Tate Donovan

Tate Buckley Donovan (born September 25, 1963) is an American actor. He is most recently known for his three-season role in the FX drama Damages, as "Tom Shayes." He is also known for his role as "Jimmy Cooper" in the American teen drama television series The O.C.. He has also been the voice of "Hercules," a title character from the 1997 film of the same name, in the animated television series and in the video game Kingdom Hearts II.

Early life
Tate Buckley Donovan, the youngest of seven children, was born in New York, the son of Eileen (née McAllister) and J. Timothy Donovan, who was a surgeon. He attended Dwight-Englewood School, in Englewood, New Jersey (graduates of which include Brooke Shields, Anthony Bourdain and Mira Sorvino), before transferring to a public high school, in Tenafly, New Jersey, and has been appearing on television since his teens. He attended the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, where he met his now long-time friends Grant Heslov and George Clooney. Donovan is of Irish heritage.

Film career
His earliest films included teenager "Kevin Donaldson," in SpaceCamp (1986), co-starring Lea Thompson and Kate Capshaw; at the other end of the spectrum was the 1988 film, Clean and Sober, in which he played a recovering drug addict, costarring with Michael Keaton and Kathy Baker. A filmography is included below.

Television career
Donovan played the role of Joshua, the boyfriend of Jennifer Aniston's character, Rachel Green, in a few episodes of Season 4 of the sitcom Friends. He played the priest-son of a large Irish Catholic family in the short-lived NBC drama, Trinity (1998). More recently, he has appeared as a guest star in several series such as, The Guardian (2001), Mister Sterling (2003), Exposed (2003) and in the The O.C. (2003), where he appeared as, Jimmy Cooper. From 2007 to 2010 he played lawyer Tom Shayes on the series Damages.

In March 2010, Donovan joined the cast of the ABC pilot No Ordinary Family. ABC green-lit the series in May, which is set to air during the 2010-11 season.

Stage career
He starred on stage with Glenn Fitzgerald in Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero and with Amy Ryan in the L.A. production of Rabbit Hole. On Broadway, Donovan appeared in the revivial of "Picnic" in 1994; he also appeared opposite actress Dame Judi Dench in "Amy's View" (1999), and in 1994, as Alan Seymour in "Picnic." Off Broadway, Donovan appeared in the 2001 production of Lobby Hero by award-winning playwright and screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan, playing the role of the crooked cop Bill. Donovan has appeared in numerous productions at the Williamstown Theater Festival, including "Once in a Lifetime," "Under the Blue Sky" and "The Glass Menagerie." Donovan has also appeared at the Irish Repertory Theater, in New York City.

In 2010, he directed the third episode in the sixth season of Showtime's hit show Weeds, A Yippity Sippity.

Music career
He had a regular gig with an traditional-Irish band called, The Descendants, with whom he released an album titled, Wake Amusements. Donovan plays the bodhrán and fiddle.

Personal life
Donovan was formerly engaged to Sandra Bullock (1994) and to Jennifer Aniston. He also dated British socialite Plum Sykes (in 2000), actress Whitney Allen (2001), Rebecca Miller and Lauren Graham, who was on the television series, Gilmore Girls. He married Corinne Kingsbury in a Catholic ceremony on a Malibu, California beach, in 2005. Kingsbury and Donovan divorced in 2008.

In 2008, Donovan announced his support for Barack Obama, in the U.S. presidential election of 2008. Donovan campaigned for Obama.

Donovan has also volunteered as an actor with the Young Storytellers Program.

Filmography

 * No Small Affair (1984)
 * North Beach and Rawhide (1985) (TV)
 * Into Thin Air (1985) (TV)
 * Not My Kid (1985) (TV)
 * SpaceCamp (1986)
 * Magnum, P.I. - Episode: "Summer School" (1986) (TV)
 * A Case of Deadly Force (1986) (TV)
 * Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder (1987) (mini) TV Series
 * Dangerous Curves (1988)
 * Vietnam War Story II (1988)
 * Clean and Sober (1988)
 * Dead Bang (1989)
 * Rising Son (1990/I) (TV)
 * Memphis Belle (1990)
 * Little Noises (1991)
 * Love Potion No. 9 (1992)
 * Equinox (1992)
 * Inside Monkey Zetterland (1992)
 * Ethan Frome (1993)
 * Holy Matrimony (1994)
 * Partners (1995) TV Series
 * America's Dream (1996) (TV)
 * The Only Thrill (1997)
 * Ally McBeal (1997)
 * Hercules (1997) (voice of Hercules)
 * Murder at 1600 (1997)
 * Thin Pink Line, The (1998)
 * Godzilla: The Series (1998)
 * Waiting for Woody (1998)
 * October 22 (1998)
 * Trinity (1998) TV Series
 * Hercules: The Animated Series (1998) TV Series
 * Friends (1998)
 * Tempting Fate (1998) (TV)
 * 4 a.m.: Open All Night (1999)
 * Hercules: Zero to Hero (1999)
 * Jesus & Hutch (2000)
 * Office Party, The (2000)
 * G-Men from Hell (2000)
 * Outer Limits- Episode: Glitch (2000)
 * Drop Back Ten (2000)
 * Get Well Soon (2001)
 * Swordfish (2001)
 * House of Mouse (2001) TV Series
 * West of Here (2002)
 * Exposed (2003/I)
 * Mister Sterling (2003) TV Series
 * The O.C. (2003–2007) TV Series
 * Silver Bells (2005)
 * Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)
 * The Pacifier (2005)
 * Kingdom Hearts II (2006) (video game)
 * Neal Cassady (2007)
 * Nancy Drew (2007) as Carson Drew
 * Shooter (2007)
 * Damages (2007–2010) TV Series
 * No Ordinary Family (2010)