Biography:
Miguel Ferrer knows weird. Dr. Garret Macy, the anxiety-prone forensic examiner he plays in the new NBC drama "Crossing Jordan," is the latest in a long line of Ferrer’s crazy roles -- including the snitch who ate poisoned eggs in "Traffic," the cranky pathologist in "Twin Peaks" and the cocaine-snorting executive in "RoboCop." He will continue the trend as an unscrupulous land developer in the upcoming John Sayles film "Sunshine State," due out in 2002. Ferrer’s real life hasn’t exactly been "Leave It to Beaver," either.

The son of Academy Award-winning actor Jose Ferrer and singer Rosemary Clooney (George Clooney is a cousin), Ferrer remembers house-guests such as Billie Holiday and Marilyn Monroe. But childhood buddies in Los Angeles and New York, where he grew up, kept him in check. "People my parents’ ages would come over and compliment them, but they weren’t popular with my friends," he says. "We were much more into Adam West (‘Batman’)." Still, Ferrer carved his own creative path. He started out as a studio musician (his credits include playing drums on Keith Moon’s "Two Sides of the Moon") and still plays with a band called the Jennerators, which released two obscure CDs. He also occasionally haunts the L.A. clubs. Ferrer and band mate Bill Mumy (Will Robinson on the TV classic "Lost in Space") also collaborated on Dark Horse Comics’ "Trypto, The Acid Dog" and "The Comet Man" for Marvel Comics.

Ferrer fell into acting at 21, when Mumy cast him in the TV series "Sunshine." The role was hardly a stretch -- he played a drummer -- but he had to be talked into appearing. "It was the most fun I ever had," he says. "I couldn’t believe people actually got paid for it." Since his breakout performance in "RoboCop," Ferrer has starred in the hardball detective comedy "Where’s Marlowe?" and "Harvest," where he met his wife, Leilani, a former actress and photographer. He also lent his voice to Disney’s "Mulan," appeared in the Stephen King miniseries "The Stand" and "The Shining," starred on the comedy series "Lateline," and guest-starred in the pilot of NBC’s "ER."

He also appeared onstage in the Los Angeles production of "Visions & Lovers" opposite a "damn-near naked" Jenna Elfman. Next, Ferrer plans to turn his sights toward directing, with several regional theater productions under his belt and an eye toward TV and film. In his spare time, Ferrer loves to play golf and ski, and every year helps organize a golf tournament fundraiser for the UCLA Children’s Hospital. He and his wife, and their sons, Lukas and Rafael, divide their time between New York and Los Angeles. His birthday is February 7.

Television Credits: