A reliable and versatile character actor, and occasional lead in television and film for almost two decades, David Morse rose to fame in the early 1980s as a tragedy-plagued doctor on "St. Elsewhere" (NBC, 1982-88). The sympathetic role led to a string of similar performances on television and features, including Michael Cimino's "The Desperate Hours" (1990) and Sean Penn's "The Indian Runner" (1991). After several celebrated runs in off-Broadway productions in the late 1990s, Morse settled into a string of impressive performances in features and television. Tall and stoic in delivery and demeanor, Morse was best used as an imposing authority figure like his prison guard in "The Green Mile" (1999), a kidnapped husband in "Proof of Life" (2000), a tough football coach in "The Slaughter Rule" (2001) and a detective with an axe to grind in several episodes of "House" (Fox, 2004-12), which earned him an Emmy nomination. He netted a second Emmy nod with his portrayal of George Washington in the HBO miniseries "John Adams" (2008), marking Morse as one of the more a formidable performers working in Hollywood.