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Doug Savant first gained national attention when he was cast in the role of Matt Fielding on the Fox series "Melrose Place." It marked one of the first times an openly gay character was portrayed on network television. The series, which could only be described as a cultural phenomenon, became a television fixation, continually sparking water cooler conversations week after week. He's currently back for a second turn on another television cultural phenomenon, "Desperate Housewives," in which he portrays former ad exec and current house husband Tom Scavo.

Prior to his primetime notoriety, Savant had roles on the big screen in films like "Masquerade," opposite Rob Lowe, "Hanoi Hilton" and in "Red Surf," opposite George Clooney. Following "Melrose," he took on a supporting role in the Dean Devlin/Roland Emmerich mega-production of "Godzilla," starring Matthew Broderick.

His television appearances include such hit shows as "24," "According to Jim" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

Savant is married to actress Laura Leighton and they have four children.
(courtesy of ABC)
No stranger to emotionally and psychologically challenging roles, Doug Savant broke through the fear barrier that separates many actors from achieving their full onscreen potential. In the process, he tackled many characterizations somewhat removed from himself. These included a sociopathic rapist (in the 1995 TV movie Fight for Justice: The Nancy Cohn Story), a gay social worker (Matt Fielding on the prime-time soap opera Melrose Place), and -- most prominently -- a businessman-turned-stay at home dad (Tom Scavo, on the domestic black comedy Desperate Housewives). The latter, of course, required less of a stretch for Savant; it was perhaps ironic, then, that the Scavo characterization (opposite actress Felicity Huffman) reeled in Savant's largest audience and virtually turned him into a household name. Savant's resumé also includes brief appearances in such features as Secret Admirer (1985), Teen Wolf (1985), The Hanoi Hilton (1987), and Godzilla (1998). His second wife is actress Laura Leighton, whom he met on the set of Melrose. Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

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