Richard Schiff

Richard Schiff
Schiff at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Knife Fight
Born	(1955-05-27) May 27, 1955 (age 61) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	City College of New York
Occupation	Actor, comedian
Years active	1983–present
Political party	Democrat
Spouse(s)	Sheila Kelley (1996–present)
Children	Gus Schiff Ruby Schiff

Richard Schiff (born May 27, 1955) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Toby Ziegler on The West Wing, a role for which he received an Emmy Award. Schiff made his directorial debut with The West Wing, directing an episode entitled "Talking Points." He is on the National Advisory Board of the Council for a Livable World.

Schiff was born on May 27, 1955, in Bethesda, Maryland, and was raised there, the second of three sons of Charlotte, a television and publishing executive, and Edward Schiff, a real estate lawyer.

Schiff dropped out of high school, but later obtained an equivalency diploma. In 1973, he studied briefly at The City College of New York (CCNY) but did not graduate. He moved to Colorado, where he found employment cutting firewood. Returning to New York in 1975, he began to study acting at CCNY and was accepted into their theater program.

Schiff and his family are Jewish.

Schiff initially studied directing. He directed several off-Broadway plays, including Antigone in 1983 with a just-graduated Angela Bassett. In the mid-1980s Schiff decided to try his hand at acting and landed several TV roles. He was seen by Steven Spielberg in an episode of the TV drama High Incident and was cast in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). His career began an upward climb that led to his co-starring role as White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler on Aaron Sorkin's award-winning television series The West Wing. Schiff became known for his reclusive and intense approach to his craft as well as his low-key delivery style .