Breakthroughs

Tom Cavanagh (actor)

He has been acting for more than a decade, but his roles have been mostly forgettable. To get noticed, Tom Cavanagh, 32, had to start acting like himself. "To play Ed effectively, you have to be Ed," explains Rob Burnett, coproducer of NBC's critically acclaimed romantic comedy. "And Tom is. He's optimistic and he has the endearing enthusiasm of a Labrador puppy." Confirms Julie Bowen, 29, who plays Ed's love interest: "He's soooo nice, soooo funny--and is it wrong for me to say that he's a really good kisser? If there's anything frustrating with Tom, it's that you can't figure out what's wrong with him." Playing the show's lawyer-cum-bowling-alley-owner leading man, Cavanagh says things couldn't be more right. "I know it sounds hokey," he admits, "but I love having the opportunity to go to work everyday." In July the unmarried actor, who was raised in Canada and Ghana by schoolteacher parents, moved from L.A. to Manhattan, since 'Ed' is shot in New Jersey. The show and the move have been good for his bank account. Not only is Cavanagh earning more than he ever has, "I'm spending less money than I did before," he says. "We're on the set so long that by the time I get home, every store is closed."--People Magazine (December 25, 2000-January 1, 2001)

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