A native of the Chicago suburb of Wilmette, D.W. Moffett never gave a thought to acting until after he graduated from Stanford University with a degree in International Relations. While he went to work at Chicago’s Continental Bank, he also enrolled in an acting class to broaden his artistic horizon and, more importantly, to meet girls. He found a social life – and his life’s work.
Moving along his new career path, Moffett became a founding member of Chicago’s Remains Theatre Ensemble, where he starred in, directed and/or produced over 40 productions. He first came to national attention starring in Larry Kramer’s landmark AIDS drama “The Normal Heart” at New York’s Public Theatre. Subsequently, he appeared on Broadway in “The Boys of Winter” and “The Real Thing,” as well as a Los Angeles production of Jon Robin Baitz’s “The End of the Day.” In his most recent return to the stage, D. W. was invited to play opposite Kevin Spacey in the critically acclaimed production of “The Philadelphia Story” at the Old Vic in London in 2005.
Since making the move to Hollywood, Moffett has divided his time between film and television. Favorite movie roles include appearances in “Stealing Beauty”, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, “Thirteen”, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, “Twisted”, directed by Phillip Kaufman, and Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic”, for which he won a Screen Actor’s Guild Award.
Moffett’s television credits include the ground-breaking TV movie, “An Early Frost” as well as series regular roles in “The Oldest Rookie”, “Hidden Palms”, ‘Skin”, “For Your Love”, “Chicago Sons” and “Life is Wild” . Recently, Moffett appeared as the memorable and reviled Joe McCoy on the iconic series “Friday Night Lights” as well as Fran Drescher’s ne’er-do-well boyfriend on “Happily Divorced”. D.W. recently concluded production on the Peabody Award-winning ABC Family show, “Switched at Birth”, in which he appeared as series-regular John Kennish for all 5 Seasons.
D.W. also recently returned to the director’s chair, helming an episode of the above-referenced Fran Drescher show as well as 3 episodes of Switched at Birth. Additionally, D.W. has begun directing children’s programming, having directed the penultimate episode of the popular Disney Channel show “Austin and Ally”.
In the Fall of 2016, D.W. joined the faculty of The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in both Performing Arts as well as Film and Television. In December of 2016, D.W. was named Chair of the Film and Television Department at SCAD. D.W. is extremely excited at the challenge of leading the department and tapping his 35 years of experience to benefit his students.
