Rick Otto was born in Baltimore, Maryland, as the youngest of three children to a detective father and a nurse mother. His upbringing by a police officer, who rose to the rank of Major commanding the Homicide Division of the Baltimore City Police Department, instilled in him a strong desire to attend law school after graduating from Loyola College.
However, his plans were suddenly altered when he found himself on the set of NBC's drama Homicide: Life on the Street in 1993. Following encouragement and guidance from Tom Fontana, Rick decided to put his law school aspirations on hold and relocate to New York City.
He then began studying at the renowned Herbert Berghof studio under the watchful eye of the iconic Uta Hagen. Rick also had the privilege of studying with other notable acting teachers, including Robert Lewis, William Hickey, and Susan Batson.
After performing in several stage productions, including "Sweet Bird of Youth" and "True West", as well as several NYU student films, Rick moved to Los Angeles, where he met his wife, Vanessa Angel. He then went on to secure roles in various independent films before being handpicked by acclaimed director Terrence Malick for a role in The Thin Red Line in 1998.
Rick's outstanding performance in R.S.V.P. in 2002 earned him the best actor award at the Screamfest film festival, which caught the attention of the late producer Robert F. Colesberry. In a remarkable twist of fate, Colesberry brought Rick back to his hometown of Baltimore to portray the character of police officer Kenneth Dozerman in HBO's Peabody-winning drama The Wire in 2002.
Since then, Rick has split his time between Los Angeles and Baltimore, where he has appeared as a recurring character on the show. The final season of The Wire is set to premiere in early 2008.
