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Eric was born in Staten Island, NY on May 24th 1967. The son of an orthopedic surgeon, he and younger brothers, Chris and Randy, grew up in California. He began acting in amateur productions at age 13, and graduated from Valhalla High School in El Cajon, CA in 1985. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Southern California in 1989 and began acting professionally soon thereafter.Eric is currently part of the ensemble cast of Without a Trace, which airs Thursdays at 10pm Eastern on CBS in which he plays a member [Martin Fitzgerald] of an FBI team investigating missing persons.
Eric perhaps best displayed his exceptional versatility as an actor in the series adaptation of The Magnificent Seven, in the role [Vin Tanner] originally portrayed in the classic 1960 film by the legendary Steve McQueen. A TV veteran, he also had the lead in the 1994 series McKenna [Brick McKenna] and the 1996 sci-fi series Dark Skies [John Loengard]. He was a regular on Santa Barbara [Sawyer Walker] and Sisters [Billy Griffin] and also appeared in episodes of MacGyver and Major Dad, as well as the made-for-TV movies Taking Liberty, Keeping Secrets, Hercules and the Lost Kingdom (available on videocassette) Without Consent, and The Stranger Beside Me. He also co-starred in the Hallmark Hall of Fame drama Follow the Stars Home.
Eric's movie roles include a small but piviotal role in the feature film American Me. He has also done three independent films, including the yet-to-be-released Alvarez & Cruz, and The Sky is Falling, which can be seen on cable. He has a starring role in a third independent film, Liberty, Maine, which is currently being shown at film festivals and may eventually be shown on cable, also.
Eric's most recent series role prior to Without a Trace was the critically-acclaimed 1999-2000 CBS series Now and Again, a sci-fi drama about a middle-aged man [Michael Wiseman/Newman] who is given a new stronger and younger body in return for becoming a covert government operative.
Eric has also hosted 2 installments of The Hunt for Amazing Treasures, 2-hour documentaries produced by The Learning Channel, and co-starred in NTSB: The Crash of Flight 323 (originally titled Everything that Rises), a pilot for a possible series in which he was to play an airline disaster investigator [N'Tom Price] for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). However, following the tragic events of September 11th, CBS opted to cancel that project. The 2-hour pilot will be released overseas as a feature film, and will air on TV in the US.
Eric appears in four installments (1, 5, 9 and 10) of the 10-part Sci-Fi channel mega-miniseries Taken, in the role of an alien [John] who is able to assume human form, and fathers a child by a human mother.
A devoted family man and an active member of the Presbyterian church, Eric lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Keri, a former social worker who is now a full-time mom, and their two young daughters, Katie, born in October 1998 and Ella, born in April 2001.
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The Eric Gallery |
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Interviews |
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CCM Interview |
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Eric at Garth Brooks' 1999 Christmas concert |
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Eric answers questions from fans |
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Chris Close
Eric's youngest brother, actor Chris Close, appeared in the Magnificent Seven episode "Wagon Train" (Part 1) in the role of "Jack." His character was a settler traveling with the wagon train. He was blinded by an explosion and died moments later in his wife's arms, with Nathan at his side. Eric is 5 years older than Chris. |
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