Timothy Busfield - TV and Film

TV and Film

In 1981, Busfield had a small part in the blockbuster Stripes with Bill Murray and Harold Ramis. He plays the part of a mortar gunner on the practice range. In 1984 Busfield landed his first major film part, as Arnold Poindexter in Revenge of the Nerds. He reprised the role in the sequel to that movie, Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise.

Busfield's first television series was Trapper John, M.D., in which he played the physician son of the title character. Immediately prior to being cast on the 1980s series Thirtysomething, he was still often playing teenagers and young adults, and the producers of the show asked him to grow his beard so he'd look old enough for the role. He would win an Emmy Award for this controversial role. Later he was cast in the lead of other series, although none have lasted very long. Produced by Steven Spielberg, The Byrds of Paradise with Arlo Guthrie may be the most memorable for its setting in Hawaii and its offbeat characters.

Busfield went to London in 1993 to make the television film Wall Of Silence, in which he played Ephraim Lipshitz, a Mossad agent infiltrating a community of Hasidic Jews.

In 1994, Busfield starred in the film Little Big League. Other film appearances include Sneakers, Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner and First Kid with comedian Sinbad.

In 1997, Busfield starred in the Canadian telefilm Trucks.

Recurring television roles include White House correspondent Danny Concannon on The West Wing; and the title character's incorrigible brother on the sitcom Ed, a show on which he was a co-executive producer and supervising producer.

Busfield also dabbles in directing television and has directed multiple episodes of Thirtysomething, Without a Trace (on which he appeared as a divorce lawyer, in a wheelchair, for Jack Malone), and the Sorkin/Schlamme predecessor to The West Wing, Sports Night.

Beginning in September 2006, Busfield was a regular on the short lived Sorkin/Schlamme series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, where he played Cal Shanley, the fictional show's director. He also directed 6 episodes. After Studio 60, he continued to direct episodes of Las Vegas. He has also appeared in various episodes of Entourage playing himself, directing the fictional series Five Towns.

He recently guest starred in the Law & Order episode, "Brilliant Disguise".