Mark Moses

For most of his career, actor Mark Moses was relegated to small supporting roles in features and on episodic television. Though he made an impression as a hapless lieutenant impotent in dealing with two warring sergeants in Oliver Stone's "Platoon" (1986), Moses spent the next two decades struggling to find a breakout role, even though he made a good living appearing on screen.

In fact, Moses was not wont for work, appearing in many high-profile projects, including "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989), "Gettysburg" (1993) and "Deep Impact" (1998). It was not until playing the widowed husband of a woman who committed suicide on the hit series "Desperate Housewives" (ABC, 2004-12) that Moses finally began receiving the attention and name recognition he longed deserved. He built upon that success with a supporting role as an alcoholic advertising executive on "Mad Men" (AMC, 2007-15) that not only boosted his profile, but also assured audiences that his best was yet to come.

Born on Feb. 24, 1958 in New York, NY, Moses was enrolled as an English major at Ithaca College, but dropped out after two years to perform in summer stock productions. He later matriculated at New York University, where he graduated from the Tisch School of the Arts with a drama degree. Having worked his way up on the stage, Moses made his Broadway debut alongside Kevin Bacon and Sean Penn in "Slab Boys" (1982), then made his first primetime small screen appearance in the made-for-television comedy "Big Shots in America" (NBC, 1985). After portraying General Ulysses S. Grant in the epic six-part miniseries "North and South" (ABC, 1985), Moses caught the attention of casting directors and earned a spot as the hapless Lieutenant Wolfe in "Platoon" (1986), Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning look at a young man (Charlie Sheen) struggling to make it through the Vietnam War. After a small role in the thriller "Someone to Watch Over Me" (1987), Moses had his first leading role in the American Playhouse-produced drama, "The Silence at Bethany" (1989), in which he played a young man searching for focus and the meaning of his life while returning home to the Mennonite farm where he was born.

Moses returned to small parts in big films, landing roles in two more Oliver Stone features, "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989) and "The Doors" (1991). On the small screen, he had a recurring role as Pamela Reed's boyfriend on the short-lived sitcom "Grand" (NBC, 1990). After the show left the air, Moses embarked on a series of guest starring roles on episodic television, including "Davis Rules" (CBS-ABC, 1991-92), "The Commish" (ABC, 1991-95), "The Five Mrs. Buchanans" (CBS, 1994-95) and a two-episode arc on "Diagnosis Murder" (CBS, 1993-2001). After appearing in the large scale epic "Gettysburg" (1993), Moses had a more substantial supporting role in the straight-to-video thriller "A Kiss Goodnight" (1994). His career began looking up when he landed a regular role as Matt Parker during the first season of "The Single Guy" (NBC, 1995-96). In his portrayal of a slightly offbeat workaholic, he exhibited an eccentric sense of humor coupled with razor-sharp comic timing. Moses left after the first season - the show only lasted two - to appear in the two-part miniseries, "Rough Riders" (TNT, 1997), a depiction of how Teddy Roosevelt (Tom Berenger) led his cavalry regiment in a charge up San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War.

Moses made a brief return to features with the lead as a widower whose life is restored after a chance encounter with a waitress in "Just In Time" (1997), but then followed with more episodic television, including "Lateline" (NBC, 1997-2000), and "Chicago Hope" (CBS, 1994-2000). A tiny part in the blockbuster disaster "Deep Impact" (1998) was followed by a meatier role in "One Man's Hero" (1999) as Colonel Benton Lacey, a member of the Saint Patrick Brigade, a group of Irish immigrants defected from the U.S. Army to fight for Mexico in the Mexican-American War. Moses returned to his bread and butter, appearing on episodes of "Touched By an Angel" (CBS, 1994-2003), "Star Trek: Voyager" (UPN, 1994-2001), "JAG" (NBC, 1996-2005) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-15). The actor then played a young Alan Shepard in "Race to Space" (2002), a historical drama about a research scientist (James Woods) and his son (Alex D. Linz) who relocate to Cape Canaveral during NASA's race against time and the Russians to dominate space. Despite the high-profile role, Moses continued with guest -starring roles, appearing on "Family Law" (CBS, 1999-2002), "Ally McBeal" (Fox, 1997-2002) and "The Practice" (ABC, 1997-2004).

More small roles in the made-for-television movie "James Dean" (TNT, 2001) and "Red Dragon" (2002) were followed by appearances on "ER" (NBC, 1994-2009), "The West Wing" (NBC, 1999-2006), "Malcolm in the Middle" (Fox, 2000-06) and "Las Vegas" (NBC, 2003-08). After a couple of walk-ons in "After the Sunset" (2004) and "Monster-In-Law" (2005), Moses finally landed a role that earned him a larger degree of recognition and stability when he played the widowed husband of a woman who committed suicide on "Desperate Housewives" (ABC, 2004-12). Meanwhile, Moses appeared as a grumpy husband in "Big Momma's House 2" (2006). But Moses made his greatest impression to date on the critically acclaimed and multi-award winning series, "Mad Men" (AMC, 2007-15), Matthew Weiner's exquisite look at early-1960s work and gender politics from inside a Madison Avenue advertising agency. Moses played Herman 'Duck' Phillips, a tough and ambitious accounts executive at Sterling Cooper who battles alcoholism while trying to recover from a disgraced past. Duck routinely jousts with Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the agency's talented, but mysterious creative director.