What is Richard Schiff's Net Worth?
Richard Schiff is an American actor who has a net worth of $5 million. Richard Schiff is best known for his role as White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler on the NBC political drama television series "The West Wing." He appeared on 145 episodes of "The West Wing." He has appeared on numerous other television shows since then, with substantial roles on "Rogue," "Ballers," "The Affair," and "The Good Doctor," among other series. He appeared in 126 episodes of "The Good Doctor." Schiff has also acted in many films, including "The Arrival," "I Am Sam," "Ray," "Kill the Messenger," and "Clemency."
Early Life and Education
Richard Schiff was born on May 27, 1955 in Bethesda, Maryland as the middle of three sons of Jewish parents Charlotte and Edward. He was raised with his brothers Paul and David in New York City. There, Schiff attended City College of New York as a young adult. He also studied acting at the William Esper Studio. Before beginning his professional acting career, Schiff drove a taxi and cleaned Greyhound buses. In the early 1980s, he entered show business by directing a number of off-Broadway plays.
Television Career
In the first half of the 1990s, Schiff appeared in episodes of various shows, including "Tales from the Crypt," "South of Sunset," "Murphy Brown," and "Love & War." He subsequently appeared on such shows as "NYPD Blue," "Murder One," "ER," and "Chicago Hope." Schiff had his first main role on television from 1996 to 1997, playing Barry Roth on the short-lived ABC series "Relativity." After that, he had guest roles on "The Practice," "Brooklyn South," and "Ally McBeal," and appeared in the television films "The Pentagon Wars" and "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three." Schiff landed his most famous role in 1999, as White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler on the NBC political drama series "The West Wing." For his work, he won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and won two SAG Awards as a member of the show's ensemble cast. "The West Wing" ran for seven seasons through 2006. During the run of the show, Schiff made guest appearances on "Becker," "Roswell," and "Entourage." After the end of "The West Wing," he appeared in episodes of "Burn Notice," "Eli Stone," "Monk," "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," and "In Plain Sight."
In 2010, Schiff starred on the short-lived Fox show "Past Life." The following year, he had recurring roles on "The Cape" and "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior," and appeared in the TNT television film "Innocent." Schiff had another recurring role in 2012, on the Showtime series "House of Lies." He also appeared in two episodes of "Once Upon a Time," three episodes of "NCIS," and in the pilot of "The Mindy Project." In 2014, Schiff had a supporting role in the first season of the TNT series "Murder in the First" and a recurring role on "Manhattan." The next year, he began major roles on "Rogue," "Ballers," and "The Affair," with the former running until 2017 and the latter two until 2019. Meanwhile, Schiff appeared on such shows as "The Grinder," "Mom," "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency," "When We Rise," and "Jean-Claude Van Johnson." From 2017 to 2024, he played the main role of Dr. Aaron Glassman on the ABC medical drama series "The Good Doctor." Schiff's other television credits include the Starz science-fiction series "Counterpart," on which he played Roland Fancher from 2018 to 2019, and the 2020 Peacock film "Psych 2: Lassie Come Home," in which he played Dr. Hirsch.
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Film Career
In the early 1990s, Schiff had small roles in such films as "Young Guns II," "Rapid Fire," "Malcolm X," "The Bodyguard," "My Life," and "The Hudsucker Proxy." He had more substantial roles later in the decade in "Se7en," "City Hall," "The Arrival," "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," "Dr. Dolittle," "Living Out Loud," and "Deep Impact." Schiff's final two film credits of the 1990s were "Forces of Nature" and "Crazy in Alabama." Commencing the new millennium, he appeared in "Gun Shy" and "Whatever it Takes." In 2001, Schiff had notable supporting roles in "I Am Sam" and "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" A few years later, he portrayed music producer Gerald Wexler in the Oscar-winning Ray Charles biopic "Ray." Schiff's subsequent credits included the thriller "Civic Duty," the dramedy "Martian Child," and the romantic drama "Last Chance Harvey." Closing out the decade, he appeared in "Imagine That," "Solitary Man," and "Another Harvest Moon."
Schiff began the 2010s with roles in the British films "The Infidel" and "Made in Dagenham." He was then in the action comedy "Johnny English Reborn," the action thriller "Fire with Fire," and the political thriller "Knife Fight." Schiff appeared in three films in 2013: "Decoding Annie Parker," "The Frozen Ground," and "Man of Steel." He was in three more films in 2014: "Kill the Messenger," "The Gambler," and "Before I Disappear." In the former, Schiff portrays Washington Post journalist Walter Pincus. He had another big year in 2015, appearing in "The Automatic Hate," "Entourage," and "Take Me to the River." In 2016, Schiff starred in the thriller "American Fable," and in 2017 he was in "Shock and Awe" and "Geostorm." At the end of the decade, he played lawyer Marty Lumetta in "Clemency" and Jeff Cohn in "After Class." Schiff's subsequent credits have included the 2022 Marvel Comics superhero film "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," in which he plays the US Secretary of State.
(Photo by Earl Gibson III/Getty Images)
Stage Career
Beyond the screen, Schiff has acted in several stage productions. In 2005, he starred in the single-character play "Underneath the Lintel" in New Jersey; he later reprised his role in the 2007 West End production. In 2008, Schiff starred in the play "Talley's Folly" in New Jersey. He made his return to the West End in 2011 to act in the play "Smash!" From late 2012 to early 2013, Schiff acted in the Broadway revival of "Glengarry Glen Ross." He also appeared in the 2013 Shakespeare Theatre Company revival of Eugene O'Neill's play "Hughie." The following year, Schiff returned to the West End for a revival of David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow."
Personal Life
In 1996, Schiff married actress Sheila Kelley. She went on to play his love interest on the ABC television series "The Good Doctor." The couple has a son named Gus and a daughter named Ruby, the latter of whom also appeared on "The Good Doctor."
