Peter MacNicol Biography

Fast Facts

• Plays the bagpipes
• Intended to become a paleontologist before switching his focus to acting
• First film appearance was in 1981's Dragonslayer; he made his Broadway debut that same year in Crimes of the Heart
• Won the coveted role of Stingo in 1982's Sophie's Choice even though at 5 ft
• 7 in
• , he was too short to play a character who was supposed to be over 6 ft
• tall
• Wore cowboy boots with 4-inch heels to his audition and later padded them with packs of tissues in order to stand taller
• Asked for an early departure from his role as hospital lawyer Alan Birch on David E
• Kelley's Chicago Hope when he learned that Kelley wouldn't be involved in the medical drama as much
• In 2007, he kept busy on the small screen as crime-solving physicist Dr
• Larry Fleinhardt on the CBS drama Numb3rs and trouble-making government official Tom Lennox on the Fox series 24
• Was originally announced as nominee for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2016 for his work on Veep; days after the nominations were announced, he was ruled ineligible for the category and replaced with Peter Scolari (Girls)