Alan Dale

Although best known to his fellow countrymen Down Under for his eight-year stint on the wildly popular soap Neighbours, Dale found stateside fame playing a string of powerful but ruthless characters on American TV. The New Zealand-born actor moved to Australia early on to further his career and became a national icon for his small-sceeen work on The Young Doctors and the aforementioned Neighbours. Even though the latter series turned him into a star, Dale disliked the way the producers treated the cast. Perhaps his unhappiness influenced his decision to try his luck in Hollywood in 2000. Despite being a fiftysomething character actor with little name or face recognition in the U.S., he soon became a ubiquitous presence on the tube, appearing on hit shows like ER, The X Files and 24. He was particularly memorable in a trio of similar roles: three villainous tycoons who also happened to be overprotective family men on The O.C., Lost and Ugly Betty.Alan Dale Fast Facts:

• Not to be confused with the big-band singer of the same name.
• An avid swimmer and rugby player in his youth.
• Worked a variety of jobs before his acting career took off, including selling cars and real estate, and delivering milk.
• Performed in his parents' theater group and did radio voice-overs in New Zealand before moving to Australia in 1979, where he landed a role on the soap opera The Young Doctors.
• While playing bass in a band with other Neighbours actors at a 1987 charity event, fellow cast member Kylie Minogue sang Little Eva's "The Loco-motion" with them, thus her singing career was born.
• Shared in a 2007 Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for ABC dramedy Ugly Betty.

• Alan Dale Relationships:
• Matthew Dale - Son
• Claire - Ex-wife
• Daniel - Son
• Nicholas - Son
• Simon Dale - Son
• Tracey Dale - Wife