Richard Schiff Movies and Career Information

Richard Schiff (born May 27, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Toby Ziegler on the NBC television drama 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." Schiff was born in Bethesda, Maryland, the second of three sons of Charlotte, a television and publishing executive, and Edward Schiff, a real estate lawyer. His parents divorced when he was 12. He 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 met his wife Sheila Kelley during auditions for Antigone in 1993, and they married in 1996. They have a son, Gus, and a daughter, Ruby. Schiff is a member of the Democratic Party; he supported Barack Obama in the 2008 US Presidential Election. Previously, he had endorsed Senator Joe Biden, before he dropped out. Schiff initially studied directing. He directed several