Life and career

Early life

Russ was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, and is the son of a naval officer. He attended the University of Michigan, where he was a member of the Michigan Cheer team, which was all male at the time. He was also a diver at U of M.

Career

Russ' acting first began on the New York stage before he embarked onto a television and film career. In 1977, he had his first supporting role in Death Bed: The Bed That Eats. This film would not be officially released until 2003.

During the 1980s, Russ found work in more supporting roles such as Crisis at Central High (1981), a television film also starring Academy Award winning actress Joanne Woodward, The Border (1981), The Right Stuff (1983) as Slick Goodlin, St. Elsewhere (1986) and Crime Story (1986). He continued finding work in both television and film. He also guest starred in the television series Miami Vice in the 1985 episode "Evan" as the title character, an ATF agent who shared a history with Don Johnson's character, Sonny Crockett. He made fourteen appearances on the 1987-1990 crime drama Wiseguy as Roger Lococco.

Russ received critical acclaim when he starred in Pastime (1991) as Roy Dean Bream, a veteran minor league hurler who mentors a young phenomenon. The role earned him a nomination at the 1992 Independent Spirit Awards for "Best Male Lead."

In 1993, he was cast as Alan Matthews on the television sitcom Boy Meets World. Russ played this role until the series ended in 2000. Russ also directed several episodes of the series during the last three seasons. His other television directing credits include directing one episode of both Lizzie McGuire and Rude Awakening.

However, he continued performing in other series and films throughout his time on Boy Meets World, primarily television films. In 1998, he performed as Danny and Derek Vinyard's father in the critically acclaimed American History X. Later, he starred in the short-lived television serial drama Mister Sterling.

In fall 2009, it was announced that Russ would be cast as the new character Tucker on The Young and the Restless. Russ' time on the show was short, however, as it has been announced the role of Tucker was being recast with Stephen Nichols replacing Russ in the role.

Russ is the star of the comedy web series Home at Last. In the series, he portrays "Bob", a homeless man who moves in with the son he abandoned at birth.

In 2014, Russ represented his role of Alan Matthews from Boy Meets World on its spinoff Girl Meets World.

Personal life

Russ is married to actress Clare Wren and has a daughter and son. His son is currently attending a military school in Waynesboro, VA. Russ enjoys downhill skiing and windsurfing.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	Death Bed: The Bed That Eats	Sharon's Brother
1979	Just You and Me, Kid	Demesta
1980	Cruising	Paul Gaines
1981	Cattle Annie and Little Britches	Little Dick Raidler
1982	The Border	Jimbo
1983	The Right Stuff	Slick Goodlin
1984	Courage	Sonny
1985	Beer	Merle Draggett
1987	Wanted: Dead or Alive	Danny Quintz
	Dead of Winter	Rob Sweeney
1988	The Unholy	Luke
1989	Disorganized Crime	Nick Bartkowski
1991	Pastime	Roy Dean Bream
1992	Traces of Red	Michael Dobson
1993	Aspen Extreme	Dave Ritchie
1997	When Danger Follows You Home	Det. Tyler Barnes
1998	American History X	Dennis Vinyard
2001	Buck Naked Arson	Ranger Lightcap
	Life as a House		Uncredited
2009	Gary's Walk	Vernon
	Pawn	Justin Elliot Randolph	Short film
	A Fork in the Road	Det. Ross
2010	1,001 Ways to Enjoy the Missionary Position	Evan
	Green Guys	Peter Donnelly

