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Bruce Davison studied acting at New York University's prestigious School of the Arts, then at age 21 made his stage debut on Broadway in Tiger At the Gate. He went on to a prosperous stage career, performing in works ranging from Shakespeare to American standards to provocative modern dramas. He won the Dramalogue Award three times, first for his portrayal of the deformed John Merrick in the title role of Broadway's The Elephant Man; he won it the third time for his work in Streamers, for which he also won a Los Angeles Critics Award. He debuted onscreen in Last Summer (1969), portraying the "bad boy" among four teenagers coming of age in a sinister way. Although he has remained fairly busy as a screen actor, he has generally appeared in forgettable films and has yet to establish himself as a well-known screen presence; the highlight of his film career came when he received a "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar nomination for his work in Longtime Companion (1990), the first major feature film to deal with the subject of AIDS. Since 1978 he has also worked frequently on TV, appearing in TV movies as well as co-starring in the sitcom Harry and the Hendersons. For his portrayal of an escaped POW in the TV movie Summer of My German Soldier (1978), he received an Emmy nomination. He is most skilled at portraying caring, sharing, sensitive types and victims of circumstance.