Tom Skerritt, a leading man and supporting actor, has been a staple in the entertainment industry for decades. Born with ruggedly handsome looks, Skerritt's "outdoor" features have only improved with age. He began his career by attending Wayne State University and UCLA, where he was first noticed in a production of "The Rainmaker" before making his movie debut in War Hunt (1962).
Skerritt spent most of the next decade in television, regularly appearing in Combat! (1962),The Virginian (1962),Gunsmoke (1955),and 12 O'Clock High (1964). His next big break came when he appeared alongside Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould in Robert Altman's biting satire M*A*S*H (1970). Several other film roles quickly followed, before he landed the plum role of Capt. Dallas of the ill-fated commercial towing vehicle Nostromo in the creepy sci-fi epic Alien (1979).
Skerritt turned up again in another thriller, playing a cop hunting a serial killer in the eerie The Dead Zone (1983),as a Navy Officer Flight instructor in Top Gun (1986),in the six-chick flick Steel Magnolias (1989),and then as the poster boy for a "Guess" Jeans ad campaign utilizing his mature, weather-beaten features. Skerritt didn't neglect his TV background and reappeared on the small screen in Cheers (1982),The China Lake Murders (1990),and picked up an Emmy in 1994 for his performance as Sheriff Brock in the superb series Picket Fences (1992).
For the past decade, Skerritt has remained continually busy, contributing natural, entertaining, and reliable performances in TV series, made-for-TV movies, and major theatrical releases. He recreated the role of Will Kane in the TV production of High Noon (2000),and appeared alongside Bruce Willis in the mercenary war drama Tears of the Sun (2003).