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977-1978	Another World	Burt McGowan
1981	Crisis at Central High	J.O. Powell	TV movie
1982	CBS Library	Rattlesnake	Episode: "Robbers, Rooftops and Witches"
	Rehearsal for Murder	Frank Heller	TV movie
	The Dukes of Hazzard	Scroggins	Episode: "The New Dukes"
1983	Remington Steele	Chance McCormick	Episode: "Steele's Gold"
	V	Brad	TV miniseries
1985	Riptide	Mack McPherson	Episode: "Polly Want an Explanation"
	Miami Vice	Evan Freed	Episode: "Evan"
	Hunter	Jack Lachman	Episode: "Fire Man"
	Command 5	J.D. Smith	TV movie
	The Long Hot Summer	Jody Varner	TV movie
1986	St. Elsewhere	Patrick O'Casey	Episodes: "Time Heals (1)", "Time Heals (2)"
	Blood & Orchids	Lloyd Murdoch	TV movie
	Second Serve	Josh	TV movie
	Houston: The Legend of Texas	William Travis	TV movie
	Crime Story	Det. Wes Connelly	Episodes: Pilot (1), Pilot (2), "Crime Pays"
1987	Tour of Duty	Sgt. Early Ray Michaels	Episode: "War Lover"
1988	The Loner	Jake Wilis
1988-1990	Wiseguy	Roger Lococco
1989	Nasty Boys	Ben Farlow	TV movie
1990	Capital News	Redmond Dunne
	A Promise to Keep	Carl	TV movie
1991	Gabriel's Fire	Brad Fixx	Episode: "Truth and Consequences"
	The Young Riders		Episode: "Daisy"
	Crazy From the Heart	Dewey Whitcomb	TV movie
1992	Bad City Story	Jim Malone	Unsold TV pilot
	Drive Like Lightning	Boll Donner	TV movie
	Middle Ages	Terry
1993	The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.	Jack Randolph	Episode: "Socrates' Sister"
	CBS Schoolbreak Special	Coach Jim Doane	Episode: "Other Mothers"
	seaQuest DSV	Rusty Thomas	Episode: "Brothers and Sisters"
1993-2000	Boy Meets World	Alan Matthews	Main role, 120 episodes
1994	Viper	Mr. Townsend	Episode: Pilot
1995	Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story	Bill West	TV movie
	The Marshal	Loyal Truscott	Episode: Pilot
	Legend	Wild Bill Hickok	Episode: "The Life, Death, and Life of Wild Bill Hickok"
	Trail of Tears	David	TV movie
1996	Have You Seen My Son	Van Stein	TV movie
	A Husband, a Wife and a Lover	Art Maskin	TV movie
	Nash Bridges	Scott Lamont/"The Monk"	Episode: "Trackdown"
1997	Night Sins	Sheriff Steiger	TV miniseries
	Stargate SG-1	Capt. Jonas Hansen	Episode: "The First Commandment"
1999	A Secret Life	Mark Whitman	TV movie
	Replacing Dad	George Marsh	TV movie
	Come On, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story	Joseph Bonaduce	TV movie
2000	Ally McBeal	Michael Bassett	Episodes: "Two's a Crowd", "Without a Net"
	Level 9	Agent Colter	Episode: "A Price to Pay"
2001	Touched by an Angel	Prof. Thomas North	Episode: "Holy of Hollies"
2002	The Division	Jesse Whalen	Episode: "Shelby"
	Crossing Jordan	D.A. Jack Olson	Episode: "There's No Place Like Home"
	MD's	James Wiles	Episode: "A La Casa"
	Robbery Homicide Division	Elliot Ayers	Episode: "City of Strivers"
2003	Mister Sterling	Tommy Doyle	Main role, 10 episodes
	Dragnet	Ted Paris	Episode: Redemption
	The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire	Rev. Deeker	Episode: "Sleeping Lions"
	Finding John Christmas	Hank McAllister	TV movie
2004	Silver Lake	Phil Patterson	TV movie
	Deadwood	Otis Russell	Episodes: "Jewel's Boot Is Made for Walking", "Sold Under Sin"
	CSI: NY	Mr. Prescott	Episode: "Creatures of the Night"
	JAG	Maj. Gen. Earl Watson	Episodes: "Fighting Words", "This Just in from Baghdad"
	NYPD Blue	Hal Matheson	Episode: "I Love My Wives, But Oh You Kid"
2005	The West Wing	Dan	Episode: "Message of the Week"
	Without a Trace	Max Cassidy	Episode: "Freefall"
2005-2008	Boston Legal	A.D.A Christopher Palmer	5 episodes
2006	The Sopranos	Paul Calviano	Episode: "Moe n' Joe"
	Just Legal	Bartender	Episode: "The Bar"
	Reunion	Congress Clark	Episodes: "1995", "1996"
2007	Demons	Senator Carney	Unsold TV pilot
	Ghost Whisperer	Bill Bristow	Episode: :Dead to Rights"
	Numb3rs	Michael Shannon	Episode: "Money for Nothing"
	Standoff	Warren Keegan	Episode: "Road Trip"
	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Jonah Quinn	Episode: "The Case of the Cross-Dressing Carp"
2008	Wildfire	Congressman Dean Nichols	Episode: "The More Things Change (1)", "The More Things Change (2)", "Friendship/Passion"
	The Ex List	Jimmy Bloom	Recurring role, 9 episodes
2009	The Mentalist	Dooley Gerber	Episode: "Black Gold and Red Blood"
2009-2010	The Young and the Restless	Tucker McCall
2010	Cold Case	Tim Hudson	Season 7, Episode 18
2011	Home At Last	Bob	Episodes 1-6
2011	90210	Salty's Place owner	Episode: "Up in Smoke"
2011	Leverage	Morris Beck	Episode: "The Ten Li'l Grifters Job"
2012	Criminal Minds	Donald Collins	Episode: "A Family Affair"
2012	Awake	Jim Mayhew	Episode: "Guilty"
2012	NCIS	Phillip Wickes	Episode: "The Tell"
2014	Girl Meets World	Alan Matthews	Episode: "Girl Meets Home for the Holidays"
2015	Scandal	Frank Holland	Episode: "Even the Devil Deserves a Second Chance"

Awards and nominations

Independent Spirit Awards

• 1992: Nominated, "Best Male Lead" - Pastime

[ Source: Wikipedia ]