Actor / Director Profile

Christopher Murray is one of today's most recognizable character actors, having appeared in a wide range of film, television and stage roles alongside some of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Although most of his work has been in film, he is probably best known as "Dean Rivers", the comically inept headmaster of Pacific Coast Academy, in the hit Nickelodeon series "Zoey 101" (2005).The son of two-time Emmy Award-winning film and television actress 'Hope Lange' (Peyton Place (1957), "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir" (1968), Pocketful of Miracles (1961)) and Academy Award®-nominated leading man Don Murray (Bus Stop (1956), Advise & Consent (1962)), Murray was raised in a show business family. His roots in the entertainment industry go back another generation, with his maternal grandfather, Arthur Lange, a conductor for Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., maternal grandmother a New York stage actress, paternal grandmother a Ziegfeld dancer and paternal grandfather a noted Broadway stage manager and performer.Past film credits include Crossing Over (2009) with Harrison Ford and Ashley Judd, _Smokin' Aces (2006)_ (qv with Ben Affleck and Jeremy Piven, The Man (2005) with Eugene Levy and Samuel L. Jackson, Just Cause (1995) with Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne, The Pelican Brief (1993) with Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, Virtuosity (1995) also with Washington and Russell Crowe and Dante's Peak (1997) with Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton. His first film role was in the Academy Award®-winning picture All the President's Men (1976) with Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman.Murray's work in television includes series such as "Zoey 101" (2005), "Saving Grace" (2007), "The West Wing" (1999), "Crossing Jordan" (2001), "7th Heaven" (1996), "JAG" (1995), "Carnivàle" (2003) and "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990), as well as made-for-television movies including Sacrifices of the Heart (2007) (TV), A Place Called Home (2004) (TV) and Route 9 (1998) (TV).On stage, Murray has appeared in productions of "Jesus Christ, Superstar", "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof", "The Best Man", "The Deal", "Romeo & Juliet", "King Lear" and "Mr. Roberts".