott.
Q. do people ask you for legal advice?
A. Prisoners write, wanting me to get them out. I haven't responded to any of them yet,
and I don't think I will. I've been asked bedroom advice more since the show
has become sexual.
Q. What's the worst job you ever had?
A. I worked in a junkyard in the February snow, smoking cigarettes behind mounds
of scrap metal. It was not romantic.
Excerpts from the Elle Magazine article, May 1998
"Court and Spark: Dylan and Lara make The Practice perfect" by Lisa Kogan, copyright 1998
"He should never have sucked her elbow...[ ]an elbow fetish does not begin to explain
[ ] The Practice. ...it is a series of complicated motives and ambiguous hearts.
When the camera roll, the faces of McDermott and Boyle register bruised tenacity
and indelible chemistry. They make Bobby and Helen the most tender of characters.
""The quality of this material is so strong, I think The Practice is better than most movies
you'll see,"" McDermott explains in the plain, cool way that must have made Kelley
cast him."
Excerpted from People Magazine 50 Most Beautiful People issue May 11, 1998
""The man is liquid sex,"" says Camryn Manheim. ""He's a walking orgasm.""
For most of the past decade McDemott played it sweet and shadowy. As The Practice's
aggressive but idealistic defense attorney Bobby Donnel, however, he has blossomed
into a primetime heartthrob. Likewise his looks took their own good time coming.
The handsomething finally came into focus when he focused on his idols
Bogart, Brando and Clift. ""I just sort of willed myself into being like them,""
he says, "" watching their films wondering, 'How did they do that?"" He's
now more confident. He takes an occasional soak at Beverly Hot Springs
-"my biggest indulgence" - and sweats to keep his weight down with weekly
calisthenics on the beach with a personal trainer. He shuns fried foods.
"I'm Irish", he says, pinching his cheeks, "It goes right to my face.""
Excerpts from the January 17, 1998 TV Guide Article on The Practice
***Note*** This information is quoted from TV GUIDE January 17, 1998
Vol. 46, No. 3, Issue #2338, and is copyright protected.****
"The Practice, The Best Show You're Not Watching"
Written by Lisa Scottoline:
"The cast is entirely believable, headed by Dylan McDermott as the bright, youngish,
and sometimes rash defense lawyer Bobby Donnell. Rather than dominate, Donnell serves as
a free-floating foil for the ensemble, each member of which is an original."
"Legal Pad"
Written by Daniel Howard Cerone:
"Dylan McDermott: Although The Practice is an ensemble show, Dylan McDermott's smoldering
intensity as idealistic defense attorney Bobby Donnell is the real star. For years,
McDermott, 36, wanted to take his acting to the next level, but it wasn't happening
in [...] films. ""With David Kelley I knew the writing was going to be there,"" says
McDermott. He says he is finally fulfilled as an actor. ""No question,"" says McDermott,
who is always checking his moral compass for direction as Donnell. ""This is the
greatest character I have ever played. The most complex and deepest character I could
ask for. If this were it and I never worked again, this would have been enough.""
"Dylan McDermott flings Lara Flynn Boyle onto the couch for the third time, then leans down
to deliver a passionate kiss. Their lips missed the first two takes, and the actors ended
up in laughter. On the third attempt, contact is made. ""Was I good?"" Boyle asks, standing
and adjusting her tight, black skirt. At this point, most network dramas move on to the
next scene...wrong. Then...Boyle (DA Helen Gamble) shoves McDermott (defense attorney
Bobby Donnel) onto the coffee table and straddles him. With her legs wrapped around his
hips, McDermott then carries her into the kitchenand, in an impromtu move, sets her on
the stove. Pots and pans clang noisily to the floor. As the grinding reaches a
fevered pitch, McDermott cries out ""Baste Me!""
""From day one, I have been asking to make the show a little bit hotter or sexier, with
some kind of love life for Bobby,"" McDermott says, moments after a make-up woman finishes
dabbing foundation on his entire body with a 2-inch sponge. He briefly opens his
robe and flashes his bikini bottom-clad body, which now looks like it just spent
a week in Bermuda. ""I enjoy the cerebral stuff too,"" he says. ""And sometimes
I would rather be in the courtroom, but sometimes I want to be in the bedroom.
I hope it brings in viewers. I hope people enjoy it.""
Excerpt from TV Guide issue 2348, Vol. 46, no. 13, March 28-April 3, 1998:
Star Style -- The Screen Actor's Guild Awards... by Jeanne Wolf.
"Some of the guys had fun going formal....The Practice's Dylan McDermott, also in Gucci,
got the OK from his wife, Shiva Afshar, to leave the collar of his ruffled shirt open."
Dylan Vs. Dermot
There was a funny article on the web on Tampa Bay Online's Video View. From The Tampa
Tribune 6/18/97. Here are a few excerpts...
"There names are similar, their initials identical, their career's parallel. Each is dark
and handsome. They're about the same age - but neither is yet famous enough to have his
birthdate in the World Almanac. No wonder you keep confusing Dylan McDermott and Dermot
Mulroney. They're both even married to actors {sic}: McDermott is wed to Shiva Afshar,
Mulroney to Catherine Keener. Each got his screen start in 1987: McDermott in the stark
war drama "Hamburger Hill", and Mulroney in the tangy HBO baseball comedy "Long Gone" which
was filmed in the Tampa Bay area. More recently, McDermott teetered romantically between
Jeanne Tripplehorn and Sarah Jessica Parker in "Til There Was You", which opened May 20, while
Muroney plays the lucky dog triangulated betwen Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz in
"My Best Friend's Wedding". Still puzzled? Get used to it. But in case anyone in your
household has a crush on one of these young stars, here's a handy-dandy checklist
that can spare you the embarrassment of bringing home the wrong video. First, The McDermott
file: The Cowboy Way (1994) Remember the nasty New York sweatshop operator who
imprisons an immigrant girl? That was McDermott. Woody Harrelson and Kiefer Sutherland
starred as the brash New Mexico cowpokes who come to the rescue."
***My note--Dylan has some hutzpah to play opposite the man (Kiefer) who took Julia
Roberts away from him!
"Hardware (1990) In this sci-fi shocker, McDermott is a crusty scavenger who finds
mysterious android parts that turn out to be totally destructive. A violent, gruesome
outing. In the Line of Fire (1993) Remember Clint Eastwood's young partner in this outstanding
Secret Service thiller? Guess who? The Neon Empire (1989) A hoodlum heads west and discovers Las
Vegas. This made-for-Showtime gangster biography, starring Ray Sharkey as Bugsy Siegel,
told the tale with effective economy. Warren Beatty's "Bugsy" was fancier, but not as lively.
McDermott has a minor supporting role. Steel Magnolia's McDermott has a small but
critical role among thie female stars in this tears-with-laughter ensemble hit.
Twister (1989) No, it's not the tornado epic. This wacked-out comedy involves
an eccentic Midwestern family. Harry Dean Stanton, Suzy Amis and Crispin Glover enhance
the weirdness. Miracle on 34th Street (1994) Yes, it is a loser remake of the
1947 favorite. But McDemott holds up well as a lawyer with a healthy sense of fantasy.
Home for the Holidays (1995) Jodie Foster didn't get nearly enough respect
for directing this bright, revealing ensemble comedy about a raucous Thanksgiving
gathering. McDermott joins Holly Hunter, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Claire Danes,
and Robert Downey Jr. in a spiraling series of mind-messing mishaps."
Email me if you know of any Dylan McDermott
articles I should be aware of!