Eric Close

• Name — Eric Close • Birthplace — Staten Island, New York, United States • Education — University of Southern California (BA) • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1991–present • Children — 2 Eric Close (24 May

Close was born in Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York. His father is an orthopedic surgeon. He is the eldest of three brothers. His family moved to Indiana and then to Michigan, and finally settled in San Diego when he was seven years old. Close was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and graduated with a B.A. in communications from the University of Southern California in 1989.

Close was interested in acting from an early age and had some stage experience in school, but did not decide to pursue an acting career until after college. His first role was in a theater production Rat Songs in L.A., after which he was offered parts in the crime drama American Me (1992) and the TV movie Safe House directed by Elena Mannus. He had a brief stint in daytime television when he played Sawyer Walker on the NBC daytime soap opera Santa Barbara from 1992 to 1993. He received a Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Male Newcomer for his role as Sawyer Walker on Santa Barbara. Close later starred on short-lived primetime shows such as McKenna (1994–1995), Dark Skies (1996–1997), The Magnificent Seven (1998–1999), Now and Again (1999–2000), and the Steven Spielberg miniseries production, Taken (2002). He starred on storyline online and read When Pigasso met Mootisse. Close is best known for his role as Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Martin Fitzgerald on the CBS mystery drama Without a Trace. The show ran for seven seasons from September 26, 2002, to May 19, 2009. From 2011 to 2015, Close had a recurring role as Travis Tanner in the USA legal drama Suits, and starred as Michael Dorset in the short-lived CBS comedy-drama Chaos. In 2012, Close began co-starring with Connie Britton in the ABC musical drama Nashville as Teddy Conrad, initially the husband of country singer Rayna Jaymes (Britton) and later the mayor of Nashville.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1991 — MacGyver — Guard — Episode: "The Prometheus Syndrome" • 1992 — Major Dad — Jim — Episode: "The 'L' Word" • 1992–93 — Santa Barbara — Sawyer Walker — 25 episodes • 1994–95 — McKenna — Brick McKenna — 13 episodes (5 aired) • 1995–96 — Sisters — William 'Billy' Griffin — 12 episodes • 1996–1997 — Dark Skies — John Loengard — 19 episodes Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television • 1998–2000 — The — Vin Tanner — 22 episodes • 1999–2000 — Now and Again — Michael Wiseman — 22 episodes Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television • 2002 — Taken — John — 4 episodes • 2002–09 — Without a Trace — Martin Fitzgerald — 160 episodes Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series • 2005 — Kim Possible — Crash Cranston (voice) — Episode: "Team Impossible" • 2010 — Seven Deadly Sins — Jack Powell — 2 episodes • 2010 — Criminal Minds — Det. Matt Spicer — Episode: "Our Darkest Hour" • 2011 — Chaos — Michael Dorset — 13 episodes • 2011–15 — Suits — Travis Tanner — 6 episodes • 2011 — American Horror Story: Murder House — Hugo Langdon — 2 episodes • 2012 — Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Colin Barnes — Episode: "Father Dearest" • 2012–18 — Nashville — Teddy Conrad — 65 episodes; Main Role (Seasons 1–3), Guest (Seasons 4–6) • 2019 — A Christmas Love Story — Shane — Hallmark Movie; Also director • 2019 — Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday — Anthony — Hallmark Movie

Eric Close is recorded as actor, television director and film director. Recorded at birth as Eric Randolph Close.