Emmy Award-winning American actor and director Richard Schiff was born on May 27, 1955 in Bethesda, Maryland. The son of a cable television executive and a real estate lawyer, he was forced to deal with the divorce of his parents when he was twelve years old. He dropped out of high school, though he managed to acquire an equivalency diploma later on. After a brief stint chopping firewood in Colorado, he went to New York in 1975 and entered the City College of New York's theater program, intending to be a director rather than an actor. His numerous film and television credits include The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Dr. Dolittle, Deep Impact, and
Entourage . He also performed onstage in the West End production of Underneath the Lintel in the Duchess Theatre at London, England.
Tobias ‘Toby' Ziegler is portrayed by Richard Schiff in the Emmy Award-winning NBC drama series The West Wing. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he is implied to be the son of a World War II veteran, as well as having grown up in a poorer family. He is also Jewish, and the ex-husband of Andrea Wyatt. While he is usually a morose figure who dresses in tepid shades of brown and dull gray, he is also somewhat a political idealist, who rarely backs down and compromises on his personal values and beliefs. He is devout in his beliefs, and regularly attends a synagogue every Saturday.
(Photo courtesy of James Sorenson)